1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to occupational safety and health; 
  1.3             eliminating certain responsibilities of the 
  1.4             commissioner of health; increasing penalty limits for 
  1.5             certain violations; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, 
  1.6             sections 182.65, subdivision 2; 182.656, subdivision 
  1.7             1; 182.66, subdivision 2; 182.666, subdivisions 2, 2a. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 182.65, 
  1.10  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 2.  The legislature finds that the burden on 
  1.12  employers and employees of this state resulting from personal 
  1.13  injuries and illnesses arising out of work situations is 
  1.14  substantial; that the prevention of these injuries and illnesses 
  1.15  is an important objective of the government of this state; that 
  1.16  the greatest hope of attaining this objective lies in programs 
  1.17  of research and education, and in the earnest cooperation of 
  1.18  government, employers and employees; and that a program of 
  1.19  regulation and enforcement is a necessary supplement to these 
  1.20  more basic programs. 
  1.21     The legislature declares it to be its purpose and policy 
  1.22  through the exercise of its powers to assure so far as possible 
  1.23  every worker in the state of Minnesota safe and healthful 
  1.24  working conditions and to preserve our human resources by 
  1.25     (a) Authorizing the occupational safety and health advisory 
  1.26  council to advise, consult with or recommend on any matters 
  2.1   relating to the Minnesota occupational safety and health plan to 
  2.2   the commissioner of labor and industry and the state 
  2.3   commissioner of health and by authorizing the commissioner of 
  2.4   labor and industry to promulgate and enforce mandatory 
  2.5   occupational safety and health standards applicable to employers 
  2.6   and employees in the state of Minnesota; 
  2.7      (b) Encouraging employers and employees to increase their 
  2.8   efforts to reduce the number of occupational safety and health 
  2.9   hazards at their places of employment, and to stimulate 
  2.10  employers and employees to institute new and to perfect existing 
  2.11  programs for providing safe and healthful working conditions; 
  2.12     (c) Providing that employers and employees have separate 
  2.13  but dependent responsibilities and rights with respect to 
  2.14  achieving safe and healthful working conditions; 
  2.15     (d) Providing for research in the field of occupational 
  2.16  safety and health; including the psychological factors involved, 
  2.17  and by developing innovative methods, techniques, and approaches 
  2.18  for dealing with occupational safety and health problems; 
  2.19     (e) Exploring ways to discover latent diseases, 
  2.20  establishing causal connections between diseases and work in 
  2.21  environmental conditions, and conducting other research relating 
  2.22  to health problems, in recognition of the fact that occupational 
  2.23  health standards present problems often different from those 
  2.24  involved in occupational safety; 
  2.25     (f) Utilizing advances already made by federal laws and 
  2.26  regulations providing safe and healthful working conditions; 
  2.27     (g) Providing criteria which will assure insofar as 
  2.28  practicable that no employee will suffer diminished health, 
  2.29  functional capacity, or life expectancy as a result of work 
  2.30  experience; 
  2.31     (h) Providing an effective enforcement program which shall 
  2.32  include a prohibition against giving advance notice of an 
  2.33  inspection and sanctions for any individual violating this 
  2.34  prohibition; 
  2.35     (i) Providing for appropriate reporting procedures with 
  2.36  respect to occupational safety and health, which procedures will 
  3.1   help achieve the objectives of this chapter and accurately 
  3.2   describe the nature of the occupational safety and health 
  3.3   problem; 
  3.4      (j) Encouraging joint labor-management efforts to reduce 
  3.5   injuries and diseases arising out of employment; 
  3.6      (k) Providing consultation to employees and employers which 
  3.7   will aid them in complying with their responsibilities under 
  3.8   this chapter where such consultation does not interfere with the 
  3.9   effective enforcement of this chapter; 
  3.10     (l) Providing for training programs to increase the number 
  3.11  and competence of personnel engaged in the field of occupational 
  3.12  safety and health. 
  3.13     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 182.656, 
  3.14  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.15     Subdivision 1.  An occupational safety and health advisory 
  3.16  council consisting of 12 members appointed by the commissioner 
  3.17  of labor and industry is created to advise the department.  The 
  3.18  council members shall be chosen so that three shall represent 
  3.19  management; three shall represent labor; three shall represent 
  3.20  occupational safety and health professions; and three shall 
  3.21  represent the general public. 
  3.22     The commissioner of labor and industry shall designate one 
  3.23  of the public members as chair.  The members shall be selected 
  3.24  upon the basis of their experience and competence in the field 
  3.25  of occupational safety and health.  The commissioner of labor 
  3.26  and industry and the state commissioner of health shall be an ex 
  3.27  officio members member and the commissioner of labor and 
  3.28  industry shall serve as secretary of the council.  The council 
  3.29  shall elect from its members, by a concurring vote of not less 
  3.30  than six members, other officers as necessary to carry out the 
  3.31  duties thereof. 
  3.32     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 182.66, 
  3.33  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.34     Subd. 2.  Each citation issued under this section, and the 
  3.35  penalty proposed to be assessed under section 182.666, or a copy 
  3.36  or copies thereof, shall be prominently posted, as prescribed in 
  4.1   rules issued by the commissioner, at or near each place a 
  4.2   violation referred to in the citation occurred.  Each citation 
  4.3   and proposed penalty shall be posted for a minimum period of 15 
  4.4   20 days.  
  4.5      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 182.666, 
  4.6   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  4.7      Subd. 2.  Any employer who has received a citation for a 
  4.8   serious violation of its duties under section 182.653, or any 
  4.9   standard, rule, or order adopted under the authority of the 
  4.10  commissioner as provided in this chapter, shall be assessed a 
  4.11  fine not to exceed $7,000 for each violation.  If a serious 
  4.12  violation under section 182.653, subdivision 2, causes or 
  4.13  contributes to the death of an employee, the employer shall be 
  4.14  assessed a fine of up to $25,000. 
  4.15     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 182.666, 
  4.16  subdivision 2a, is amended to read: 
  4.17     Subd. 2a.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
  4.18  section, if any (1) serious, willful, or repeated violation 
  4.19  other than a violation of section 182.653, subdivision 2; or (2) 
  4.20  any failure to correct a violation pursuant to subdivision 4 
  4.21  causes or contributes to the death of an employee, the minimum 
  4.22  total nonnegotiable fine which shall be assessed for all 
  4.23  citations connected to the death of an employee is $50,000 if 
  4.24  there is a willful or repeated violation or $25,000 if there is 
  4.25  no willful or repeated violation, except as provided in 
  4.26  paragraph (b). 
  4.27     (b) If there is no willful or repeated violation and the 
  4.28  employer has fewer than 50 employees, the employer shall be 
  4.29  assessed an initial fine of $5,000 and an additional fine of 
  4.30  $5,000 for each of the following four years.  The commissioner 
  4.31  may elect to waive the $5,000 fine for any of the following four 
  4.32  years if the employer received no citations in the preceding 
  4.33  calendar year.