Comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Reform Act

Comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Reform Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) with respect to occupational safety and health programs, committees, employee representatives, coverage, standards, enforcement, antidiscrimination, training and education, hazard and illness evaluation, State plans, victims' rights, and construction safety.

Title I: Safety and Health Programs - Amends OSHA to establish requirements for each employer to set up and carry out a written occupational safety and health program that includes methods and procedures for: (1) identifying, evaluating, and documenting hazards; (2) correcting them; (3) investigating work-related illnesses, injuries, and deaths; (4) providing occupational safety and health services, including emergency response and first aid procedures; (5) employee participation in implementing such program, including, where applicable, a safety and health committee; (6) responding to such committee's recommendations; (7) providing safety and health training and education to employees and committee members; (8) designating an employer representative qualified and responsible for identifying hazards and initiating corrective action; and (9) at a worksite where employees of two or more employers work, protecting employees from hazards under the other employers' control.

Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to modify the application of such requirements to classes of employers where, in light of the risks faced by the employer's employees, such a modification would not reduce their safety and health protection. Directs the Secretary to issue final regulations on the required employer occupational safety and health programs, covering employee training and education as well, including annual refresher courses, and providing for coordination of programs.

Title II: Safety and Health Committees and Employee Safety and Health Representatives - Amends OSHA to require each employer of 11 or more employees in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year to provide for: (1) safety and health committees; and (2) employee safety and health representatives.

Grants each committee the reasonable right to: (1) review occupational safety and health related employer programs, incidents of death, injury, or illness, complaints of hazards, the employer's work injury and illness records (other than personally identifiable medical information), and other related reports and documents; (2) conduct worksite inspections (and related employee interviews) at least once every three months and in response to complaints; (3) conduct meetings at least once every three months; (4) observe the measurement of employee exposure to toxic materials and harmful physical agents; (5) establish procedures for exercising committee rights; (6) make advisory recommendations for improvements and corrections; and (7) accompany the Secretary's representative during certain physical inspections of the worksite.

Requires the employer to permit committee members to take such time from work as is reasonably necessary to exercise committee rights, without any loss of pay or benefits for such time.

Requires committee membership to consist of employee representatives and up to an equal number of employer representatives. Sets forth requirements for minimum numbers of such members or number of employees at each worksite.

Sets forth procedures for selection of employee representatives by and from nonmanagerial employees (and by designation by the union, if there is one). Protects employee rights to seek to be such a representative or otherwise participate in such selection process.

Directs the Secretary to issue regulations on safety and health committees, within one year of the enactment date of this Act, with such regulations to be effective within 18 months of such enactment date. Requires such regulations to include provisions on the functions of committees, including: (1) selection of employee representatives, their terms, and maintenance of records; and (2) number and selection of employee representatives where the employees do not primarily report to or work at a fixed location, with regard to worksites with less than 11 employees of a covered employer, and where employees of more than one employer are employed.

Title III: Coverage - Revises the OSHA definition of employer to include the Federal Government (except certain congressional employees) and State and local governments, thus extending OSHA coverage to public employees. (Includes under such OSHA coverage the executive and judicial branches and the following agencies of the legislative branch: the Botanic Garden, the General Accounting Office, the Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of Technology Assessment, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Copyright Royalty Tribunal.)

Authorizes the Secretary to cede OSHA jurisdiction to a Federal agency with respect to specified standards or regulations affecting occupational safety and health of some or all employees within that agency's regulatory jurisdiction, if the agency has promulgated and is enforcing standards and regulations so that its employees are being protected at least as effectively as they would be by the Secretary.

Declares that nothing in OSHA shall apply to working conditions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.

Applies OSHA to employment performed in the Federal nuclear facilities under the control or jurisdiction of the Department of Energy.

Extends an employer's duties under OSHA to all employees working at the place of employment (even if they are not the employer's employees).

Title IV: Occupational Safety and Health Standards - Revises provisions for OSHA standards.

Requires specified time frames for setting such standards after the Secretary has received: (1) a recommendation of an advisory committee, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; or (2) a petition from an interested person setting forth with reasonable particularity the facts claimed to establish that a standard should be promulgated, modified, or revoked. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days after such receipt, to publish a response stating whether the Secretary intends to publish a proposed rule with respect to such standard, or if not, the reasons for the decision not to publish such a rule. Directs the Secretary, if such rule is intended to be published, to do so within 12 months after the receipt of the recommendation or petition.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) afford interested persons a period of at least 30 days to submit written data or comments after publication of a proposed rule promulgating, modifying, or revoking an OSHA standard; and (2) issue a final rule within 18 months of publication of a proposed rule.

