To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to provide for adjudicative flexibility with regard to the filing of a notice of contest by an employer following the issuance of a citation or proposed assessment of a penalty by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to provide for greater efficiency at the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, to provide for judicial deference to conclusions of law determined by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission with respect to an order issued by the Commission, and to provide for the award of attorneys' fees and costs to small employers when such employers prevail in litigation prompted by the issuance of a citation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Latest action · Jul 13, 2005 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 10, 2005
- Passed HouseJul 12, 2005
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
(Pursuant to H.Res. 351, the engrossed version of H.R. 739 sent to the Senate contains the texts of H.R. 739, H.R. 740, H.R. 741, and H.R. 742 as passed by the House on July 12, 2005.)
Title I: Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court Act of 2005 - Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court Act of 2005 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to revise a requirement that, if an employer fails to file a notice of contest within 15 working days following the issuance of a citation or proposed assessment of a penalty, the citation or assessment becomes a final order not subject to review. Provides for an exception if such failure results from mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.
Title II: Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Efficiency Act of 2005 - Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Efficiency Act of 2005 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to increase the membership of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) from three to five.
Includes an individual's legal training among possible qualifications for OSHRC membership.
Authorizes the President to extend for up to 365 days the term of an OSHRC member until a nominated successor is confirmed to serve by the Senate.
Title III: Occupational Safety and Health Independent Review of OSHA Citations Act of 2005 - Occupational Safety and Health Independent Review of OSHA Citations Act of 2005 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) to revise requirements for judicial review of orders by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), which is the agency for independent review of citations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) against businesses for violations of the OSH Act.
Requires deference to be given to reasonable conclusions of OSHRC (rather than OSHA) with respect to all questions of law that are subject to agency deference under governing court precedent.
Title IV: Occupational Safety and Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act of 2005 - Occupational Safety and Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act of 2005 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) to provide for the award of attorney's fees and costs to certain small employers when they prevail in specified administrative or court proceedings.
Requires such awards to prevailing employers if they had not more than 100 employees and a net worth of not more than $7 million at the time of: (1) the initiation of the administrative proceedings (in the case of an adversary adjudication); or (2) the filing of the action addressed in the court proceedings (in the case of judicial review of an administrative action).
Provides for such awards without regard to whether the position of the Secretary of Labor or the Federal Government was substantially justified or whether special circumstances make an award unjust.
Recorded votes 1
Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.
| Roll call | Question | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House 369 | On Passage | Passed256–164 | Jul 12, 2005 |
Cosponsors 23
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 10, 2005 to Apr 18, 2005, with 10 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-CA | Howard P. "Buck" McKeon | Original | Feb 10, 2005 |
| R-SC | Joe Wilson | Original | Feb 10, 2005 |
| R-OH | John A. Boehner | Original | Feb 10, 2005 |
| R-MN | John Kline | Original | Feb 10, 2005 |
| R-IL | Judy Biggert | Original | Feb 10, 2005 |
| R-TX | Randy Neugebauer | Original | Feb 10, 2005 |
| R-FL | Ric Keller | Original | Feb 10, 2005 |
| R-TX | Ron Paul | Original | Feb 10, 2005 |
| R-TX | Sam Johnson | Original | Feb 10, 2005 |
| R-MI | Vernon J. Ehlers | Original | Feb 10, 2005 |
| R-PA | Joseph R. Pitts | Mar 8, 2005 | |
| R-PR | Luis G. Fortuno | Mar 8, 2005 | |
| D-TX | Ralph M. Hall | Mar 8, 2005 | |
| R-VA | Thelma D. Drake | Mar 8, 2005 | |
| R-TX | Kenny Marchant | Mar 10, 2005 |
Actions 17
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 13, 2005Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Jul 12, 2005Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H5706-5707)
- Jul 12, 2005Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 351. (consideration: CR H5677-5686)
- Jul 12, 2005DEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 739.
- Jul 12, 2005Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Related bills 4
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HRES 351 | Providing for the consideration of the bill (H.R. 739) to amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to provide for adjudicative flexibility with regard to the filing of a notice of contest by an employer following the issuance of a citation or | Related bill | Jul 12, 2005 |
| HR 740 | Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Efficiency Act of 2005 | Related bill | Jul 12, 2005 |
| HR 741 | Occupational Safety and Health Independent Review of OSHA Citations Act of 2005 | Related bill | Jul 12, 2005 |
| HR 742 | Occupational Safety and Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act of 2005 | Related bill | Jul 12, 2005 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
- Administrative remedies
- Advice and consent of the Senate
- Civil actions and liability
- Commerce
- Congress
- Department of Labor
- Education
- Employers' liability
- Executive reorganization
- Federal officials
- Fines (Penalties)
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Health
- Higher education
- Judicial review
- Labor and Employment
- Law
- Legal education
- Legal fees
- Occupational health and safety
- Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
- Presidential appointments
- Small business
- Term limits
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 18, 2005Reported in House
- Feb 10, 2005Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.