zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Worker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Labor to promulgate an interim final standard regulating combustible dusts, which shall apply to manufacturing, processing, blending, conveying, repackaging, and handling of combustible particulate solids and their dusts (including organic dusts, plastics, sulfur, wood, rubber, furniture, textiles, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, fibers, dyes, coal, metals, and fossil fuels), but shall not apply to processes already covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) standard on grain facilities.Requires such standard to provide requirements for: (1) a hazard assessment to identify, evaluate, and control combustible dust hazards; (2) a written program that includes provisions for hazardous dust inspection, testing, hot work, ignition control, and housekeeping; (3) engineering controls, administrative controls, and operating procedures; (4) housekeeping to prevent accumulation of combustible dust in places of employment in depths that can present explosion, deflagration, or other fire hazards, including safe methods of dust removal; (5) employee participation in hazard assessment, development of and compliance with the written program, and other elements of hazard management; and (6) providing safety and health information and annual training to employees.Provides an exemption from otherwise applicable rulemaking requirements for the interim standard but not for the final standard.Provides that such interim standard shall have the legal effect of an occupational safety and health standard and shall apply until a final standard becomes effective.Requires the Secretary of Labor to promulgate a final occupational safety and health standard regulating combustible dust explosions that has the same scope and worker protection provisions as the interim rule and provides requirements for: (1) managing change of dust producing materials, technology, equipment, staffing, and procedures; (2) building design, such as explosion venting, ducting, and sprinklers; and (3) explosion protection, including separation and segregation of the hazard. Requires the final rule to include relevant and appropriate provisions of the National Fire Protection Association combustible dust standards.Requires the Secretary to revise the hazard communications standard to amend the definition of "physical hazard" to include "a combustible dust" as an additional example of such a hazard.

Date: 2009-02-04
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Black Lung Benefits Survivors Equity Act of 2009 - Amends the Black Lung Benefits Act, with respect to claims filed on or after the effective date of the Black Lung Benefits Amendments of 1981, to eliminate exceptions to: (1) the applicability of certain provisions regarding rebuttable presumptions; and (2) the prohibition against requiring eligible survivors of a miner determined to be eligible for black lung benefits to file a new claim or refile or otherwise revalidate the miner's claim.

Date: 2009-02-12
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Social welfare
Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe regulations requiring motorcoaches to be installed with: (1) safety seat belts at each seating position; (2) advanced glazing in each portal to prevent passenger ejection; (3) improved firefighting equipment; and (4) enhanced compartmentalization safety countermeasures and certain other motor vehicle safety features. Requires the Secretary to study and report to Congress on improving bus crashworthiness, bus crash avoidance, and bus fire protection and passenger evacuation. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations: (1) requiring providers of motorcoach services registered with the the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to undergo periodic safety reviews; (2) establishing a training curriculum and providing certification for each driver of a motorcoach seeking a commercial driver's license (CDL) passenger endorsement; (3) improving CDL testing; (4) requiring a driver of a commercial motor vehicle that transports for compensation between nine and 15 passengers to have a CDL; (5) preventing the submission and use of invalid or fraudulent medical certificates by applicants for a CDL; (6) requiring the annual review of state licensing authorities to assess the accuracy of physical examination reports and medical certificates of CDL applicants that are submitted by medical examiners to such authorities; and (7) requiring that all commercial motor vehicles be equipped with electronic on-board recorders (that record driver hours of service) and event data recorders, as well as direct tire pressure monitoring warning systems. Sets forth a deadline for the Secretary to establish the national registry of medical examiners. Requires the Secretary to establish a performance standard for retreaded commercial motor vehicle tires that ensures such tires achieve a safety level of performance equivalent to that of new commercial motor vehicle tires. Requires a state to conduct an annual commercial motor vehicle inspection program in order to receive a grant for the development or implementation of programs for improving motor carrier safety. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a qualified motorcoach safety credit to a taxpayer for 10% of the costs of qualified new motorcoaches and of improvements to existing in-service motorcoaches to satisfy new federal safety standards for installation of occupant protection systems. Requires the Secretary to award supplemental grants (not to exceed $20,000 per vehicle) to motorcoach operators to assist with the cost of retrofitting motorcoaches to comply with such federal standards. Amends the Small Business Act to grant the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) authority to make SBA loans and loan guarantees to small business manufacturers of motorcoaches and small business motorcoach service providers, including to help retrofit their buses and motorcoaches for occupant protection.