Allows any adversely affected person to petition for judicial review, in the U.S. court of appeals for the appropriate circuit, of the Secretary's refusal or failure to issue such rules or standards. Requires that such petition be filed within 60 days after publication of such determination. Requires set-aside of the Secretary's determination if it is found to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law. Allows a petition to appeal the Secretary's failure to publish a proposed rule within the required 12-month time frame to be filed at any time after such time period has elapsed. Directs the reviewing court to compel the Secretary to take any such action that is found to have been unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed. Provides that the withholding or delaying of action shall not be justified by the Secretary's desire to consult with, or receive approval from any other Federal agency or executive official, except where required by applicable law and pursued in timely fashion.

Revises the definition of "occupational safety and health standard" to mean a standard which addresses a significant risk to the safety or health of employees by requiring conditions, or the adoption or use of one or more practices, means, methods, operations, or processes that most adequately assure, to the extent feasible, safe and healthful employment and places of employment.

Requires each OSHA standard also to prescribe requirements for recording or reporting a work-related illness determined as a result of a medical examination or test conducted under the standard.

Directs the Secretary to place in the public record all written comments and communications and a summary of all verbal communications with parties outside the Department of Labor (DOL) (including communications with executive branch officials) regarding promulgation, modification, or revocation of an OSHA standard, within ten working days after receipt of such communications.

Directs the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of HHS and in addition to other OSHA standards, to modify and establish exposure limits for toxic materials and harmful physical agents on a regular basis in a specified manner. Directs the Secretary of HHS, acting through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), to: (1) regularly evaluate available scientific evidence, data, and information to determine if such exposure limits should be modified or established to protect exposed employees from material impairment of health or functional capacity; and (2) at least every three years, on the basis of such evaluation, develop and transmit to the Secretary recommendations identifying materials and agents for which exposure limits should be modified or established to protect employees from such impairment. Directs the Secretary: (1) within 30 days of receipt of such recommendations, to publish them and provide a 30-day public comment period; (2) within six months of their receipt, evaluate them and the public comments and publish a proposed rule for the exposure limits of each material and agent for which the Secretary of HHS has made a recommendation (explaining why any proposed limit is not the same as a recommended limit); (3) within one year of publication of the proposed limits, issue a final standard (explaining why any final limit is not the same as the recommended limit); and (4) establish or modify such limits whenever warranted, in addition to a periodic review.

Directs the Secretary, within two years after the effective date of this Act, to promulgate final standards on exposure monitoring and health surveillance programs, including specified requirements.

Directs the Secretary to issue a final standard on ergonomic hazards to protect employees from work-related musculoskeletal disorders, including specified requirements, within two years after the effective date of this Act.

Sets forth timetables for the Secretary to issue various OSHA final standards.

Requires the Secretary's determinations with respect to emergency temporary standards to be based on the best available evidence. Requires the Secretary to issue a final standard within 18 months after issuance of an emergency temporary standard.

Title V: Enforcement - Revises OSHA enforcement provisions.

Provides that time spent by an employee in accompanying the Secretary's representative on an OSHA inspection shall be deemed to be hours worked, with no loss of pay, benefits, or seniority.

Requires the Secretary to notify employees or their representative within 30 days after receipt of their request for inspection that there are no reasonable grounds to believe a violation or danger exists.

Revises provisions for special inspections upon request by employees or employee representatives to add as a basis of such a request any violation of OSHA that threatens physical harm (as well as violations of OSHA standards that threaten physical harm, or cases of imminent danger). Allows notice of such request to be given to the Secretary's representative in oral or written form, and a written copy or oral summary to be given to the employer. (Current law requires a written notice and copy). Directs the Secretary also to make a special inspection upon notification from any Federal or State agency that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an imminent danger or a violation of OSHA or an OSHA standard that threatens physical harm exists in a place of employment.

Directs the Secretary to establish and carry out a special emphasis inspection program for conducting inspections of industries or operations where existing hazards or newly recognized or new hazards introduced into worksites warrant more intensive inspections. Requires annual designation of the industries and operations for such program and the number of inspections planned and enforcement personnel required. Requires that special emphasis inspections be in addition to other programmed and complaint inspections conducted under OSHA before the effective date of this Act. Requires a report on such program in the Secretary's annual OSHA report to the Congress.

Requires the Secretary to investigate any work-related death or serious incident (i.e. one resulting in hospitalization of two or more employees). Requires the employer to: (1) notify the Secretary of any death or serious incident occurring in a place of employment covered by OSHA; and (2) prevent the destruction or alteration of evidence that would assist in investigating such death or incident.

