Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) has introduced the “Lets Protect Workers Act” which would increase penalties on employers that violate federal labor and employment law. The bill has been co-sponsored by seventy-three (73) other Democrats. Specifically, the bill would 1) significantly increase the civil penalties for violations of OSHA standards, and 2) resurrect OSHA’s “Volks” rule by extending the period during which OSHA can issue a citation for injury and illness recordkeeping violations.
Key provisions of the legislation include:
• Increased penalty for willful and repeat violations to $800k from $70k and not less than $60k, currently $5k.
• Increase the penalty for serious violations to $80k from $7k
• Increase the penalty for other than serious violations to $40k from $7k
• Increase the penalty for failure to abate a violation to $80k from $7k
• Increase the penalty for violations of OSHA’s posting requirements to $40k from $7k for each occurrence
The LET’s Protect Workers Act also includes provisions that would raise penalties for violation of Department of Labor (DOL) standards on child labor, farmworker protection, and minimum wage and overtime.