# 119-s-4413: Protecting America’s Workers Act 119-s-4413, Protecting America’s Workers Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-16). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4413 - As of: 2026-09-16 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-s-4413 - Congress: 119 - Title: Protecting America’s Workers Act - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2026-04-28 - Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT) - Cosponsors: 17 - Policy area: Labor and Employment - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-09-16 ## Summary This bill would **expand workplace safety protections and enforcement under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)**. It would broaden whistleblower rights, tighten recordkeeping and reporting, raise civil and criminal penalties, and increase federal oversight of State safety plans. - Workers — Would get broader whistleblower protections for reporting injuries, unsafe conditions, or to Congress, and protection for refusing dangerous work when they reasonably fear death or serious injury. Retaliation claims would follow a new multi-stage process with a 180-day filing limit and expedited hearings. - Employers — Would have an explicit duty to provide workplaces free from recognized hazards and could be cited separately for each exposed person. They would need to promptly report deaths and serious injuries, keep site logs including contractor injuries, and face substantially higher civil penalties and new criminal penalties up to 10 years for willful violations causing death and up to 20 years for repeat convictions. - States, NIOSH, and victims — Would face more federal review and possible concurrent enforcement of State plans, with Comptroller General reviews within 18 months and again at 5 years. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health would get expanded authority to evaluate workplace hazards and run training and grant programs, and victims would gain statutory rights to participate in inspections and receive reports. ## Cosponsors (17) - Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] (D-WI), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Alsobrooks, Angela D. [D-MD] (D-MD), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] (D-MI), 2026-07-13T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA] (D-WA), 2026-07-13T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Slotkin, Elissa [D-MI] (D-MI), 2026-09-14T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2026-09-14T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - Stronger whistleblower rights and process: benefit, medium. If enacted, employees would get broader protections when they report injuries, unsafe conditions, or participate in safety processes. They would usually have 180 days to file retaliation complaints. The Secretary would investigate strong complaints and must decide within 90 days and issue prelimina… - Higher criminal penalties and interest: cost, medium. If enacted, the bill would increase criminal penalties for knowing safety violations that cause death or serious bodily harm. Causing a death could bring up to 10 years in prison (and up to 20 years for later convictions). Causing serious bodily harm could bring up to 5 years (and up to 10 years fo… - Stronger federal oversight of State plans: mixed, medium. If enacted, the Labor Secretary would get broader authority to review and act when State safety plans fail to meet federal standards. The Secretary could reassert concurrent enforcement, require a State to fix problems within up to one year (with a possible one-year extension), or withdraw approval… - Tougher employer duties and standards: mixed, medium. If enacted, the General Duty clause would require employers to keep workplaces free from recognized hazards they create, control, or expose workers to. Each person exposed could be a separate violation. The bill would bar any new rule from reducing existing protections and require updates to nation… - New injury reporting and site logs: mixed, low. If enacted, covered employers would have to electronically report work-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses to the Labor Secretary at least once a year. The Secretary would publish the reports online in a searchable form. Site-controlling employers would need to keep site logs for all recordable… ## Related bills - 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026 - 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act - 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026 - 119-s-1503: Equality Act - 119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025 - 119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025 ## Sources - [119-s-4413 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4413) ## Related - [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066) - [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51) - [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108) - [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503) - [119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-852) - [119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2150) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4413 (as of 2026-09-16).