or by imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or 
both. 
‘‘(E) If the operator knowingly tampered with or 
disabled a required safety device which exposed min-
ers to a significant risk of serious injury or illness or 
death, or if the conviction is for a violation described 
in subparagraph (D) committed after a previous con-
viction of such operator for a such a violation, by a 
fine of not more than $2,000,000, or by imprisonment 
for not more than 10 years, or both.’’. 
(b) CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR RETALIATION.—Section 
110(d) (as amended by subsection (a)) is further amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) Whoever knowingly takes any action that is di-
rectly or indirectly harmful to any person, including action 
that interferes with the lawful employment or livelihood of 
any person, because such person has provided an authorized 
representative of the Secretary, a State or local mine safety 
or health officer or official, or any other law enforcement 
officer with any information related to the existence of a 
health or safety violation or an unhealthful or unsafe condi-
tion, policy, or practice under this Act shall be fined under 
title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not more than 
10 years, or both.’’. 
(c) ADVANCE NOTICE OF INSPECTIONS.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 110(e) (30 U.S.C. 
820(e)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(e) Unless otherwise authorized by this Act, any per-
son that knowingly gives, causes to give, or attempts to give 
or cause to give, advance notice of any inspection conducted 
under this Act with the intention of impeding, interfering 
with, or adversely affecting the results of such inspection, 
shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, impris-
oned for not more than 5 years, or both.’’. 
(2) POSTING OF ADVANCE NOTICE PENALTIES.— 
Section 109 (30 U.S.C. 819) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) POSTING
OF ADVANCE NOTICE PENALTIES.— 
Each operator of a coal or other mine shall post, on the 
bulletin board described in subsection (a) and in a con-
spicuous place near each staffed entrance onto the mine 
property, a notice stating, in a form and manner to be pre-
scribed by the Secretary— 
‘‘(1) that giving, causing to give, or attempting 
to give or cause to give advance notice of any inspec-
tion to be conducted under this Act with the intention 
of impeding, interfering with, or adversely affecting 
the results of such inspection is unlawful pursuant to 
section 110(e); and 
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‘‘(2) the maximum penalties for a violation 
under such subsection.’’. 
SEC. 304. COMMISSION REVIEW OF PENALTY ASSESSMENTS. 
Section 110(i) (30 U.S.C. 820(i)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘In assessing civil monetary penalties, the Commission 
shall consider’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘In any review 
of a citation and proposed penalty assessment contested by 
an operator, the Commission shall assess not less than the 
penalty derived by using the same methodology (including 
any point system) prescribed in regulations under this Act, 
so as to ensure consistency in operator penalty assessments, 
except that the Commission may assess a penalty for less 
than the amount that would result from the utilization of 
such methodology if the Commission finds that there are 
extraordinary circumstances. If there is no such method-
ology prescribed for a citation or there are such extraor-
dinary circumstances, the Commission shall assess the pen-
alty by considering’’. 
SEC. 305. DELINQUENT PAYMENTS AND PREJUDGMENT IN-
TEREST. 
(a) PRE-FINAL ORDER INTEREST.—Section 110(j) (30 
U.S.C. 820(j)) is amended by striking the second and third 
sentences and inserting the following: ‘‘Pre-final order in-
terest on such penalties shall begin to accrue on the date 
the operator contests a citation issued under this Act, in-
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cluding any mandatory health or safety standard or regula-
tion promulgated under this Act, and shall end upon the 
issuance of the final order. Such pre-final order interest 
shall be calculated at the current underpayment rate deter-
mined by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section 
6621 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and shall be 
compounded daily. Post-final order interest shall begin to 
accrue 30 days after the date a final order of the Commis-
sion or the court is issued, and shall be charged at the rate 
of 8 percent per annum.’’. 
