Yesterday (4-23-09), the Democrats re-introduced the Protecting America’s Workers Act – a bill that would reform several areas within OSHA.  Introduction of this bill was expected and upon first review was what we expected.  The full version of the bill is not yet available; however I am providing some information from the press release which is a summary of the new bill – HR 2067:

Specifically, the Protecting America’s Workers Act:
Protects More Workers
 · Expands OSHA coverage to include state and local public employees and federal government workers.
 · Expands coverage to millions of other workers inadequately covered such as airline and railroad employees, and Department of Energy contractors
Strengthens Health and Safety Penalties
· Raises civil penalties and indexes those penalties to inflation.  
· Establishes mandatory minimum penalties for violations involving worker deaths. 
· Allows felony prosecutions against employers who commit willful violations that result in death or serious bodily injury, and extends such penalties to responsible corporate officers.  
· Requires OSHA to investigate all cases of death and serious injuries (i.e. incidents that result in the hospitalization of 2 or more employees).
Improves Whistleblower Protections
· Codifies regulations that give workers the right to refuse to do hazardous work.  
· Clarifies that employees cannot be discriminated against for reporting injuries, illnesses or unsafe conditions, and brings the procedures for investigating and adjudicating discrimination complaints into line with other safety and health and whistleblower laws
 Allows Workers and Their Families to Hold Dangerous Employers Accountable
· Provides workers and employee representatives the right to contest OSHA’s failure to issue citations, classification of its citations, and proposed penalties. 
· Gives injured workers, their families and families of workers who died in work-related incidents the right to meet with investigators, receive copies of citations, and to have an opportunity to make a statement before any settlement negotiations.
· Clarifies that the time spent by an employee accompanying an OSHA inspector during an investigation is considered time worked, for which a worker must be compensated. 
· Prohibits OSHA from designating a citation as an “unclassified citation” where an employer can avoid the potential consequences of a “willful” violation, the most serious violation. 
· Allows any worker or their representative to object to a modification or withdrawal of a citation, and entitles them to a hearing before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.