HF 1722

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to employment; barring certain employers from
bidding on state contracts; requiring construction
employers to develop and implement written safety and
health plans for each construction project; providing
civil and criminal penalties; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2004, sections 182.651, by adding
subdivisions; 182.66, subdivision 1; 182.666,
subdivisions 1, 2, 2a, 3; 182.667, subdivision 2;
proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapters 16C; 182.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [16C.053] AWARDING OF CONTRACTS TO
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH LAW VIOLATORS PROHIBITED.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Prohibition. new text end

new text begin No contract shall be awarded
by the state of Minnesota or any of its political subdivisions
to a person or entity if:
new text end

new text begin (1) the person or entity has been cited for three or more
willful violations of an occupational safety and health act or
of a standard, order, or regulation, promulgated pursuant to
such an act, during the three-year period preceding the bid,
provided the violations were cited in accordance with the
provisions of a state occupational safety and health act or the
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the violations were
not abated within the time frame fixed by the citations, and the
citations have not been set aside following appeal to the
appropriate agency or court having jurisdiction; or
new text end

new text begin (2) the person or entity has received one or more criminal
convictions related to the injury or death of an employee of the
person or entity in the three-year period preceding the bid.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Partial ownership. new text end

new text begin The state or a political
subdivision shall not award any contract to an entity if a
person who individually, jointly, or in combination with the
person's spouse, parent, or child owns or controls directly or
indirectly 25 percent or more interest in the entity and the
person would be barred from being awarded a contract under
subdivision 1.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 182.651, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 24. new text end

new text begin Construction employer. new text end

new text begin "Construction employer"
means an employer who is engaged primarily in the building and
construction industry or who performs construction work under a
contract with a construction owner, except that a utility
providing or receiving mutual assistance in the case of a
natural or man-made disaster is not a construction employer.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 182.651, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 25. new text end

new text begin Construction owner. new text end

new text begin "Construction owner" means
a person or entity who owns, leases, or has effective control
over property with or without improvements or a structure or
other improvement on real property on which construction work is
being performed or will be performed.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 182.651, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 26. new text end

new text begin Construction project. new text end

new text begin "Construction project"
means all construction work by one or more construction
employers that is performed for a construction owner and that is
described in work orders, permits, requisitions, agreements, and
other project documents.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 182.651, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 27. new text end

new text begin Construction work. new text end

new text begin "Construction work" means
work for construction, alteration, demolition, or repair, or any
combination of these, including painting and decorating.
Construction work includes work performed under a contract
between a construction employer and the state of Minnesota or
any of its political subdivisions. Construction work does not
include work performed under a contract between a construction
employer and a homeowner for work on the homeowner's own
residence, or routine maintenance and upkeep performed at least
monthly.
new text end

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 182.651, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 28. new text end

new text begin Construction worksite. new text end

new text begin "Construction worksite"
means a site within a construction project where construction
work is performed by one or more construction employers.
new text end

Sec. 7.

new text begin [182.6547] CONSTRUCTION SAFETY AND HEALTH PLANS
AND PROGRAMS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Project constructor. new text end

new text begin Each construction
project must have an individual or entity that is responsible
for the establishment of the safety and health plan for the
project and for ensuring that the plan is carried out. That
individual or entity shall be designated the project
constructor. If a construction project has only one general or
prime contractor, that contractor is the project constructor.
If a construction project has more than one general or prime
contractor, then the general or prime contractor whose work
accounts for the greatest portion of the project's cost is the
project constructor.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Construction safety and health plans. new text end

new text begin The
project constructor for each construction project shall develop
and implement a written construction safety and health plan for
the construction project to protect employees against hazards
that may exist at the project. The plan shall:
new text end

new text begin (1) include a hazard analysis and construction process
protocol that applies to each worksite of the project;
new text end

new text begin (2) include assurance that each construction employer on
the project has a safety and health program that complies and is
coordinated with the plan and the requirements of section
182.653, subdivision 8;
new text end

new text begin (3) provide for regular inspections of the worksite to
monitor the implementation of the plan;
new text end

new text begin (4) include a method for notifying affected construction
employers of any hazardous conditions at a construction worksite
or of noncompliance by an employer with the project safety and
health plan;
new text end

