[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1824 Introduced in House (IH)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 1824

To authorize the Secretary of Labor to establish volunteer programs for 
          the protection of employees of occupational hazards.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 13, 1995

   Mr. Hayes (for himself and Mr. Baker of Louisiana) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Economic and 
                       Educational Opportunities

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Labor to establish volunteer programs for 
          the protection of employees of occupational hazards.
    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 ``Voluntary Protection Authorization 
Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. COOPERATIVE PROGRAMS.

    The Secretary of Labor shall establish cooperative programs to 
encourage the establishment of comprehensive safety and health 
management systems which include--
            (1) requirements for systematic assessment of hazards;
            (2) comprehensive hazard prevention, mitigation, and 
        control programs;
            (3) active and meaningful management, leadership, and 
        employee participation in the voluntary program described in 
        section 3; and
            (4) employee safety and health training.

SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY PROTECTION PROGRAM.

    The Secretary of Labor shall establish a voluntary protection 
program to encourage the achievement of excellence in both the 
technical and managerial protection of employees from occupational 
hazards as follows:
            (1) Volunteers for the program shall be required to submit 
        an application to the Secretary demonstrating that the worksite 
        with respect to which the application is made meets such 
        qualifications as the Secretary may prescribe for participation 
        in the program.
            (2) There shall be onsite evaluations by representatives of 
        the Secretary to ensure a high level of protection of 
        employees. Such onsite visits shall not result in enforcement 
        citations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 
        unless representatives of the Secretary observe hazards for 
        which no agreement can be made to abate such hazards in a 
        reasonable amount of time.
            (3) Volunteers who are approved for participation by the 
        Secretary shall assure the Secretary that information about 
        their safety and health program shall be made readily available 
        to the Secretary to share with employers.
            (4) Continued participation in the program will require 
        periodic reevaluations by the Secretary.
            (5) A site with respect to which a program has been 
        approved shall during participation in the program be exempt 
        from inspections and certain paperwork requirements to be 
        determined by the Secretary, except inspections or 
        investigations arising from employee complaints, fatalities, 
        catastrophes, or significant toxic releases.
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