§656 Administration

Summary

Create a National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health made up of twelve members the Secretary appoints. Four of those twelve must be picked by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and those four are not bound by the usual federal competitive hiring rules. The group must include people from management, labor, safety and health professions, and the public. The Secretary must pick one public member to be the chair. Members are chosen for their experience. The committee must advise the Secretary and the HHS Secretary, meet at least two times each year, hold public meetings, keep a transcript for the public, and receive pay and support staff as allowed under section 3109 of title 5. The Secretary can also set up advisory committees for making standards. Each such committee can have up to 15 members and must include HHS designees, equal employer and worker viewpoints, and state health and safety agency representatives. Other experts and representatives of professional and standards groups can join, but not in greater numbers than the agency and state reps. Private members get paid like consultants under section 3109. States that loan an employee to a committee must be reimbursed for that employee’s cost. All meetings must be public and records kept. Most non-employer and non-employee members may not have a financial interest in rules under discussion. The Secretary may use federal or state agency staff with consent, and may hire experts or consultants paid up to the GS–18 rate under section 5332 and given travel pay under section 5703. A Maritime Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Committee must also be kept as a continuing body with the same general makeup, and the Secretary may make rules to carry this out.