Title: Wind Safety Standard Act of 2022
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Wind Safety Standard Act of 2022
This bill requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a standard for preventing workplace injuries caused by high winds (i.e., winds of such velocity that the winds could blow an employee from an elevated location, cause an employee to lose control of equipment or material, or expose an employee to other hazards).

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8818 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8818

To direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue an 
 occupational safety and health standard to protect workers from wind-
                           related injuries.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 14, 2022

 Ms. Bush (for herself, Mr. Green of Texas, Ms. Norton, Ms. Clarke of 
New York, Mr. Bowman, Mr. Carson, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Lee of California, 
 and Mr. Blumenauer) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue an 
 occupational safety and health standard to protect workers from wind-
                           related injuries.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Wind Safety Standard Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. OSHA SAFETY STANDARD FOR PROTECTION FROM HIGH WINDS.

    (a) Proposed Standard.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall, pursuant to 
section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
U.S.C. 655(b)), promulgate a proposed standard on prevention of 
workplace injury from high winds.
    (b) Final Standard.--Not later than 42 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate a final standard 
on prevention of workplace injury from high winds that shall--
            (1) provide no less protection than the most protective 
        wind protection standard adopted by a State plan that has been 
        approved by the Secretary under section 18 of the Occupational 
        Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 667) and, at a 
        minimum, include the requirements described in section 4; and
            (2) be effective and enforceable in the same manner and to 
        the same extent as any standard promulgated under section 6(b) 
        of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 
        655(b)).
    (c) Interim Final Standard.--
            (1) In general.--If the proposed standard described in 
        subsection (a) is not promulgated not later than 2 years after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall 
        promulgate an interim final standard on prevention of workplace 
        injury from high winds not later than 2 years and 60 days after 
        such date of enactment--
                    (A) to require covered employers to develop and 
                implement a comprehensive workplace wind protection 
                plan to protect covered employees from excessive winds 
                that may lead to wind-related workplace injuries; and
                    (B) that shall, at a minimum--
                            (i) provide no less protection than the 
                        most protective wind protection standard 
                        adopted by a State plan that has been approved 
                        by the Secretary under section 18 of the 
                        Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
                        U.S.C. 667); and
                            (ii) include a requirement to protect 
                        employees from discrimination or retaliation 
                        for exercising the rights of the employees 
                        under the interim final standard.
            (2) Applicability of other statutory requirements.--The 
        following shall not apply to the promulgation of the interim 
        final standard under this subsection:
                    (A) The requirements applicable to occupational 
                safety and health standards under section 6(b) of the 
                Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 
                655(b)).
                    (B) The requirements of section 553(c) of chapter 5 
                and chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code.
                    (C) The requirements of the National Environmental 
                Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
            (3) Effective date of interim standard.--The interim final 
        standard shall--
                    (A) take effect on a date that is not later than 30 
                days after the promulgation of such standard, except 
                that such interim final standard may include a 
                reasonable phase-in period for the implementation of 
                required engineering controls that take effect after 
                such date;
                    (B) be enforced in the same manner and to the same 
                extent as any standard promulgated under section 6(b) 
                of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
                U.S.C. 655(b)); and
                    (C) be in effect until the final standard described 
                in subsection (b) becomes effective and enforceable.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Covered employee.--The term ``covered employee'' 
        includes an individual employed by a covered employer.
            (2) Covered employer.--The term ``covered employer''--
                    (A) means an employer that employs an individual to 
                work at a covered workplace; and
                    (B) includes a contractor, subcontractor, a 
                temporary service firm, or an employee leasing entity.
            (3) Covered workplace.--The term ``covered workplace'' 
        includes a workplace with occupational exposure to high winds, 
        including--
                    (A) any workplace in which covered employees 
                perform services for a covered employer outdoors during 
                high winds; and
                    (B) any workplace in which covered employees 
                perform services for a covered employer indoors in any 
                case in which such covered employees may be at risk 
                during an extreme weather event involving high winds.
            (4) Employer.--The term ``employer'' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 
        of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 652).
            (5) High winds.--The term ``high winds'' means winds of 
        such velocity that one or more of the following hazards would 
        be present:
                    (A) The winds could blow an employee from an 
                elevated location.
                    (B) The winds could cause an employee or equipment 
                handling material to lose control of the material.
                    (C) The winds would expose an employee to other 
                hazards not controlled by the standard involved.
        Winds exceeding 64.4 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour), 
        or 48.3 kilometers per hour (30 miles per hour) if the work 
        involves material handling, shall be presumed to be of such 
        velocity unless the employer takes precautions to protect 
        employees from the hazardous effects of the winds.
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Labor.

SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR FINAL STANDARD ON PREVENTION OF OCCUPATIONAL 
              EXPOSURE TO HIGH WINDS.

    (a) In General.--The final standard promulgated under section 2(b) 
shall, at a minimum, include the requirements described in subsection 
(b) with respect to covered employers.
    (b) Requirements.--The final standard promulgated under section 
2(b) shall, with respect to covered employers, include the following:
            (1) Monitoring of wind conditions.--A covered employer 
        shall monitor wind conditions using data from the National 
        Weather Service.
            (2) Employees working outdoors during high winds.--With 
        respect to each covered employee who performs services for a 
        covered employer outdoors during high winds--
                    (A) such employee shall receive training in work 
                with high winds, including training relating to--
                            (i) the impact on work at heights;
                            (ii) the impact of wind on certain 
                        equipment such as lifts, cranes, scaffolding, 
                        ladders, and mobile elevated work platforms;
                            (iii) the risk of foreign object debris; 
                        and
                            (iv) the impact of wind on exposed skin and 
                        the risk of wind burn;
                    (B) such employee shall not be required to work in 
                high winds without a safety harness system, tie-off 
                restraints, or other appropriate safety equipment;
                    (C) such employee shall not be required to use any 
                equipment that is not rated for the level of high winds 
                in which the employee is requested to work;
                    (D)(i) such employee shall have the right to refuse 
                to work in high winds and be assigned alternate work 
                without penalty in any case in which the employee 
                determines that high wind safety procedures are 
                inadequate to mitigate the risk of such work; and
                    (ii) in any such case, the employer shall conduct a 
                hazard assessment and immediately investigate and 
                correct any identified hazards and implement any 
                control measures as necessary to adequately mitigate 
                such risks;
                    (E) such employee--
                            (i) shall be instructed on how to properly 
                        secure all tools and any other object that 
                        could act as foreign object debris;
                            (ii) may not be required to work in high 
                        winds if all such objects cannot be secured; 
                        and
                            (iii) shall be provided with proper 
                        personal protective equipment including eye 
                        protection while working in high winds; and
                    (F) such employee--
                            (i) shall receive training on wind burn 
                        prevention, identification, and treatment; and
                            (ii) shall be provided by the employer with 
                        personal protective equipment at no cost to the 
                        employee to prevent wind burn, except to the 
                        extent such equipment would result in a net 
                        increase of hazards to the employee.
            (3) Employees working indoors and outdoors during extreme 
        weather events involving high winds.--With respect to each 
        covered employee who performs services for a covered employer 
        indoors or outdoors in any case in which such covered employee 
        may be at risk during an extreme weather event involving high 
        winds, the covered employer shall--
                    (A) develop, implement, and maintain a wind 
                emergency plan for each such employee, similar to an 
                emergency action plan described under section 1910.38 
                of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, which shall 
                include--
                            (i) an evacuation plan which details 
                        employer and employee responsibilities;
                            (ii) a shelter in place plan, including a 
                        plan for mobile workforce and employees at 
                        remote or satellite locations;
                            (iii) specific plans for extreme weather 
                        events such as tornadoes and hurricanes that 
                        include a trigger to activate such plans and 
                        appropriate training and drills;
                            (iv) specific plans for high-risk buildings 
                        and mobile worksites (such as vehicles or 
                        trailers), to be updated as needed upon 
                        remodeling; and
                            (v) job protections for employees who 
                        evacuate due to unsafe conditions;
                    (B) conduct a hazard assessment to identify unsafe 
                working conditions or hazardous equipment that can be 
                impacted when extreme weather advisories are issued; 
                and
                    (C) ensure that emergency shelters are designed and 
                built to industry best practices for performance 
                criteria like Safe Rooms for Tornadoes and Hurricanes 
                (FEMA P-361) or ICC/NSSA Standard for the Design and 
                Construction of Storm Shelters (ICC-500).
            (4) Training and education.--
                    (A) Employee training.--A covered employer shall 
                provide annual training and education to covered 
                employees who may be exposed to high winds, which shall 