Date: 2009-03-09
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Teri Zenner Social Worker Safety Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award grants to states to provide safety measures to social workers and other professionals working with violent, drug-using, or other at-risk populations. Authorizes such grants to be used to provide or support: (1) the procurement and installation of safety equipment, including communications systems to assist agencies in locating staff, and technical assistance and training for safety communications; (2) training exercises for self-defense and crisis management; (3) facility safety improvements; (4) provision of pepper spray for self-defense; (5) training in cultural competency and on strategies for de-escalating a situation that could turn volatile; (6) training to help workers who work with mentally ill communities and who need help coping; and (7) educational resources and materials to train staff on safety and awareness measures. Directs the Secretary to establish guidelines for assuring the cost-effectiveness and quality of the safety measures funded.

Date: 2009-03-12
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Social welfare
Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2009 - Amends the National Dam Safety Program Act to require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish a program to provide grant assistance to states for use in rehabilitating publicly-owned dams that fail to meet minimum safety standards and pose an unacceptable risk to the public (deficient dams). Sets forth provisions regarding procedures for grant awards and fund allocation. Requires: (1) a state receiving a grant under this Act to comply with requirements applicable to contributions of federal funds under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act; and (2) FEMA to develop a risk-based priority system for identifying deficient dams for which such grants may be made. Limits the federal share of rehabilitation costs to 65%. Prohibits funds from being used to: (1) rehabilitate a federal dam; (2) perform routine operation or maintenance; (3) modify a dam to produce hydroelectric power; (4) increase water supply storage capacity; or (5) make any other modification that does not also improve safety. Conditions the receipt of grants by states upon compliance with specified requirements regarding contracts for architectural and engineering services. Provides that such contracts shall not be considered to confer a proprietary interest upon the United States.

Date: 2009-03-26
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Water resources development
Protecting America's Workers Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to expand its coverage to federal, state, and local government employees. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor, under specified conditions, to cede OSHA jurisdiction to another federal agency with respect to certain occupational standards or regulations for such agency's employees. Declares OSHA inapplicable to working conditions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Heath Act of 1977. Sets forth increased protections for whistle blowers under OSHA. Sets forth provisions relating to: (1) the posting of employee rights; (2) a prohibition against the adoption or implementation of policies or practices by employers that discourage the reporting of work-related injuries or illnesses or that discriminate or provide for adverse action against any employee for reporting such injury or illness; (3) a prohibition against the loss of wages or employee benefits as a result of an employee participating in or aiding workplace inspections; (4) investigations of incidents in a place of employment resulting in a death or the hospitalization of two or more employees; (5) a prohibition against designating a citation for an occupational health and safety standard violation as an unclassified citation; (6) the rights of an employee who has sustained a work-related injury or illness that is the subject of an investigation; (7) an employer's right to contest citations and penalties; (8) the Secretary's assertion of an employer's failure to correct a serious hazard during an employer's contest to a citation; and (9) employee objections to modifications of citations. Increases civil and criminal penalties for certain OSHA violators. Requires a state that has an approved plan for the development and enforcement of occupational safety and health standards to amend its plan to conform to the requirements of this Act within 12 months after enactment of this Act.

