APRIL 30, 2007

Identical OSHA reform legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate. The bills, H.R. 2049 (Woolsey D-CA ) and S1244 (Kennedy D-MA and Murray D-WA), would, among other items:

1. Institute minimum penalties of $50,000 per violation in the case of fatalities or serious injuries; with maximum penalties up to $250,000;

2. Provide significant increases in other penalty provisions;

3. Provide for felony (rather than misdemeanor) criminal sanctions for willful violations that lead to death or serious injury of a worker;

4. Define “Serious bodily injury” as bodily injury that involves a substantial risk of death, protracted unconsciousness, protracted and obvious physical disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ or mental faculty;

5. Prohibit the Secretary from designating a citation as an unclassified citation;

6. Provide new participation rights to accident victims and their representatives during investigations and settlement negotiations regarding serious injuries or fatalities;

7. Require advance notice to workers if the Secretary intends to withdraw or modify a citation;

8. Encompass more workers within its jurisdiction, including state employees;

9. Require OSHA to investigate all covered worker’s deaths or serious injuries;

10. Require employers to enhance their efforts to advise workers of their rights under OSHA;

11. Require employers to provide workers with all safety equipment, including personal protective devices;

12. Update whistleblower protections and provide administrative procedures to process complaints.

Copies of the bill can be found at
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:h2049ih.txt.pdf

For further information, please contact John Austin (jaustin@pattonboggs.com or 202-457-6167), or Henry Chajet (hchajet@pattonboggs.com or 202-457-6511).

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The Patton Boggs Health and Safety Law Group consists of attorneys who have resolved client problems in environmental, energy, natural resource, and safety and health law since the late 1960s. With lawyers in Washington, D.C., Alaska, Colorado, Texas, New Jersey, New York, and Northern Virginia, we have experience with EPA, OSHA, MSHA, NIOSH, DOT, OPS, Coast Guard, NTSB, FAA, FDA, CSP, the Chemical Safety Board, and almost every other federal and state government health and safety agency in the United States and throughout the world. We speak a variety of languages; have backgrounds in business, science, engineering, industry, and government; and combine preventive law counseling with courtroom and lobbying expertise to achieve results. For more information go to: http://www.pattonboggs.com or contact Henry Chajet (hchajet@pattonboggs.com) at 202-457-6511, Mark Savit (msavit@pattonboggs.com) at 202-457-5269, Cole Wist (cwist@pattonboggs.com) at 303-894-6159, John Austin (jaustin@pattonboggs.com) at 202-457-6167 or Willa Perlmutter (wperlmutter@pattonboggs.com) at 202-457-5223.

Important Note: This ALERT does not constitute legal advice and counsel should be consulted regarding specific factual situations which will determine the compliance advice applicable to any particular question regarding the subject matter. If you would like additional information or advice and counsel on training, compliance or audits, please let us know. 

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