Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) June 29 released a discussion draft of the Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010 containing language that would greatly increase penalties on employers for safety violations.  The bill, a joint effort between the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee, was introduced in response to the April 5 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, W. Va., and the Gulf oil spill.   

The 100-page bill also pulls in language from the Protecting America’s Workers Act (H.R. 2067/S. 1590) which affects employers in all industries by changing the penalty scheme for safety violations by altering the requirement for criminal liability from acts that are deemed “willful” to acts that are deemed only “knowing,” and broadening the definition of employer from “any responsible corporate officer” to “officer or director.”   

In addition, the bill will strengthen whistleblower protections, increase criminal penalties where workers are killed due to a safety violation, update civil penalties which have not been increased since 1990, prevent litigation from delaying the correction of hazards that could lead to serious injury or death and provide greater rights for victims of accidents and their family members to participate in proceedings under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.  

“True OSHA reform should be focused on keeping business in business and is achieved through legislation and regulations that seek to protect the most important asset – employees – by consistent enforcement, incentive programs to increase compliance, and education efforts, rather an effort to increase criminal citations,” said Ashley Fingarson, ABC’s director of legislative affairs.   

The bill is expected to be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week and in the U.S. Senate after the July 4 recess.