Date: 2009-04-23
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Corporate Injury, Illness, and Fatality Reporting Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations requiring large employers, for each of their establishments, to maintain accurate records of, and make periodic and certified reports at least annually on: (1) the numbers and rates of work-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses; and (2) compliance data, including inspection numbers and dates and the total number of violations and citations issued following inspections. Requires each large employer to identify on all records and reports each establishment and whether one has been acquired, sold, or transferred since the last report required under this Act. Requires the Secretary to issue citations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to any large employer, including those with establishments in states with an approved state plan for development and enforcement of standards, for violations of any of this Act's reporting requirements. Excludes from the meaning of "establishment" a place where business is conducted that has fewer than 10 employees or that is in the construction industry.

Date: 2009-04-27
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Ed Walker Memorial Act for Improvements to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program - Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to include certain former nuclear weapons program workers in the Special Exposure Cohort under the energy employees occupational illness compensation program. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) issue regulations for designating additional classes of employees, including those employed during a period of residual contamination, as members of the Special Exposure Cohort; and (2) determine whether workers employed at the Bethlehem Steel site in Lackawanna, New York, meet the requirements of this Act for membership in the Special Exposure Cohort. Requires the Secretary to provide a report to Congress identifying facilities at which classes of employees were employed that meet the requirements for membership in the Special Exposure Cohort, as well as the number of classes and the number of employees in each class.

Date: 2009-04-27
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Protecting Workers From Imminent Dangers Act of 2009 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to require the Department of Labor to: (1) inform employers and employees and their representatives when a condition or practice in a place of employment is such that an imminent danger to safety or health exists that could reasonably be expected to cause death, serious physical harm, or permanent impairment of the health or functional capacity of employees if not corrected immediately or before the danger can be eliminated through prescribed enforcement procedures; and (2) request that the condition or practice be corrected immediately or that employees be immediately removed from exposure to such danger. Requires the Department, if an employer refuses to comply with such request, to immediately issue an order requiring the employer to cause all persons to be withdrawn from, and to be prohibited from entering, such area until the Department determines that such imminent danger and the conditions or practices which caused it no longer exist. Declares that such an order shall not preclude issuing a citation or proposing a penalty for a violation under such Act. Prohibits the Department from preventing: (1) the entry or continued activity of employees whose presence is necessary to avoid, correct, or remove such imminent danger or to maintain the capacity of a continuous process operation to resume normal operations without a complete cessation of operations; and (2) a necessary cessation of operations from being accomplished in a safe and orderly manner. Prohibits persons from discharging or discriminating against an employee for the refusal to perform a duty that has been identified by an order as the source of an imminent danger. Sets forth penalties for violations.

Date: 2009-04-30
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Labor to propose a standard on safe patient handling and injury prevention to prevent musculoskeletal disorders for direct-care registered nurses and all other health care workers that requires the use of engineering controls to lift patients and the elimination of manual lifting of patients through the use of mechanical devices, except where patient care may be compromised. Requires health care employers to: (1) develop and implement a safe patient handling and injury prevention plan; (2) provide their workers with training on safe patient handling and injury prevention; and (3) post a uniform notice that explains the standard and the procedures to report patient handling-related injuries. Requires the Secretary to conduct unscheduled inspections to ensure compliance with safety standards. Allows health care workers to: (1) refuse to accept an assignment in a health care facility that violates safety standards or for which such worker has not received required training; and (2) file complaints against employers who violate this Act. Prohibits employers from taking adverse actions against any health care worker who in good faith reports a violation, participates in an investigation or proceeding, or discusses violations. Authorizes health care workers who have been discharged, discriminated, or retaliated against in violation of this Act to bring legal action for reinstatement, reimbursement of lost compensation, attorneys' fees, court costs, and other damages. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a grant program for purchasing safe patient handling and injury prevention equipment for health care facilities.

