Dems unveil bill to bring back workplace safety rule

Democrats on Monday introduced a bill to reinstate an Obama-era worker protection rule Republicans overturned in March.

The Accurate Workplace Injury and Illness Records Restoration Act would bring back the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) record-keeping rule that was overturned by way of a resolution under the Congressional Review Act.

The rule, which took effect in January 2017, clarified that employers are obligated to record and keep records on injuries and illnesses for five years. Trump signed the resolution into law in April. 

{mosads}Democratic Reps. Mark Takano (Calif.), Joe Courtney (Conn.) and Bobby Scott (Va.), along with Sens. Patty Murray (Wash.) and Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), introduced the bill.

“The Trump administration promised to stand up for America’s workers but it has pursued an aggressive anti-worker agenda,” Takano said in a statement. “This is an opportunity for President Trump is fix a mistake and keep his promise to stand with working families.”

The legislation introduced Monday requires OSHA to issue a new regulation within 180 days and specifically authorizes OSHA to do so since the Congressional Review Act bars agencies from issuing a rule in “substantially the same form” as the rule that was repealed.

The bill also amends the six-month statute of limitation on citations so the six-month clock starts running out when OSHA identifies a continuing violation instead of the date the violation occurred.