[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1459 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1459

 To authorize the Secretary of Labor to establish voluntary protection 
                               programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 15, 1999

Mr. Petri (for himself and Mr. Andrews) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Secretary of Labor to establish voluntary protection 
                               programs.

    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 ``Models of Safety and Health 
Excellence Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) since 1982 the Occupational Safety and Health 
        Administration has conducted voluntary protection programs 
        designed to recognize excellence in occupational safety and 
        health;
            (2) Such programs have fostered partnerships between 
        employers, employees and the Occupational Safety and Health 
        Administration to improve workplace safety and health through 
        the implementation of effective safety and health programs;
            (3) employers participating in such programs provide their 
        employees with a level of protection that substantially exceeds 
        the level of protection provided by compliance with the 
        requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970; 
        and
            (4) as a result of these efforts, employers participating 
        in such programs have experienced injury and illness rates that 
        are on average less than half of their respective industry 
        averages, sparing thousands of America's working families 
        needless workplace tragedies.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) recognize the exemplary leadership of voluntary 
        protection programs participants in improving occupational 
        safety and health at workplaces;
            (2) encourage other employers to adopt such approaches to 
        protect their workers; and
            (3) to codify such programs to ensure that the Occupational 
        Safety and Health Administration continues to develop them in 
        the future.

SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY PROTECTION PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Labor or the Secretary's 
authorized representative shall establish and carry out voluntary 
protection programs (in this section referred to as ``programs'') to 
promote and recognize the achievement of worksites that demonstrate 
excellence in workplace health and safety. The Secretary may choose, in 
limited situations, to alter the application requirements in order to 
expand the scope of worksites participating in the programs to include 
nonstandard worksites such as short term construction sites and mobile 
worksites. The Secretary shall encourage the participants in the 
programs to share occupational safety and health expertise with other 
employers. The Secretary shall also encourage the participation of 
small business (as that term is defined by the Administrator of the 
Small Business Administration) in the programs by implementing outreach 
and assistance initiatives in cooperation with program participants and 
shall develop program requirements that address the needs of small 
businesses. The Secretary may provide for the development of equivalent 
programs in State plan States.
    (b) Program Requirements.--A program shall include the following:
            (1) Application.--Applications for participation in the 
        programs must be signed by the worksite's management and to 
        demonstrate sufficient employee support. Employers who 
        volunteer under the programs shall be required to submit an 
        application to the Secretary of Labor demonstrating that the 
        worksite, with respect to which the application is made, meets 
        such requirements as the Secretary may require for 
        participation in the program. Requirements for excellence shall 
        include demonstrations of exemplary comprehensive programs to 
        assure--
                    (A) top level management leadership and active and 
                meaningful employee involvement;
                    (B) systematic assessment of hazards;
                    (C) comprehensive hazard prevention, mitigation, 
                and control programs;
                    (D) employee safety and health training; and
                    (E) safety and health program evaluation.
            (2) Onsite evaluations.--There shall be onsite evaluations 
        of each permanent worksite by representatives of the Secretary 
        and others from the private and public sector as determined by 
        the Secretary.
            (3) Information.--Employers who are approved by the 
        Secretary for participation in a program shall assure the 
        Secretary that such information as is necessary to evaluate the 
        employer's application and continued participation in the 
        program is made available to the Secretary.
            (4) Reevaluations.--Periodic reevaluations by the Secretary 
        shall be required for continued participation in a program.
    (c) Program Administration.--
            (1) Exemptions.--A worksite which has been selected to 
        participate in a program shall, while participating in the 
        program, be exempt from inspections or investigations under the 
        Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, except that the 
        exemption shall not apply to inspections or investigations 
        arising from employee complaints, fatalities, catastrophes, or 
        significant toxic releases.
            (2) Program acceptance and continued participation.--
        Decisions regarding acceptance into the program and continued 
        participation in the program will be based on the applicant's 
        superior safety and health performance, as determined by the 
        Secretary or the Secretary's authorized representatives.
            (3) Program participation.--Decisions regarding 
        participation in a program are in the sole discretion of the 
        Secretary or an authorized representative of the Secretary.
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