Date: 2009-05-13
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Alexander L. Booker Child Protection Construction Site Safety Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor, in order to increase worker safety and protect child trespassers from unforeseen dangers on construction sites, to revise regulations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to require: (1) signs and symbols be prominently displayed to warn adults and children of danger or a hazard at construction sites (even during non-working hours); (2) all equipment left unattended at night near a highway, construction areas, or schools or other areas where children are known to congregate to have sufficiently visible barricades to prevent access to such equipment as well as to require the equipment's parking brakes to be set when not in use and be equipped with devices that set off an alarm when tampered with or broken; and (3) all motorized vehicles to be equipped with safety lock systems, including latches or other devices to prevent accidental starting.

Date: 2009-06-26
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Employer-Owned Life Insurance Limitation Act - Makes it unlawful for any employer to carry an employer-owned life insurance policy on any employee whose salary is less than $1 million per year. Makes it also unlawful for any employer to carry an employer-owned life insurance policy not prohibited by this Act for an employee (earning $1 million or more per year) more than 30 days after that employee terminates employment with the employer. Requirers an employer to notify an employee who is the subject of a non-prohibited employer-owned life insurance policy within 30 days after purchasing it. Authorizes any employee who is the subject of a prohibited employer-owned life insurance policy (or the employee's spouse or next of kin if the employee is deceased) to commence a civil action in an appropriate U.S. district court to: (1) enjoin the employer from carrying such a policy; and (2) obtain specified damages. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the incidence of employers carrying employer-owned life insurance policies on their employees, and related matters. Prescribes criminal penalties for violation of this Act.

Date: 2009-09-29
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to include as a member of the Special Exposure Cohort entitled to compensation with respect to chronic beryllium disease under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program any Department of Energy (DOE) employee or a DOE contractor or subcontractor employee who was employed for an aggregate number of at least 250 work days before January 1, 2009, at the Feed Materials Production Center (Fernald) or the Piqua Organic Moderated Reactor in Ohio. Requires any claim that an individual qualifies by reason of this Act for compensation or benefits to be considered for such compensation or benefits notwithstanding any denial of any other claim for compensation with respect to the individual.

Date: 2009-11-03
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Ensuring Worker Safety Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act to revise requirements for the Secretary of Labor's continuing evaluation of approved state occupational safety and health plans. Requires: (1) the review of state plans to include an assessment of whether a state continues to meet certain conditions for the approval of such plans; and (2) the Secretary to determine whether a state that fails to comply substantially with the provisions of a plan should be given the opportunity to remedy such deficiencies. Prescribes general requirements for the provision to a state of such an opportunity. Requires the Comptroller General periodically to review and assess: (1) whether state plans to develop and enforce safety and health standards are at least as effective as federal occupational safety and health (OSHA) program standards in preventing occupational injuries, illnesses and deaths, and investigating discrimination complaints; (2) the effectiveness of the Secretary's oversight of such plans; and (3) the adequacy of the Secretary's investigations in response to Complaints About State Plan Administration (CASPA) as well as whether policy issues have been identified and corrective actions fully implemented by each state.

Date: 2010-03-16
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2010 - Amends the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund until 19 years after enactment of this Act. Prescribes additional periods of required presence in an affected area during atmospheric nuclear testing for individuals filing leukemia or specified disease claims. Increases the amount of compensation an individual filing a claim may receive to $150,000. Expands "affected area" to include Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and New Mexico, as well as any county in Arizona, Nevada, or Utah. Extends to December 31, 1990, the period during which an individual employed at any time in a uranium mine or uranium mill is made eligible to receive compensation for a disease claim due to radiation exposure. Makes a core driller eligible to receive compensation upon filing of a disease claim. Makes miners, core drillers, and ore transporters who suffer renal cancer or any other chronic renal disease, including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury, eligible for compensation due to exposure to radiation while on the job. Requires the Attorney General to accept written affidavits meeting specified requirements regarding employment history, physical presence in an affected area, or participation at a nuclear testing site in determining the eligibility of claimants. Extends until 19 years after enactment of this Act the statute of limitations for the filing of such claims. Increases from 2% to 10% of the payment received by a claimant the maximum amount of attorneys fees that can be charged for the filing of an initial claim. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the National Institute of Environmental Health Services, to establish a program of grants to institutions of higher education to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling among non-occupationally exposed individuals, including family members of uranium miners and millers.

