§425 Rights and Protections Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970; Procedures for Remedy of Violations

Summary

Employing offices and covered employees must follow the safety and health rules in section 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. "Employer" means an employing office. "Employee" means a covered employee. If the rules are broken, the fix is an order to correct the problem, like the correction orders used under the OSH Act. If an employing office or a covered employee asks in writing, the Secretary of Labor can inspect workplaces under the same inspection rules used by the OSH Act. The Secretary can issue citations or notices to the employing office that must correct a violation and can notify an office that has not fixed a violation on time. If a citation or notification is not contested within 15 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays) after it is received, it becomes a final order. If contested in time, the matter gets a hearing before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. An employing office may ask the Secretary for a variance from a standard. Anyone unhappy with final Commission or Secretary decisions can appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. If new appropriated funds are needed to fix a violation, correction must happen as soon as possible but no later than the end of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the citation is issued or the correction order becomes final and not subject to further review. The President or the President’s designee must issue rules to put these requirements into effect. Subsections (a) through (c) take effect on the earlier of the date those rules take effect or October 1, 1998.