To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to authorize the Secretary of Labor to prevent employee exposure to imminent dangers.
Mr. BISHOP of New York (for himself, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. HARE, Mr. KUCINICH, and Mr. SABLAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to authorize the Secretary of Labor to prevent employee exposure to imminent dangers.
(a) Procedures- Section 13 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 662) is amended--
(1) by striking subsections (a), (b), and (c) and inserting the following:
‘(a)(1) If the Secretary determines, on the basis of an inspection or investigation under this Act, that 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 or serious physical harm or permanent impairment of the health or functional capacity of employees if not corrected immediately or before the imminence of such danger can be eliminated through the enforcement procedures otherwise provided by this Act, the Secretary shall inform the employer and the affected employees and their representative of such imminent danger and shall request that the condition or practice be corrected immediately or that employees be immediately removed from exposure to such danger.
‘(2) The Secretary shall not prevent 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 or, where a cessation of operations is necessary, to permit such to be accomplished in a safe and orderly manner.
‘(3) If the employer refuses to comply with the request under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall immediately issue an order requiring the employer to cause all persons, except those employees referred to in paragraph (2), to be withdrawn from, and to be prohibited from entering, such area until an authorized representative of the Secretary determines that such imminent danger and the conditions or practices which caused such imminent danger no longer exist. The issuance of an order under this subsection shall not preclude the issuance of a citation under section 9 or the proposing of a penalty under section 17. The fact that an order under paragraph (3) has been issued shall be noted in any citation issued pursuant to section 9 with respect to the hazard involved.
‘(4) Each finding made and order issued under this section shall be given promptly to the employer by the person making such finding or order. All such findings and orders shall be in writing, and shall be signed by the person making them and shall contain a detailed description of the conditions or practices which cause and constitute an imminent danger and a description of the area of the place of employment from which persons must be withdrawn and prohibited from entering.
‘(5) Any order issued pursuant to subsection (a) may be modified or terminated by an authorized representative of the Secretary following consultation with the employer and any representative of the affected employees. Any order issued under subsection (a) shall remain in effect until vacated, modified, or terminated by the Secretary, or modified or vacated by the Commission pursuant to subsection (d).’; and
(2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (b) and after such subsection inserting the following:
‘(c) No person shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has refused to perform a duty that has been identified as the source of an imminent danger by any order issued under subsection (a). The right to refuse to perform such a duty shall be in addition to any other right to refuse to perform hazardous work that is afforded to employees by this Act, by standards or regulations issued pursuant to this Act, by contract, or by other applicable law.
‘(d)(1) Any employer notified of an order under subsection (a) or any affected employees or representative of affected employees notified of the issuance, modification, or termination of such an order may apply to the Commission within 30 days of such notification for reinstatement, modification or vacation of such order. The Commission shall forthwith afford an opportunity for a hearing (in accordance with section 554 of title 5, United States Code, but without regard to subsection (a)(3) of such section) and thereafter shall issue an order, based upon findings of fact, vacating, affirming, modifying, or terminating the Secretary’s order. The Commission may not grant temporary relief from the issuance of any order under subsection (a).
‘(2) The Commission shall take whatever action is necessary to expedite proceedings under this subsection.
‘(e) The Secretary may institute a civil action for relief, including a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or any other appropriate order in the district court of the United States for the district in which a place of employment is located or in which the employer has his principal office, whenever such employer or his agent violates or fails or refuses to comply with any order or decision issued under this section.’.
(b) Penalties- Section 17 of such Act is amended by redesignating subsections (h) through (l) as subsections (i) through (m), respectively, and by inserting after subsection (g) the following:
‘(h) Any employer who fails to remove all employees from exposure to a hazard referenced in orders issued under section 13(a) shall be assessed a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $50,000 for each day during which an employee continues to be exposed to the hazard, unless the Commission or the district court determines the condition or practice is not of such nature as to be covered by section 13(a).’.