new text begin (5) include a method for responding to the request of any
construction employer, employee, or employee representative for
an inspection of a construction worksite to determine if an
imminent danger exists and to stop work at, or remove affected
employees from, an area in which such a danger exists;
new text end

new text begin (6) ensure that a competent person is on site at all times
to oversee the implementation of the safety plan and coordinate
activities among employers; and
new text end

new text begin (7) ensure that the plan will be reviewed and modified as
the project addresses new safety concerns.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Availability. new text end

new text begin Copies of the plan shall be made
available to each construction employer prior to commencement of
construction work by that employer.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Emergency work. new text end

new text begin If it is necessary to perform
construction work on a worksite immediately in order to prevent
injury to persons or substantial damage to property, and this
work must be conducted before compliance with this section can
be made, the commissioner shall be given notice as soon as
practicable of such work. Compliance shall then be made as soon
as practicable thereafter.
new text end

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 182.66,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Written citations.

After an inspection or
investigation, if the commissioner believes that an employer has
violated a requirement of section 182.653 new text begin or 182.6547 new text end , or any
standard, rule or order adopted pursuant to this chapter, the
commissioner shall, with reasonable promptness and in no event
later than six months following the inspection, issue a written
citation to the employer by certified mail. The citation shall
describe with particularity the nature of the violation,
including a reference to the provision of the act, standard,
rule or order alleged to have been violated. In addition, the
citation shall fix a reasonable time for the abatement of the
violation.

Sec. 9.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 182.666,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Willful or repeated violations.

Any
employer who willfully or repeatedly violates the requirements
of section 182.653 new text begin or 182.6547 new text end , or any standard, rule, or order
adopted under the authority of the commissioner as provided in
this chapter, may be assessed a fine not to exceed $70,000 for
each violation. The minimum fine for a willful violation is
$5,000.

Sec. 10.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 182.666,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Serious violations.

Any employer who has
received a citation for a serious violation of its duties under
section 182.653 new text begin or 182.6547 new text end , or any standard, rule, or order
adopted under the authority of the commissioner as provided in
this chapter, shall be assessed a fine not to exceed $7,000 for
each violation. If a serious violation under section 182.653,
subdivision 2, new text begin or 182.6547 new text end causes or contributes to the death of
an employee, the employer shall be assessed a fine of up to
$25,000.

Sec. 11.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 182.666,
subdivision 2a, is amended to read:

Subd. 2a.

Citations connected to the death of an
employee.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section, if any (1) serious, willful, or repeated violation
other than a violation of section 182.653, subdivision 2 new text begin , or
182.6547 new text end ; or (2) any failure to correct a violation pursuant to
subdivision 4 causes or contributes to the death of an employee,
the minimum total nonnegotiable fine which shall be assessed for
all citations connected to the death of an employee is $50,000
if there is a willful or repeated violation or $25,000 if there
is no willful or repeated violation, except as provided in
paragraph (b).

(b) If there is no willful or repeated violation and the
employer has fewer than 50 employees, the employer shall be
assessed an initial fine of $5,000 and an additional fine of
$5,000 for each of the following four years. The commissioner
may elect to waive the $5,000 fine for any of the following four
years if the employer received no citations in the preceding
calendar year.

(c) If the business or enterprise employs fewer than 50
employees, this subdivision does not apply to the death of an
employee who owns a controlling interest in the business or
enterprise, except if the commissioner determines that a fine
shall be assessed.

Sec. 12.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 182.666,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Nonserious violations.

Any employer who has
received a citation for a violation of its duties under section
182.653, subdivisions 2 to 4, new text begin or 182.6547, new text end where the violation
is specifically determined not to be of a serious nature as
provided in section 182.651, subdivision 12, may be assessed a
fine of up to $7,000 for each violation.

Sec. 13.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 182.667,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Willful or repeated violations.

Any employer
who willfully or repeatedly violates the requirements of section
182.653 new text begin or 182.6547 new text end , any safety and health standard promulgated
under this chapter, any existing rule promulgated by the
department, may be punished by a fine of not more than $70,000
or by imprisonment for not more than six months or deleted text begin by deleted text end both deleted text begin ;
deleted text end except deleted text begin , deleted text end that if the conviction is for a violation committed
after a first conviction of deleted text begin such deleted text end new text begin the new text end person, punishment shall be
a fine of not more than $100,000 or by imprisonment for not more
than one year, or deleted text begin by deleted text end both.