Date: 2010-04-22
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Mine Communications Technology Innovation Act of 2010 - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish a research initiative for the development of emergency communication and tracking technologies for use in locating trapped individuals in confined spaces, such as underground mines, and other shielded environments, like high-rise buildings or collapsed structures, where conventional radio communication is limited. Requires the Director to work with the private sector and appropriate federal agencies to perform needs assessments to identify and evaluate the measurement, technical standards, and conformity assessment needs required, as well as support the development of technical standards and conformance architecture, to improve the operation of emergency communication and tracking technologies.

Date: 2010-04-22
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Mine Worker Safety Hotline Accessibility Act - Amends the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to require: (1) the Secretary of Labor to provide all coal and other mine operators plastic wallet cards, refrigerator magnets, and other similar devices containing the toll-free telephone number and appropriate website address of the national hazard reporting hotline; and (2) each operator to ensure that each miner and miner community receives such devices in order to facilitate the reporting of mine accidents, incidents, injuries, illnesses, possible violations of such Act or of mandatory health and safety standards or plans, or other mine safety and health concerns.

Date: 2010-07-20
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Roadway Safety Training and Access Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to one not-for-profit organization to develop a roadway safety training institute to deliver comprehensive and uniform roadway safety training to roadway workers across the United States.

Date: 2010-07-22
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Transportation and public works
EEOICPA Amendment Act of 2010 - Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to require the President to establish an Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health. Requires the Board to advise the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Energy (DOE), and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the review and approval of the site exposure matrix (SEM) used to determine the eligibility of DOE contractor employee claims for compensation for illnesses resulting from exposure to toxic substances. (The SEM is a Department of Labor database on the presence of toxic substances at DOE and Radiation Exposure Compensation Act [RECA] facilities, as well as of information on scientifically established links between toxic substances and illnesses.)

Date: 2010-09-22
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act Amendments of 2009 - Amends the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to declare that it is the intent of Congress that: (1) in a claim brought under such Act, the facts are not to be given a broad liberal construction in favor of the employee or of the employer; (2) the laws pertaining to the claim are to be construed in accordance with the basic principles of statutory construction and not liberally in favor of either the employee or employer; and (3) the system established under the Act shall be efficient and self-executing, but not an economic or administrative burden. Makes compensation under the Act payable regardless of fault as a cause of an injury (no-fault). Specifies requirements for proportional payment of compensation, the last employer doctrine, intervening employment, and noncontributing employment exposure. Prescribes criteria for the preemption of state law providing additional or alternative remedies for an injured employee, the employee's legal representative, spouse, next of kin, or anyone otherwise entitled to recover from an employer on account of an employee's injury or death. Revises requirements for physician selection. Allows a carrier to designate one or more participating networks or one or more health care panels, or both, to provide medical services to employees. Modifies the formula used to determine disability compensation, including for loss of hearing. Increases allowed funeral expenses. Revises requirements for: (1) determination of death compensation to survivors; (2) timing and recipients of a notice of such injury or death; (3) filing of claims; (4) date of payment of compensation; (5) assignment and exemption from the claims of creditors; (6) presumptions, burdens, and rules of evidence; (7) review of compensation orders; (8) modification of compensation awards for fraud or overpayment; (9) reports of fraud; and (10) payments into the special fund in the absence of an entitled survivor of an employee.

Date: 2009-01-14
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Commercial Fishermen Safety Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow commercial fishermen a business-related tax credit for up to 75% of the cost of certain fishing safety equipment. Limits the annual amount of such credit to $1,500.

Date: 2009-03-05
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Taxation
Santa Susana Fair Compensation Act - Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to include within the meaning of the term member of the Special Exposure Cohort a Department of Energy (DOE) employee, DOE contractor employee, or atomic weapons employee who was so employed for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days before January 1, 2009, at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California. Provides that a claim that an individual qualifies for compensation or benefits under such Act shall be considered notwithstanding any denial of any other claim for compensation with respect to such individual.

