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The House Education and Labor Committee approved July 21 legislation that would increase criminal and civil penalties for OSHA violations, strengthen whistleblower protections and speed up hazard abatement. The Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act (H.R. 5663), passed on a largely party line vote of 30-17, would also provide stronger enforcement tools to the Department of Labor to enforce mine safety regulations.
During markup of the bill, committee Republicans complained they were excluded from the legislative process, and argued that the OSHA reform provisions, which they largely opposed, should be considered separately from reforms affecting the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
The legislation affecting OSHA would provide victims of accidents and their family members greater rights during investigations and enforcement actions. In addition, OSHA would be allowed to assert concurrent enforcement jurisdiction in states with OSHA state plans, if the state is failing to maintain protections for workers that is at least as effective as federal OSHA.
Committee Democrats approved a number of amendments to the original bill and they are available at: http://edlabor.house.gov/markups/. Companion legislation to H.R. 5663 has not been introduced in the Senate.
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| MinerSafetyandHealthActof2010.pdf | 303.77 KB |