(b) ENSURING PAYMENT OF PENALTIES.— 
(1) AMENDMENTS.—Section 110 (30 U.S.C. 820) 
is further amended— 
(A) by redesignating subsection (l) as sub-
section (m); and 
(B) by inserting after subsection (k) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(l) ENSURING PAYMENT OF PENALTIES.— 
‘‘(1) DELINQUENT PAYMENT LETTER.—If the op-
erator of a coal or other mine fails to pay any civil 
penalty assessment that has become a final order of 
the Commission or a court within 45 days after such 
assessment became a final order, the Secretary shall 
send the operator a letter advising the operator of the 
consequences under this subsection of such failure to 
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pay. The letter shall also advise the operator of the 
opportunity to enter into or modify a payment plan 
with the Secretary based upon a demonstrated inabil-
ity to pay, the procedure for entering into such plan, 
and the consequences of not entering into or not com-
plying with such plan. 
‘‘(2) WITHDRAWAL ORDERS FOLLOWING FAILURE 
TO PAY.—If an operator that receives a letter under 
paragraph (1) has not paid the assessment by the 
date that is 180 days after such assessment became a 
final order and has not entered into a payment plan 
with the Secretary, the Secretary shall issue an order 
requiring such operator to cause all persons, except 
those referred to in section 104(c), to be withdrawn 
from, and to be prohibited from entering, the mine 
that is covered by the final order described in para-
graph (1), until the operator pays such assessment in 
full (including interest and administrative costs) or 
enters into a payment plan with the Secretary. If 
such operator enters into a payment plan with the 
Secretary and at any time fails to comply with the 
terms specified in such payment plan, the Secretary 
shall issue an order requiring such operator to cause 
all persons, except those referred to in section 104(c), 
to be withdrawn from the mine that is covered by 
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such final order, and to be prohibited from entering 
such mine, until the operator rectifies the noncompli-
ance with the payment plan in the manner specified 
in such payment plan.’’. 
(2) APPLICABILITY AND EFFECTIVE DATE.—The 
amendments made by paragraph (1) shall apply to 
all unpaid civil penalty assessments under the Fed-
eral Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 
801 et seq.), except that, for any unpaid civil penalty 
assessment that became a final order of the Commis-
sion or a court before the date of enactment of this 
Act, the time periods under section 110(n) of the Fed-
eral Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (as amend-
ed) (30 U.S.C. 820(n)) shall be calculated as begin-
ning on the date of enactment of this Act instead of 
on the date of the final order. 
TITLE IV—WORKER RIGHTS AND 
PROTECTIONS 
SEC. 401. PROTECTION FROM RETALIATION. 
Section 105(c) (30 U.S.C. 815(c)) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(c) PROTECTION FROM RETALIATION.— 
‘‘(1) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.— 
‘‘(A) RETALIATION FOR COMPLAINT OR TES-
TIMONY.—No person shall discharge or in any 
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manner discriminate against or cause to be dis-
charged or cause discrimination against or oth-
erwise interfere with the exercise of the statutory 
rights of any miner or other employee of an op-
erator, representative of miners, or applicant for 
employment, because— 
‘‘(i) such miner or other employee, rep-
resentative, or applicant for employment— 
‘‘(I) has filed or made a com-
plaint, or is about to file or make a 
complaint, including a complaint noti-
fying the operator or the operator’s 
agent, or the representative of the min-
ers at the coal or other mine of an al-
leged danger or safety or health viola-
tion in a coal or other mine; 
‘‘(II) instituted or caused to be in-
stituted, or is about to institute or 
cause to be instituted, any proceeding 
under or related to this Act or has tes-
tified or is about to testify in any such 
proceeding or because of the exercise by 
such miner or other employee, rep-
resentative, or applicant for employ-
ment on behalf of him or herself or oth-
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ers of any right afforded by this Act, or 
has reported any injury or illness to 
an operator or agent; 
‘‘(III) has testified or is about to 
testify before Congress or any Federal 
or State proceeding related to safety or 
health in a coal or other mine; or 
‘‘(IV) refused to violate any provi-
sion of this Act, including any manda-
tory health and safety standard or reg-
ulation; or 
‘‘(ii) such miner is the subject of med-
ical evaluations and potential transfer 
under a standard published pursuant to sec-
tion 101. 
‘‘(B) RETALIATION FOR REFUSAL TO PER-
FORM DUTIES.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—No person shall 
discharge or in any manner discriminate 
against a miner or other employee of an op-
erator for refusing to perform the miner’s or 
other employee’s duties if the miner or other 
employee has a good-faith and reasonable 
belief that performing such duties would 
pose a safety or health hazard to the miner 
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or other employee or to any other miner or 
employee. 
