[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1439 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1439

        To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 15, 1999

   Mr. Ballenger (for himself, Mr. Hall of Texas, and Mr. Stenholm) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                      Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
        To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

    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 ``Safety and Health Audit Promotion 
and Whistleblower Improvement Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. SAFETY AND HEALTH AUDIT REPORT.

    Section 8(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
U.S.C. 657(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(4)(A)(i) Records, reports, or other information obtained or 
prepared in connection with safety and health audits conducted by or 
for the employer shall not be required to be disclosed in any 
inspection, investigation, or enforcement proceeding pursuant to this 
Act except as provided in clause (ii). Such records, reports, or other 
information may be disclosed in the course of an inspection, 
investigation, or enforcement proceeding to the extent that the 
employer expressly authorizes the disclosure.
    ``(ii) Such records, reports, or other information may be required 
to be disclosed to the extent that--
            ``(I) the record, report, or other information is sought as 
        part of a criminal proceeding or fatality investigation; or
            ``(II) the record, report, or other information is sought 
        for purposes of establishing the cause of a particular alleged 
        violation, but only if the Secretary establishes, on evidence 
        independent of such records, reports, or other information, 
        that the condition or practice of the employer is not in 
        compliance with the requirements of this Act for which such 
        record, report, or other information was prepared or obtained.
    ``(iii) Any record, report, or other information disclosed pursuant 
to subclause (II) of clause (ii) shall be admissible as evidence in any 
civil or administrative proceeding only to the extent that the 
Secretary establishes that the employer has not acted in good faith 
with respect to the audit for which such record, report, or other 
information was prepared or obtained.
    ``(B) As used in subparagraph (A)--
            ``(i) the term ``safety and health audit'' means an 
        evaluation of one or more conditions, practices, processes, 
        operations, or facilities or management systems related to such 
        conditions, practices, processes, operations, or facilities 
        that is designed to identify and prevent noncompliance with 
        this Act or hazards or potential hazards to workers. Such term 
        does not include medical records or records of employee 
        exposure to potentially toxic materials or records of work-
        related death, injuries, or illnesses required to be maintained 
        under this subsection;
            ``(ii) the term ``good faith'' means that the employer has 
        undertaken an appropriate process of abating noncompliance, 
        hazards, or potential hazards identified by the audit which may 
        include a phased schedule of actions.''.

SEC. 3. DISCRIMINATION.

    Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
U.S.C. 660(c)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``thirty'' and inserting ``60''; and
            (2) by striking the last 2 sentences of paragraph (2) and 
        striking paragraph (3) and inserting:
    ``(3) If upon such investigation, the Secretary determines that 
provisions of this subsection have been violated, the Secretary may 
file a complaint with the Commission. If within 20 days of the 
Secretary's receipt of the complaint the Secretary does not file a 
complaint on behalf of the complainant with the Commission, the 
complainant may file the complaint with the Commission. If either the 
Secretary or the complainant files a complaint with the Commission, the 
Commission shall provide an opportunity for a hearing in accordance 
with section 554 of title 5, United States Code but without regard to 
subsection (d)(3) of such section. The Commission shall thereafter 
issue an order, based upon findings of fact. Such order shall become 
final 30 days after its issuance.
    ``(4) The Commission shall have authority in proceedings under 
paragraph (3) to order such relief as may be appropriate, including 
rehiring or reinstatement of the employee to the employee's former 
position with back pay and interest.
    ``(5) Any person adversely affected by an order of the Commission 
under paragraph (3) (or the Secretary in a case arising from a 
complaint brought by the Secretary) may obtain review of the 
Commission's order in accordance with subsection (a) or (b), as 
appropriate.''.
                                 <all>