The House of Representatives recently passed a series of OSHA legal reform bills: The Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court (HR 2728) - passed by a vote of 251-177. It would provide the OSHA Review Commission some flexibility in the application of the 15-day period employers have to contest citations/proposed penalties. The exceptions would be tightly limited to legitimate excuses and are intended to give employers the opportunity to make their cases on the merits rather than losing automatically by a technicality. The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Efficiency Act (HR 2729) - passed by a vote of 228-199. It would expand from three to five the number of members sitting on the OSHA Review Commission in order to address the common situation in which the Commission does not have a quorum. The Occupational Safety and Health Independent Review of OSHA Citations Act (HR 2730) - passed by a vote of 224-204. It would clarify that courts may defer to OSHA on matters of regulatory interpretation, but deference would be given to the Review Commission on matters of law. The Occupational Safety and Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act (HR 2731) - passed by a vote of 233-194. It will make it easier for small employers to recover attorneys' fees when they successfully defend against an OSHA citation. All of these bills should reduce the burden on many businesses - especially small- to medium-sized ones. However, all four will face an uphill battle for passage in the Senate, which has no similar legislation pending. In fact, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) is pushing a bill that would expand OSHA worker protections and increase penalties for violations. In the latest figures available, worker fatalities fell from 5,915 in 2001 to 5,524 in 2002 - a 6.6% drop. About 4.7 million workplace injuries and illnesses were reported to OSHA in 2002, or 5.3 cases per 100 workers.
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