Voluntary Protection Program Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1956 To authorize the Department of Labor’s voluntary protection program. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 28, 2019 Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee (for himself, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. KHANNA, and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To authorize the Department of Labor’s voluntary protection program. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voluntary Protection 4 Program Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. VOLUNTARY PROTECTION PROGRAM. 6 (a) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of 7 Labor shall establish a program of entering into coopera- 8 tive agreements with employers to encourage the establish- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1956.IH H1956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1956 IH ment of comprehensive safety and health management sys- 1 tems that include— 2 (1) requirements for systematic assessment of 3 hazards; 4 (2) comprehensive hazard prevention, mitiga- 5 tion, and control programs; 6 (3) active and meaningful management and em- 7 ployee participation in the voluntary program de- 8 scribed in subsection (b); and 9 (4) employee safety and health training. 10 (b) VOLUNTARY PROTECTION PROGRAM.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 12 establish and carry out a voluntary protection pro- 13 gram (consistent with subsection (a)) to encourage 14 excellence and recognize the achievement of excel- 15 lence in both the technical and managerial protec- 16 tion of employees from occupational hazards. 17 (2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The voluntary 18 protection program shall include the following: 19 (A) APPLICATION.—Employers who volun- 20 teer under the program shall be required to 21 submit an application to the Secretary of Labor 22 demonstrating that the worksite with respect to 23 which the application is made meets such re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1956.IH H1956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1956 IH quirements as the Secretary of Labor may re- 1 quire for participation in the program. 2 (B) ONSITE EVALUATIONS.—There shall 3 be onsite evaluations by representatives of the 4 Secretary of Labor to ensure a high level of 5 protection of employees. The onsite visits shall 6 not result in enforcement of citations under the 7 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 8 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.). 9 (C) INFORMATION.—Employers who are 10 approved by the Secretary of Labor for partici- 11 pation in the program shall assure the Sec- 12 retary of Labor that information about the 13 safety and health program shall be made read- 14 ily available to the Secretary of Labor to share 15 with employees. 16 (D) REEVALUATIONS.—Periodic reevalua- 17 tions by the Secretary of Labor of the employ- 18 ers shall be required for continued participation 19 in the program. 20 (3) MONITORING.—To ensure proper controls 21 and measurement of program performance for the 22 voluntary protection program under this section, the 23 Secretary of Labor shall direct the Assistant Sec- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1956.IH H1956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1956 IH retary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health 1 to take the following actions: 2 (A) Develop a documentation policy re- 3 garding information on follow-up actions taken 4 by the regional offices of the Occupational Safe- 5 ty and Health Administration in response to fa- 6 talities and serious injuries at worksites partici- 7 pating in the voluntary protection program. 8 (B) Establish internal controls that ensure 9 consistent compliance by the regional offices of 10 the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis- 11 tration with the voluntary protection program 12 policies of the Occupational Safety and Health 13 Administration for conducting onsite reviews 14 and monitoring injury and illness rates, to en- 15 sure that only qualified worksites participate in 16 the program. 17 (C) Establish a system for monitoring the 18 performance of the voluntary protection pro- 19 gram by developing specific performance goals 20 and measures for the program. 21 (4) EXEMPTIONS.—A site with respect to which 22 a voluntary protection program has been approved 23 shall, during participation in the program, be ex- 24 empt from inspections or investigations and certain 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1956.IH H1956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1956 IH paperwork requirements to be determined by the 1 Secretary of Labor, except that this paragraph shall 2 not apply to inspections or investigations arising 3 from employee complaints, fatalities, catastrophes, 4 or significant toxic releases. 5 (5) NO PAYMENTS REQUIRED.—The Secretary 6 of Labor shall not require any form of payment for 7 an employer to qualify or participate in the vol- 8 untary protection program. 9 (c) TRANSITION.—The Secretary of Labor shall take 10 such steps as may be necessary for the orderly transition 11 from the cooperative agreements and voluntary protection 12 programs carried out by the Occupational Safety and 13 Health Administration as of the day before the date of 14 enactment of this Act, to the cooperative agreements and 15 voluntary protection program authorized under this sec- 16 tion. In making such transition, the Secretary shall ensure 17 that— 18 (1) the voluntary protection program authorized 19 under this section is based upon and consistent with 20 the voluntary protection programs carried out on the 21 day before the date of enactment of this Act; and 22 (2) each employer that, as of the day before the 23 date of enactment of this Act, had an active coopera- 24 tive agreement under the voluntary protection pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1956.IH H1956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1956 IH grams carried out by the Occupational Safety and 1 Health Administration and was in good standing 2 with respect to the duties and responsibilities under 3 such agreement, shall have the option to continue 4 participating in the voluntary protection program 5 authorized under this section. 6 (d) REGULATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION.—Not 7 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 8 the Secretary of Labor shall issue final regulations for the 9 voluntary protection program authorized under this sec- 10 tion and shall begin implementation of the program. 11 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 12 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 13 this Act such sums as may be necessary. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1956.IH H1956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS