The Committee recommends $552,787,000 for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA], which is responsible for enforcing the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 in the Nation’s workplaces. The Committee continues bill language to allow OSHA to retain course tuition and fees for training institute courses used for occupational safety and health training and education activities in the private sector. The cap established by the bill is $499,000, the same as current law. The bill retains language that continues to exempt farms employing 10 or fewer people from the provisions of the act with the exception of those farms having a temporary labor camp. The bill also retains language exempting small firms in industry classifications having a lost workday injury rate less than the national average from generally scheduled safety inspections. The exemption of small farming operations from OSHA regulation has been in place since 1976. OSHA clarified the limits of its authority to conduct enforcement on small farms in July 2014, particularly regarding post-harvest activities of a farming operation. The continued exemption for small farms and recognition of limits of the OSHA regulatory authority are critical for family farms. It is also important the Department of Agriculture is consulted in any future attempts by OSHA to redefine or modify any aspect of the small farm exemption.
The Committee recommends $100,850,000 for grants to States under section 203(g) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. These funds primarily are provided to States that have taken responsibility for administering their own occupational safety and health programs for the private sector and/or the public sector. State plans must be at least as effective as the Federal program and are monitored by OSHA. The Committee bill continues language that allows OSHA to provide grants of up to 50 percent for the costs of State plans approved by the agency.
The Committee believes that OSHA’s worker safety and health training and education programs are a critical part of a comprehensive approach to worker protection. Under the program, grants are made to various types of organizations representing employers and labor organizations for direct training of workers on occupational safety and health. The Committee recommendation includes $10,537,000 for the OSHA Susan Harwood Training Grant Program and directs OSHA to dedicate no less than $3,500,000 per year for the purpose of administering the Voluntary Protection Program [VPP] in its Federal Compliance Assistance budget. OSHA shall not reduce funding levels or the number of employees administering the VPP, the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program [SHARP], or Federal Compliance Assistance, and shall not collect any monies from participants for the purpose of administering these programs.
The Committee recognizes that fewer injuries mean safer, more productive workers and lower worker compensation and healthcare costs. Statistical evidence for VPP success is impressive. The average VPP worksite has a Days Away Restricted or Transferred [DART] case rate of 52 percent below the average for its industry. These sites typically do not start out with such low rates. Reductions in injuries and illnesses begin when the site commits to the VPP approach to safety and health management and the challenging VPP application process.
The Committee repeats and emphasizes the concerns stated in the joint explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 about OSHA’s use of guidance documents to change longstanding OSHA policy. In June and July of 2015, OSHA issued three guidance documents related to Executive Order 13650, ‘‘Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security.’’ They are Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals and Covered Concentrations of Listed Appendix A Chemicals, RAGAGEP in Safety Process Management Enforcement, and PSM Retail Exemption Interim Enforcement Policy. These along with other OSHA ‘‘letters of interpretation’’ attempt to change prevailing agency policies without proposing regulatory changes, which would be governed by the requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act (5 U.S.C. 551 et. seq.). OSHA has issued letters of interpretation on substantive policy matters that leave the agency open to liability that can be avoided by going through the proper rulemaking process, including notice and period of public comment. OSHA is expected to implement agency policy changes through the formal regulatory process. Therefore, the revised enforcement policy relating to the exemption of retail facilities from coverage of the Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals standard (29 CFR 1910.119(a)(2)(i)) issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on July 22, 2015, shall not be enforced nor deemed by the Department of Labor to be in effect until:
- the Bureau of the Census establishes a new North American Industry Classification System code under Sector 44–45 Retail Trade for Farm Supply Retailers;
- the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, has carried out all notice and comment rulemaking procedures and invited meaningful public participation in the rulemaking; and
- the Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, arranges for an independent third-party to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of such proposed rule and the Secretary includes such analysis in the publication of the proposed rule.
The Committee understands that, as a result of Executive Order 13650, Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security, OSHA is considering options to ensure the safety of ammonium nitrate handling and storage. The Committee also understands that there is no record thus far of an accidental detonation of ammonium nitrate in a situation where a storage facility has been compliant with OSHA’s existing regulations at 29 CFR 1910.109(i). The existing regulations are based on standards of the National Fire Protection Association. Before any new regulations are proposed for the storage of solid ammonium nitrate, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House Representatives and the Senate; the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce that identifies any provisions of OSHA’s current 29 CFR 1910.109(i) regulations under consideration for update and that evaluates the costs and benefits of such changes.
The Committee is concerned about OSHA’s implementation of the Outreach Training Program and its use of Requests for Proposals [RFPs] to change longstanding OSHA policy. Since 2008, OSHA has implemented and administered online Outreach Training Program courses via its OSHA Outreach Training Program—Online Training Guidance document. Instead of remaining consistent with its own Guidance document, OSHA has twice used the RFP process unsuccessfully to specifically limit online distribution of the Outreach Training Program. Therefore, the Committee urges OSHA to consider recognition of online training as an equivalent to classroom training with respect to the Outreach Training Program and improvement of worker safety and health. Further, OSHA is urged to seek the meaningful advance participation of policymakers and stakeholders through public meetings and pre-solicitation conferences prior to the issuance of any new or amended training RFP for this program. OSHA is directed to provide notification to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate at least 10 days prior to issuance of any new or amended RFP specific to Outreach Training Programs.
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