Protecting America's Workers Act
Latest action · Aug 5, 2009 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.
- IntroducedAug 5, 2009
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Protecting America's Workers Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to expand its coverage to federal, state, and local government employees.
Authorizes the Secretary of Labor, under specified conditions, to cede OSHA jurisdiction to another federal agency with respect to certain occupational standards or regulations for such agency's employees. Declares OSHA inapplicable to working conditions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Heath Act of 1977.
Sets forth increased protections for whistle blowers under OSHA.
Sets forth provisions relating to: (1) the posting of employee rights; (2) a prohibition against the adoption or implementation of policies or practices by employers that discourage the reporting of work-related injuries or illnesses or that discriminate or provide for adverse action against any employee for reporting such injury or illness; (3) a prohibition against the loss of wages or employee benefits as a result of an employee participating in or aiding workplace inspections; (4) investigations of incidents in a place of employment resulting in a death or the hospitalization of two or more employees; (5) a prohibition against designating a citation for an occupational health and safety standard violation as an unclassified citation; (6) the rights of an employee who has sustained a work-related injury or illness that is the subject of an investigation; (7) an employer's right to contest citations and penalties; (8) the Secretary's assertion of an employer's failure to correct a serious hazard during an employer's contest to a citation; and (9) employee objections to modifications of citations.
Increases civil and criminal penalties for certain OSHA violators.
Requires a state that has an approved plan for the development and enforcement of occupational safety and health standards to amend its plan to conform to the requirements of this Act within 12 months after enactment of this Act.
Cosponsors 24
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Aug 5, 2009 to Nov 18, 2010; 19 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Al Franken | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-CA | Barbara Boxer | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-CT | Christopher J. Dodd | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-HI | Daniel K. Akaka | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-MI | Debbie Stabenow | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-NJ | Frank R. Lautenberg | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-NM | Jeff Bingaman | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-WA | Patty Murray | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-WI | Russell D. Feingold | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-IA | Tom Harkin | Original | Aug 5, 2009 |
| D-WV | John D. Rockefeller IV | Sep 10, 2009 | |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Dec 7, 2009 | |
| I-CT | Joseph I. Lieberman | Apr 30, 2010 | |
| D-IL | Roland Burris | Jun 14, 2010 | |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Nov 18, 2010 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Referred Aug 5, 2009 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 5, 2009Introduced in Senate
- Aug 5, 2009Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8867)
- Aug 5, 2009Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S8867 | Edward M. Kennedy D-MA | Aug 5, 2009 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 5
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 111-58 | WHISTLEBLOWER AND VICTIM'S RIGHTS PROVISIONS OF H.R. 2067, THE PROTECTING AMERICA'S WORKERS ACT140 pages | Education and Workforce Committee | Apr 28, 2010 |
| S. Hrg. 111-941 | PUTTING SAFETY FIRST: STRENGTHENING ENFORCEMENT AND CREATING A CULTURE OF COMPLIANCE AT MINES AND OTHER DANGEROUS WORKPLACES145 pages | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Apr 27, 2010 |
| Serial No. 111-51 | PROTECTING AMERICA'S WORKERS ACT: MODERNIZING OSHA PENALTIES175 pages | Education and Workforce Committee | Mar 16, 2010 |
| S. Hrg. 111-445 | THE FISCAL YEAR 2010 BUDGET FOR THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION82 pages | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Jun 11, 2009 |
| S. Hrg. 111-389 | NOMINATION OF HON. GARY F. LOCKE TO BE SECRETARY OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE87 pages | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Mar 18, 2009 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2067 | Protecting America's Workers Act | Identical bill | Apr 28, 2010 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to expand coverage under the Act, to increase protections for whistleblowers, to increase penalties for certain violators, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Protecting America's Workers Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
- Accidents
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Administrative remedies
- Civil actions and liability
- Criminal procedure and sentencing
- Department of Labor
- Employment discrimination and employee rights
- Evidence and witnesses
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government studies and investigations
- Judicial review and appeals
- Labor and Employment
- Wages and earnings
- Worker safety and health
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Aug 5, 2009Introduced in Senate
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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