Date: 2009-03-25
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Law
Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2009 - Amends the National Dam Safety Program Act to require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish a program to provide grant assistance to states for use in rehabilitating publicly-owned dams that fail to meet minimum safety standards and pose an unacceptable risk to the public (deficient dams). Sets forth provisions regarding procedures for grant awards and fund allocation. Requires FEMA to develop a risk-based priority system for identifying deficient dams for which such grants may be made. Limits the federal share of rehabilitation costs to 65%. Prohibits funds from being used to: (1) rehabilitate a federal dam; (2) perform routine operation or maintenance; (3) modify a dam to produce hydroelectric power; (4) increase water supply storage capacity; or (5) make any other modification that does not also improve safety. Conditions the receipt of grants by states upon compliance with specified requirements regarding contracts for architectural and engineering services. Provides that such contracts shall not be considered to confer a proprietary interest upon the United States.

Date: 2009-03-26
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Water resources development
Ed Walker Memorial Act for Improvements to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program - Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to include certain former nuclear weapons program workers in the Special Exposure Cohort under the energy employees occupational illness compensation program. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) issue regulations for designating additional classes of employees, including those employed during a period of residual contamination, as members of the Special Exposure Cohort; and (2) determine whether workers employed at the Bethlehem Steel site in Lackawanna, New York, meet the requirements of this Act for membership in the Special Exposure Cohort. Requires the Secretary to provide a report to Congress identifying facilities at which classes of employees were employed that meet the requirements for membership in the Special Exposure Cohort, as well as the number of classes and the number of employees in each class.

Date: 2009-04-28
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Labor to propose a standard on safe patient handling and injury prevention to prevent musculoskeletal disorders for direct-care registered nurses and all other health care workers that requires the use of engineering controls to lift patients and the elimination of manual lifting of patients through the use of mechanical devices, except where patient care may be compromised. Requires health care employers to: (1) develop and implement a safe patient handling and injury prevention plan; (2) provide their workers with training on safe patient handling and injury prevention; and (3) post a uniform notice that explains the standard and the procedures to report patient handling-related injuries. Requires the Secretary to conduct unscheduled inspections to ensure compliance with safety standards. Allows health care workers to: (1) refuse to accept an assignment in a health care facility that violates safety standards or for which such worker has not received required training; and (2) file complaints against employers who violate this Act. Prohibits employers from taking adverse actions against any health care worker who in good faith reports a violation, participates in an investigation or proceeding, or discusses violations. Authorizes health care workers who have been discharged, discriminated, or retaliated against in violation of this Act to bring legal action for reinstatement, reimbursement of lost compensation, attorneys' fees, court costs, and other damages. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a grant program for purchasing safe patient handling and injury prevention equipment for health care facilities.

Date: 2009-10-15
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to include as a member of the Special Exposure Cohort entitled to compensation with respect to chronic beryllium disease under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program any Department of Energy (DOE) employee or a DOE contractor or subcontractor employee who was employed for an aggregate number of at least 250 work days before January 1, 2009, at the Feed Materials Production Center (Fernald) or the Piqua Organic Moderated Reactor in Ohio. Requires any claim that an individual qualifies by reason of this Act for compensation or benefits to be considered for such compensation or benefits notwithstanding any denial of any other claim for compensation with respect to the individual.

