Protecting America’s Workers Act

Key Points

• The bill extends federal workplace safety protections to cover public employees at the federal, state, and local level. Currently, millions of government workers are excluded from OSHA coverage. This change would bring them under the same safety standards as private-sector workers.
• Maximum fines for the most serious willful or repeated safety violations would jump tenfold, from $70,000 to $700,000. Minimum fines are also established for serious violations ($20,000) and other categories. Penalties would be adjusted annually for inflation.
• Criminal penalties are dramatically increased. Employers whose knowing violations cause a worker's death could face up to 10 years in prison (up from 6 months), or 20 years for repeat offenders. A new crime is created for violations causing serious bodily harm, carrying up to 5 years.
• Workers get much stronger whistleblower protections. They can refuse dangerous tasks if they have a reasonable fear of serious injury, and employers are banned from retaliating against workers who report unsafe conditions. Workers can no longer be forced into pre-dispute arbitration for retaliation claims.
• Families of workers killed or seriously injured on the job gain formal rights in the investigation and enforcement process, including meeting with investigators, receiving reports, and making statements during settlement negotiations. OSHA must assign family liaisons at each area office.
• Employers must keep better injury and illness records and electronically report them to the government. The bill bans workplace policies that discourage employees from reporting injuries. Records must be made publicly available in a searchable format.