‘‘(ii) STANDARD.—For purposes of 
clause (i), the circumstances causing the 
miner’s or other employee’s good-faith belief 
that performing such duties would pose a 
safety or health hazard shall be of such a 
nature that a reasonable person, under the 
circumstances confronting the miner or 
other employee, would conclude that there is 
such a hazard. In order to qualify for pro-
tection under this paragraph, the miner or 
other employee, when practicable, shall have 
communicated or attempted to communicate 
the safety or health concern to the operator 
and have not received from the operator a 
response reasonably calculated to allay such 
concern. 
‘‘(2) COMPLAINT.—Any miner or other employee 
or representative of miners or applicant for employ-
ment who believes that he or she has been discharged, 
disciplined, or otherwise discriminated against by 
any person in violation of paragraph (1) may file a 
complaint with the Secretary alleging such discrimi-
nation not later than 180 days after the later of— 
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‘‘(A) the last date on which an alleged vio-
lation of paragraph (1) occurs; or 
‘‘(B) the date on which the miner or other 
employee or representative knows or should rea-
sonably have known that such alleged violation 
occurred. 
‘‘(3) INVESTIGATION AND HEARING.— 
‘‘(A) COMMENCEMENT
OF
INVESTIGATION 
AND INITIAL DETERMINATION.—Upon receipt of 
such complaint, the Secretary shall forward a 
copy of the complaint to the respondent, and 
shall commence an investigation within 15 days 
of the Secretary’s receipt of the complaint, and, 
as soon as practicable after commencing such in-
vestigation, make the determination required 
under subparagraph (B) regarding the reinstate-
ment of the miner or other employee. 
‘‘(B) REINSTATEMENT.—If the Secretary 
finds that such complaint was not frivolously 
brought, the Commission, on an expedited basis 
upon application of the Secretary, shall order the 
immediate reinstatement of the miner or other 
employee until there has been a final Commis-
sion order disposing of the underlying complaint 
of the miner or other employee. If either the Sec-
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retary or the miner or other employee pursues 
the underlying complaint, such reinstatement 
shall remain in effect until the Commission has 
disposed of such complaint on the merits, regard-
less of whether the Secretary pursues such com-
plaint by filing a complaint under subparagraph 
(D) or the miner or other employee pursues such 
complaint by filing an action under paragraph 
(4). If neither the Secretary nor the miner or 
other employee pursues the underlying complaint 
within the periods specified in paragraph (4), 
such reinstatement shall remain in effect until 
such time as the Commission may, upon motion 
of the operator and after providing notice and 
an opportunity to be heard to the parties, vacate 
such complaint for failure to prosecute. 
‘‘(C) INVESTIGATION.—Such investigation 
shall include interviewing the complainant 
and— 
‘‘(i) providing the respondent an op-
portunity to submit to the Secretary a writ-
ten response to the complaint and to present 
statements from witnesses or provide evi-
dence; and 
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SEC. 402. PROTECTION FROM LOSS OF PAY. 
Section 111 (30 U.S.C. 821) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘SEC. 111. ENTITLEMENT OF MINERS. 
‘‘(a) PROTECTION FROM LOSS OF PAY.— 
‘‘(1) WITHDRAWAL ORDERS.—If a coal or other 
mine or area of such mine is closed by an order 
issued under section 103, 104, 107, 108, or 110, all 
miners working during the shift when such order was 
issued who are idled by such order shall be entitled, 
regardless of the result of any review of such order, 
to full compensation by the operator at their regular 
rates of pay for the period they are idled, but for not 
more than the balance of such shift. If such order is 
not terminated prior to the next working shift, all 
miners on that shift who are idled by such order shall 
be entitled to full compensation by the operator at 
their regular rates of pay for the period they are 
idled, but for not more than four hours of such shift. 
If a coal or other mine or area of such mine is closed 
by an order issued under section 104, 107 (in connec-
tion with a citation), 108, or 110, all miners who are 
idled by such order shall be entitled, regardless of the 
result of any review of such order, to full compensa-
tion by the operator at their regular rates of pay and 
in accordance with their regular schedules of pay for 
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