Date: 2009-10-20
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2010 - Amends the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund until 19 years after enactment of this Act. Prescribes additional periods of required presence in an affected area during atmospheric nuclear testing for individuals filing leukemia or specified disease claims. Increases the amount of compensation an individual filing a claim may receive to $150,000. Expands "affected area" to include Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and New Mexico, as well as any county in Arizona, Nevada, or Utah. Extends to December 31, 1990, the period during which an individual employed at any time in a uranium mine or uranium mill is made eligible to receive compensation for a disease claim due to radiation exposure. Makes a core driller eligible to receive compensation upon filing of a disease claim. Makes miners, core drillers, and ore transporters who suffer renal cancer or any other chronic renal disease, including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury, eligible for compensation due to exposure to radiation while on the job. Requires the Attorney General to accept written affidavits meeting specified requirements regarding employment history, physical presence in an affected area, or participation at a nuclear testing site in determining the eligibility of claimants. Extends until 19 years after enactment of this Act the statute of limitations for the filing of such claims. Increases from 2% to 10% of the payment received by a claimant the maximum amount of attorneys fees that can be charged for the filing of an initial claim. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the National Institute of Environmental Health Services, to establish a program of grants to institutions of higher education to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling among non-occupationally exposed individuals, including family members of uranium miners and millers.

Date: 2010-04-19
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Directs the Secretary of Labor to revise certain regulations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 so as to require site-controlling employers to keep a site log for all recordable injuries and illnesses occurring among all employees on the particular site, whether such employees are employed directly by the site-controlling employer or are employed by contractors or temporary help or employee leasing services.

Date: 2011-01-05
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Protecting America's Workers Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA-1970) to expand its coverage to federal, state, and local government employees. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor, under specified conditions, to cede OSHA-1970 jurisdiction to another federal agency with respect to certain occupational standards or regulations for such agency's employees. Declares OSHA-1970 inapplicable to working conditions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Heath Act of 1977. Increases protections for whistle blowers under OSHA-1970. Prescribes requirements relating to: (1) the posting of employee rights, (2) employer reporting of employee work-related deaths or hospitalizations, (3) a prohibition against employers adopting or implementing policies or practices that discourage or discriminate against employee reporting of work-related injuries or illnesses, (4) a prohibition against the loss of wages or employee benefits due to an employee participating in a workplace inspection, (5) investigations of incidents resulting in death or the hospitalization of two or more employees which occur in a place of employment, and (6) a prohibition against the issuing, modifying, or settling of unclassified citations for occupational health and safety standard violations. Continues requirements relating to: (1) the rights of an employee (including a former employee or family member in lieu of an employee) who has sustained a work-related injury or illness that is the subject of an inspection or investigation; (2) an employer's right to contest citations and penalties; and (3) periods permitted for an employer to correct serious, willful, or repeated violations pending an employer's contest to a citation and procedures for stays of the time period for abatement of those violations. Increases civil and criminal penalties for certain OSHA-1970 violators. States that pre-final order interest on any penalties owed shall begin to accrue on the date a party contests a citation, at an interest rate calculated at the current underpayment rate. Prescribes requirements for the Secretary's evaluation of state occupational safety and health plans as well as workplace health hazard evaluations by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Requires a state that has an approved plan for the development and enforcement of occupational safety and health standards to amend its plan to conform to the requirements of this Act within 12 months after enactment of this Act.

Date: 2011-01-05
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to include within the meaning of the term member of the Special Exposure Cohort a Department of Energy (DOE) employee, DOE contractor employee, or atomic weapons employee who was so employed for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days before January 1, 2006, at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California. Provides that a claim that an individual qualifies for compensation or benefits under such Act shall be considered notwithstanding any denial of any other claim for compensation with respect to such individual.

