Short title

This Act may be cited as the

Katrina Worker Safety and Filing Flexibility Act of 2005

Sense of Congress concerning the safety and health of emergency response, recovery, and reconstruction workers

(a)

Findings

Congress finds that— (1)individuals working in emergency response, recovery, and reconstruction in the disaster areas in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in the wake of Hurricane Katrina face numerous and uncommon worksite and environmental hazards; (2)workers may be facing hazards with which they have little prior experience or training, and typical communication channels may not be as effective as they are under normal circumstances; (3)the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (referred to in this section as OSHA) has deployed safety and health professionals to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to provide technical assistance to emergency response, recovery, and reconstruction workers in their ongoing cleanup efforts along the Gulf Coast of the United States; and (4)OSHA’s efforts to protect first responders and emergency response, recovery and reconstruction workers are being guided by the Worker Health and Safety Annex plan, as established in the National Response Plan that was recently adopted by the Department of Homeland Security. (b)

Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that— (1)as soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act OSHA should— (A)implement all of the relevant provisions of the Worker Health and Safety Annex plan; (B)in addition to making public service announcements, develop additional methods to provide workers and employers with the information they need to maintain a safe workplace, including their rights and obligations under health and safety laws, such as working through OSHA’s Strategic Partnerships, and working with contractors and labor organizations to reach all employers and workers involved in the emergency response, recovery, and reconstruction; (C)work to communicate with immigrant and non-English speaking workers and employers about safety rights, resources, and requirements; (D)deploy sufficient personnel to the region to successfully carry out their mission, including enforcement of and education about safety standards and rights; (E)work with State, local, and tribal governments to ensure the availability and management of all available safety resources for emergency response, recovery, and reconstruction workers; (F)work with other Federal agencies such as Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Chemical Safety Hazard Board, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Transportation to identify hazards, determine the optimum hazard abatement solutions and communicate those solutions to potentially endangered workers and employers, and to identify the need for personal protective equipment for employees engaged in clean-up of hazardous materials and, when possible, coordinate and facilitate distribution of such equipment; and (G)work with the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to provide technical assistance and training for workers covered by Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standards; and (2)records of the identity of individuals involved in the recovery and rebuilding efforts should be maintained, and therefore all entities engaged in these efforts are encouraged to maintain such records, and, if maintained, to forward such records and rosters to OSHA or the appropriate agency for collection and central storage.

Communications, enforcement, and training

There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to enable the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to pay for needed communications, including public service announcements on radio and television, to provide for additional personnel, to enforce safety standards, and to provide needed health and safety training and resources to affected workers and employers.

Reporting

Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor jointly with the Administrator of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, shall provide a briefing to the members of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the members of the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives concerning the progress made toward providing necessary personnel to enforce safety standards providing needed health and safety training and resources to affected workers and employers relating to Hurricane Katrina reconstruction and coordinating efforts with other agencies including Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Such briefing shall include a report on the resources expended or needed to implement such measures. Not later than 9 months after such date of enactment, the Secretary of Labor and the Administrator of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration shall deliver a written report to Congress summarizing the success in achieving such goals.

Extension of deadlines for LMRDA

With respect to— (1)any labor organization or employer, the principal place of business of which is located in an area declared a disaster area by the President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), related to Hurricane Katrina, or whose financial records, or any potion thereof, are located in such an area; or (2)any officer or employee of a labor organization who resides in such an area or whose financial records, or any potion thereof, are located in such an area; and

that is required to file an annual financial report pursuant to Title II of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (29 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) by September 30, 2005, the Secretary of Labor shall extend the deadline for filing such reports as appropriate, but in no case to a date that is earlier than March 31, 2006.

Department of Labor inspector general audit and report

(a)

In general

The Inspector General of the Department of Labor (referred to in this section as the Inspector General) shall conduct an audit and investigation of each program carried out by the Department of Labor that includes response and recovery activities related to Hurricane Katrina. (b)

Weekly report

Not less frequently than once a week, the Inspector General shall provide a report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives listing the audits and investigations initiated pursuant to subsection (a). (c)

Status report

Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this section, and biannually thereafter until the audits and investigations described in subsection (a) are complete, the Inspector General shall report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives on the full status of the activities of the Inspector General under this section. (d)

Cooperative ventures

In carrying out this section, the Inspector General is encouraged to enter into cooperative ventures with Inspectors General of other Federal agencies.