                cover the following topics:
                            (i) Personal factors that may increase 
                        susceptibility to high winds.
                            (ii) Signs and symptoms of wind-related 
                        injury.
                            (iii) Engineering control measures.
                            (iv) Administrative control measures.
                            (v) Emergency response procedures.
                            (vi) Employee rights.
                    (B) Supervisor training.--In addition to the 
                training and education required in subparagraph (A), 
                training and education shall be provided annually to 
                covered employees who are supervisors that shall cover 
                the following topics:
                            (i) The procedures a supervisor is required 
                        to follow under this Act.
                            (ii) How to recognize high-risk situations, 
                        including how to monitor weather reports and 
                        weather advisories, and not assigning an 
                        employee to situations that predictably 
                        compromise the safety of the employee.
                    (C) General training requirements.--The education 
                and training provided under this paragraph to covered 
                employees shall meet the following:
                            (i) In the case of such an employee whose 
                        job circumstances have changed, within a 
                        reasonable timeframe after such change of job 
                        circumstances, education and training shall be 
                        provided that shall be--
                                    (I) in addition to the education 
                                and training provided under clause 
                                (ii), subparagraph (A), and, if 
                                applicable to such employee, 
                                subparagraph (B); and
                                    (II) applicable to such change of 
                                job circumstances.
                            (ii) Applicable education and training 
                        shall be provided for each new covered employee 
                        prior to the employee's job assignment.
                            (iii) The education and training shall 
                        provide such employees opportunities to ask 
                        questions, give feedback, and request 
                        additional instruction, clarification, or other 
                        follow-up.
                            (iv) The education and training shall be 
                        provided by an individual with knowledge of 
                        wind injury prevention and of the plan of the 
                        employer under this section.
                            (v) The education and training shall be 
                        appropriate in content and vocabulary to the 
                        language, educational level, and literacy of 
                        such covered employees.
            (5) Recordkeeping.--Each covered employer shall--
                    (A) comply with all requirements under the 
                Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 relating to 
                the reporting of wind-related injuries;
                    (B) maintain at all times--
                            (i) records related to each plan of the 
                        employer under paragraph (1), including high 
                        wind risk and hazard assessments, and 
                        identification, evaluation, correction, and 
                        training procedures;
                            (ii) data on all wind-related injuries and 
                        deaths; and
                            (iii) data on environmental and 
                        physiological measurements related to high 
                        winds; and
                    (C) make such records and data available, upon 
                request, to covered employees and their representatives 
                for examination and copying in accordance with section 
                1910.1020 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (as 
                such section is in effect on the date of enactment of 
                this Act).
            (6) Whistleblower protections.--
                    (A) Policy.--Each covered employer shall adopt a 
                policy prohibiting any person (including an agent of 
                the employer) from discriminating or retaliating 
                against any employee for--
                            (i) exercising the rights of the employee 
                        under this Act; or
                            (ii) reporting violations of the standard 
                        to any local, State, or Federal government.
                    (B) Prohibition.--No covered employer shall 
                discriminate or retaliate against any employee for--
                            (i) reporting a high wind-related concern 
                        to, or seeking assistance or intervention with 
                        respect to high wind-related health symptoms 
                        from, the employer, local emergency services, 
                        or a local, State, or Federal government; or
                            (ii) exercising any other rights of the 
                        employee under this Act.
                    (C) Enforcement.--This paragraph shall be enforced 
                in the same manner and to the same extent as any 
                standard promulgated under section 6(b) of the 
                Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 
                655(b)).
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