Date: 2011-01-06
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Law
Worker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires Act of 2011 - Requires the Secretary of Labor to promulgate an interim final standard regulating occupational exposure to combustible dust hazards, which shall apply to manufacturing, processing, blending, conveying, repackaging, and handling of combustible particulate solids and their dusts (including organic dusts, plastics, sulfur, wood, rubber, furniture, textiles, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, fibers, dyes, coal, metals, and fossil fuels), but shall not apply to processes already covered by the occupational safety and health standard on grain facilities. Requires such standard to be based on portions of the National Fire Protection Association Standards in effect upon enactment of this Act that: (1) apply to existing facilities; or (2) call for source and dust emission control technologies. Requires such standard also to provide requirements for: (1) a hazard assessment to identify, evaluate, and control combustible dust hazards; (2) a written program that includes provisions for hazardous dust inspection, testing, hot work, ignition control, and housekeeping; (3) engineering controls, administrative controls, and operating procedures; (4) workplace inspection and housekeeping to prevent accumulation of combustible dust in places of employment in depths that can present explosion, deflagration, or other fire hazards, including safe methods of dust removal; (5) participation of employees and their representatives in hazard assessment, development of and compliance with the written program, incident investigation, and other elements of hazard management; and (6) providing safety and health information and annual training to managers and employees and their representatives. Requires the interim final standard to take effect 30 days after its issuance, and remain in effect until a final standard becomes effective, except that it may include a reasonable phase-in period for implementation of required engineering controls. Requires the Secretary to issue: (1) a proposed rule for regulating combustible dust explosions that includes the major elements contained in the interim final standard, and (2) a final rule three years after issuance of a proposed rule.

Date: 2011-02-08
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Ensuring Worker Safety Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act to revise requirements for the Secretary of Labor's continuing evaluation of approved state occupational safety and health plans. Requires: (1) the review of state plans to include an assessment of whether a state continues to meet certain conditions for the approval of such plans; and (2) the Secretary to determine whether a state that fails to comply substantially with the provisions of a plan should be given the opportunity to remedy such deficiencies. Prescribes general requirements for the provision to a state of such an opportunity. Requires the Comptroller General periodically to review and assess: (1) whether state plans to develop and enforce safety and health standards are at least as effective as federal occupational safety and health (OSHA) program standards in preventing occupational injuries, illnesses and deaths, and investigating discrimination complaints; (2) the effectiveness of the Secretary's oversight of such plans; and (3) the adequacy of the Secretary's investigations in response to Complaints About State Plan Administration (CASPA) as well as whether policy issues have been identified and corrective actions fully implemented by each state.

Date: 2011-02-09
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
EEOICPA Amendment Act of 2011 - Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to require the President to establish an Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health. Requires the Board to advise the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Energy (DOE), and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the review and approval of the site exposure matrix (SEM) used to determine the eligibility of DOE contractor employee claims for compensation for illnesses resulting from exposure to toxic substances.

Date: 2011-03-10
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2011 - Amends the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund until 19 years after enactment of this Act. Prescribes additional periods of required presence in an affected area during atmospheric nuclear testing for individuals filing leukemia or specified disease claims. Increases the amount of compensation an individual filing a claim may receive to $150,000. Expands "affected area" to include Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and New Mexico, as well as any county in Arizona, Nevada, or Utah. Extends to December 31, 1990, the period during which an individual employed at any time in a uranium mine or uranium mill is made eligible to receive compensation for a disease claim due to radiation exposure. Makes a core driller eligible to receive compensation upon filing of a disease claim. Makes miners, core drillers, and ore transporters who suffer renal cancer or any other chronic renal disease, including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury, eligible for compensation due to exposure to radiation while on the job. Requires the Attorney General to accept written affidavits meeting specified requirements regarding employment history, physical presence in an affected area, or participation at a nuclear testing site in determining the eligibility of claimants. Extends until 19 years after enactment of this Act the statute of limitations for the filing of such claims. Increases from 2% to 10% of the payment received by a claimant the maximum amount of attorneys fees that can be charged for the filing of an initial claim. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the National Institute of Environmental Health Services, to establish a program of grants to institutions of higher education to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling among non-occupationally exposed individuals, including family members of uranium miners and millers. Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to include as a member of the Special Exposure Cohort entitled to compensation with respect to chronic beryllium disease under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program any Department of Energy (DOE) employee or contractor who contracted cancer after beginning employment between January 1, 1942, and December 31, 1990, in a uranium mine or mill located in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, or any other state the Attorney General includes.

Date: 2011-04-12
Topic: Labor (Worker Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment