Chamber-Backed OSHA Bills Passed by House

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce praised the House of Representatives for passing four bills that would improve the ability of small businesses to get a fair hearing when challenging an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citation.

"These are modest, straight-forward reforms that will give small businesses better due process rights when they face citations from OSHA," said Randel Johnson, Chamber vice president of labor policy. "Collectively, the measures are a good first step to help small businesses contest questionable citations, recoup fees and expedite the appeals process."

All four bills passed with strong bipartisan support, indicating that they would provide meaningful relief to small businesses without sacrificing health and safety protections for employees.

The Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court Act (H.R. 739) provides the OSHA Review Commission flexibility to allow employers to contest citations beyond the current 15-day period, for reasons of mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.

The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Efficiency Act (H.R. 740) expands the number of sitting OSHA Review Commission members to reduce the case backlog and quicken the process of hearing an employer's contest of a citation.

The Occupational Safety and Health Independent Review of OSHA Citations Act (H.R. 741) give the OSHA Review Commission the final authority on interpretation of cases. This restores the Commission's independence by having courts defer to the Review Commission, rather than OSHA, on interpretations the law.

The Occupational Safety and Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act (H.R. 742) makes it easier for small business to recover attorneys fees if they successfully contest an OSHA citation.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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