Bills aim to reform OSHA's management of enforcement provisions.Rep. Todd Tiahrt Todd Tiahrt (born June 15, 1951), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995, representing Kansas's At-large congressional district (map), which is based in Wichita. (R-Kan.) introduced six bills to reform OSHA's management of its enforcement provisions. These bills are a section of the Competitiveness Agenda, which is part of the effort to lower the costs of doing business in the U.S. to assist domestic companies battling low-cost imports. Tiahrt has addressed conferences in San Antonio San Antonio (săn ăntō`nēō, əntōn`), city (1990 pop. 935,933), seat of Bexar co., S central Tex., at the source of the San Antonio River; inc. 1837. and Washington, D.C., on the importance of the agenda in Congress. Under one of the six bills, H.R. 979, an OSHA OSHA n. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a branch of the US Department of Labor responsible for establishing and enforcing safety and health standards in the workplace. inspector would be required to give a written statement to the employer at the closing conference after an inspection is conducted. The statement has to include certain information on the results of the inspection, the right of the employer to contest citations and penalties, the appropriate procedure to contest citations and penalties, the informal review" process and the right of the employer to seek judicial review. The other bills would amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act to: * keep the labor secretary from assessing a penalty for less than willful Intentional; not accidental; voluntary; designed. There is no precise definition of the term willful because its meaning largely depends on the context in which it appears. citations if the employer corrects the "violative vi·o·late tr.v. vi·o·lat·ed, vi·o·lat·ing, vi·o·lates 1. To break or disregard (a law or promise, for example). 2. To assault (a person) sexually. 3. condition and provides the secretary an abatement A reduction, a decrease, or a diminution. The suspension or cessation, in whole or in part, of a continuing charge, such as rent. With respect to estates, an abatement is a proportional diminution or reduction of the monetary legacies, a disposition of property by will, when certification within 72 hours" (H.R. 977); * allow the labor secretary on multi-employer work sites to cite only the employer whose workers were exposed to a condition that is in violation of a requirement of any rule, standard or order (H.R. 978); * require OSHA to issue citations within 30 days of an inspection (H.R. 980); * allow employers 30 days to contest citations or proposed penalties (H.R. 981). The sixth measure, which was introduced later, says that "minor citations" issued by OSHA cannot be used as a foundation for subsequent citations. |
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