Sens. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and House Small Business Chairman James M. Talent, R-Mo., today will unveil compromise legislation to reform OSHA's workplace safety inspections and limit employers' liability for safety violations.
The new legislation is a combination of previously released proposals by Gregg, Enzi and Talent, and has won the endorsement of Democratic Reps. Charles Stenholm of Texas and Cal Dooley of California, leading members of the House Democrats' moderate-to-conservative wing.
"This bicameral, bipartisan proposal will jump start the OSHA reform effort and move us toward enacting a piece of legislation that will enhance worker safety by having OSHA use a cooperative, rather than confrontational, approach," Gregg said in a statement.
The bill would shield from liability employers who prove they acted responsibly to protect workers from workplace injuries, and would allow civil penalties against employees who violate workplace safety laws.
The bill also includes the Teamwork for Employees and Managers Act, or TEAM Act, which Republicans say would give companies more leeway to establish employee committees to advise management on productivity issues. President Clinton earlier this year threatened to veto the TEAM Act, arguing current law already allows management to form such committees.
The core OSHA reform bill would prohibit the citation of companies that violate workplace safety rules "unless the employer knew, or with the exercise of reasonable diligence, would have known, of the presence of an alleged violation," according to a bill summary.
No citation could be issued if: an employer provided employees with proper training and equipment to prevent a violation; if the employer established and communicated work rules designed to prevent a violation, and has disciplined employees not following those rules; if an employee's failure to follow a work rule led to the violation; and if the employer had taken "any reasonable measures" to discover potential violations.
The legislation also provides that "any citation given to an employer shall be vacated if the employer demonstrates the employees were protected with alternative methods that are equally or more protective than the methods required."
Employees, under the proposal, could be assessed civil penalties for willfully violating protective equipment requirements.
In an effort to eliminate penalties for paperwork violations, the bill would prohibit civil penalties related to posting or paperwork requirements, except in cases of fraud.
A commission set up by the plan would have authority to review all civil penalties.
The bill also would require scientific review of workplace safety regulations by the National Academy of Sciences, which would make written recommendations of proposed standards.
The bill would allow companies to hire private sector consultants to conduct inspections of their workplaces to identify possible violations of workplace safety laws.
Within 30 days of the first inspection, the consultant would return to see if the workplace is in compliance to earn a compliance certificate.
If an employer earns such a certificate, "the employer shall be exempt from assessment of any civil penalty for two years unless the employer has not made good faith effort to remain in compliance," according to the bill summary.
NEXT STORY: Avoiding Another Shutdown