House and Senate Democrats Attach OSHA Reforms to Miner Safety and Health Bill

Five provisions of the Protecting Americans Workers Act (PAWA), including tougher civil and criminal penalties for OSHA violations, have been attached to 100 pages of legislation primarily aimed at reforming the Mine Safety and Health Act. This new bill, the Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010 (H.R. 5663) was introduced in the House July 1. Leading members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives released a summary and discussion draft of the bill (both are attached below) on June 29, 2010.

• Strengthened whistleblower protections for workers who report injuries, illnesses or unsafe conditions to employers;
• Increased criminal penalties where workers are killed due to a safety violation, including jail time of up to 20 years;
• Increased civil penalties – the maximum for an OSHA willful violation would rise from $70,000 to $120,000, other fines would also rise and in future years would be adjusted to account for the effect of inflation;
• Preventing litigation from delaying the abatement of hazards that could lead to serious injury or death,
• Greater rights for victims of workplace incidents and their family members during investigations and enforcement actions.