[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1661 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1661

To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to provide for 
uniform warnings on personal protective equipment for occupational use, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            November 16 (legislative day, November 2), 1993

  Mr. Durenberger (for himself and Mr. Pell) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and 
                            Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to provide for 
uniform warnings on personal protective equipment for occupational use, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Worker Protection Warnings Act of 
1993''.

SEC. 2. REFERENCE.

    Whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 
of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provisions, the 
reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other 
provision of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 
651 et seq.).

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) the absence of uniform warnings for personal protective 
        equipment for occupational use risks causes confusion among 
        employers and their employees concerning the proper use and 
        limitations of such equipment and increases worker exposure to 
        workplace injuries and illnesses from lack of proper worker 
        training and consequent misuse of such equipment; and
            (2) the absence of Federal standards specifying warnings 
        for personal protective equipment for occupational uses leaves 
        questions as to the adequacy of such warnings to be determined 
        by different and frequently inconsistent State requirements, 
        prohibitions, and court decisions, placing an undue burden on 
        interstate commerce in such equipment.

SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this Act to--
            (1) increase workplace safety by enhancing employer and 
        employee understanding of the proper use and limits of personal 
        protective equipment for occupational use through occupational 
        safety and health standards that establish specific coherent 
        and effective uniform warnings for such equipment; and
            (2) expressly preempt the application of any State 
        standards, requirements, or prohibitions, whether established 
        by statute, regulation, court decisions or otherwise, in any 
        determination of the adequacy of such uniform warnings.

SEC. 5. UNIFORM WARNINGS FOR PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR 
              OCCUPATIONAL USE.

    Section 6 (29 U.S.C. 655) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(h)(1) Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of 
this subsection, the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of 
the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, shall issue a 
final regulation establishing, as occupational safety and health 
standards, uniform warnings for personal protective equipment for 
occupational use.
    ``(2) For purposes of this Act--
            ``(A) the term `personal protective equipment' means 
        equipment intended for use by workers in a workplace subject to 
        this Act to protect the eyes, face, head, hearing, extremities, 
        or respiratory tract from workplace hazards or to function as 
        protective clothing, as a protective shield or barrier, as 
        personal fall arrest or ladder safety devices, or as safety and 
        health monitoring and instrumentation devices; and
            ``(B) the term `warning' means any statement that--
                    ``(i) directs or describes one or more actions, 
                procedures, or prohibitions relating to the use of 
                personal protective equipment; and
                    ``(ii) if not complied with, may result in personal 
                injury or death to the user of the equipment.
    ``(3) Each standard promulgated under paragraph (1) shall prescribe 
the full text of each warning described in such paragraph and the means 
by which the manufacturer or other seller of the personal protective 
equipment shall communicate each such warning to the employer using 
such equipment.
    ``(4) Each standard issued under paragraph (1) for personal 
protective equipment shall--
            ``(A) require the employer to communicate each prescribed 
        warning to each employee using the personal protective 
        equipment, and to train, educate and instruct each such 
        employee in--
                    ``(i) the proper use of such personal protective 
                equipment;
                    ``(ii) how each such warning applies in such 
                employer's workplace and such employee's work 
                environment; and
                    ``(iii) the consequences of failing to observe each 
                such warning;
            ``(B) become effective 6 months after the date on which 
        such standards is published in the Federal Register; and
            ``(C) exempt from coverage under such standard warnings for 
        personal protective equipment placed in interstate commerce by 
        its manufacturer before the date such standard becomes 
        effective unless such manufacturer or other seller of such 
        equipment communicates the prescribed warnings to the employer 
        using the equipment as required in such standard.
    ``(5) The Secretary, in promulgating standards pursuant to 
paragraph (1), shall consider such factors as the experience of 
manufacturers using particular warnings and the means of communication 
of such warnings, as well as the opinions of workers, human factors 
experts, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, and 
other experts as to the effectiveness of such warnings and respective 
means of communication. Information on such factors and opinions shall 
be submitted as written data and comments during submission under 
subsection (b)(2) of this section.''.

SEC. 6. PREEMPTION.

    (a) In General.--Section 4 (29 U.S.C. 653) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``(c) Nothing is this section shall be construed to negate the 
intent of Congress to occupy or regulate the entire field of warnings 
for personal protective equipment for occupational use.''.
    (b) Other Standards.--Section 18 (29 U.S.C. 667) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(i)(1) After an occupational safety and health standard issued 
under section 6(h) becomes effective, no State, or political 
subdivision of a State, may, by legislation, regulation, court 
decision, or otherwise establish or continue in effect, any standard, 
requirement, or prohibition for any personal protective equipment which 
has the force and effect of law which is different from, or in addition 
to, any requirement set forth in any occupational safety and health 
standard promulgated by the Secretary under section 6(h).
    ``(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c)(2), the 
Secretary may not approve a plan submitted by a State under subsection 
(b), or any modification thereof, if such plan includes any requirement 
that is different from, or is in addition to, any requirement set forth 
in any occupational safety and health standard promulgated by the 
Secretary under section 6(h).''.

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