Requires OSHA citations to state if the Secretary or the Secretary's representative believes that an alleged violation is serious and presents such a substantial risk to the safety or health of employees that the initiation of review proceedings should not suspend the running of the period for correction of the violation. Revises the correction period to make it begin to run from the date of receipt of the citation, with specified exceptions.

Provides that the pendency of an employer's contest before the Commission of a citation shall not bar the Secretary from inspecting a place of employment or issuing another citation. Makes the six-month time limit for issuing a citation inapplicable to a notification of penalty.

Requires employers to verify the abatement of a serious, willful, or repeated violation in writing to the Secretary within 30 days after the correction period has expired. Requires employers, within ten days after verification of abatement, to prominently post notice of such abatement at or near each place the violation occurred and to make a copy of the verification available to employers and employee representatives. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations concerning such abatement verification and notice requirements, within one year after the effective date of this Act.

Grants employees the right to contest: (1) citations' (or modified citations') designations of the character of the violation or of the OSHA provision, standard, rule, regulation, or order violated (in addition to contesting the abatement period, as in current law); and (2) proposed penalties as inadequate.

Grants employee representatives the right to participate in other proceedings (as well as hearings) conducted under specified OSHA enforcement procedures.

Requires, if the Secretary intends to withdraw or modify a citation as a result of any agreement with the employer, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (Commission) rules of procedure to provide for prompt notice to affected employees or their representatives. Grants employees or their representative, regardless of whether they have previously elected to participate in the proceedings, the right to file a notice alleging that the proposed agreement fails to effectuate the purposes of OSHA within 15 days after receipt of notice of the agreement. Directs the Secretary to consider the matter and, upon determination to proceed with the agreement, respond with particularity to the objections. Grants employees or their representative, within 15 days after the Secretary's response, the right to a hearing upon request to the Commission. Provides that, if the Commission determines the proposed agreement fails to effectuate the purposes of OSHA, the proposed agreement shall not be entered as a Commission order and the citation shall not be withdrawn or modified in accordance with the proposed agreement.

Revises OSHA provisions for restraining imminent dangers. Directs the Secretary to inform the employer and the affected employees and request that a condition or practice that poses an imminent danger be corrected immediately or that employees be immediately removed from exposure to such danger. Requires such actions if the Secretary determines, on the basis of an inspection or investigation, that a condition or practice in the place of employment is such that an imminent danger to safety or health exists which could reasonably be expected to cause death, serious physical harm, or permanent impairment of health or functional capacity of employees if not corrected immediately. Directs the Secretary to post a notice in the workplace if the employer refuses to comply with the Secretary's request. Requires that such notice identify the source of the imminent danger. Grants employees the right to refuse to perform a duty that has been identified as the source of an imminent danger by such a notice, and prohibits discrimination against them for such refusal. Gives U.S. district courts jurisdiction, upon the Secretary's petition, to restrain any conditions or practices in any place of employment which pose such a imminent danger. Subjects an employer to a civil penalty of from $10,000 to $50,000 for each day during which an employee continues to be exposed if the employer does not immediately correct the hazard referred to in the posted notice or remove all employees from exposure to it, unless the Commission determines that the condition or practice is not covered by such imminent danger provisions.

Provides that the Secretary may also issue citations and assess penalties for violations of other specified OSHA provisions relating to: (1) inspections, investigations, and recordkeeping; (2) safety and health programs; (3) safety and health committees; and (4) construction plans and programs.

Revises OSHA criminal penalties to apply them to officers, management officials, and supervisors (as well as employers) who commit willful violations that result in the death or serious bodily injury of an employee. Increases the maximum amount of fines and the length of prison terms for specified violations, including those for a willful violation causing death, an improper advance notice of an inspection, or a false statement. Establishes criminal penalties for a willful violation that causes serious bodily injury. Prohibits a penalty or fine which is imposed on a director, officer, or agent of an employer from being paid out of the employer's assets on behalf of that individual. Provides that nothing in OSHA shall preclude State and local law enforcement agencies from conducting criminal prosecutions in accordance with State or local laws.

Allows Commission members to serve after the expiration of their terms until their successors take office.

Requires vacating any citation for an employer violation upon the employer's demonstration of employee accountability. Requires, in such an instance, that: (1) the employees have been provided with the proper training and equipment to prevent such a violation; (2) work rules to prevent such a violation have been established and adequately communicated to employees and have been effectively enforced when a violation has been discovered; (3) the failure of employees to observe work rules led to the violation; and (4) the employer has taken reasonable steps to discover any such violation.

Title VI: Protection of Employees from Discrimination - Revises OSHA antidiscrimination provisions to extend coverage to an employee's:

(1) reporting any injury, illness, or unsafe condition to the employer, employer's agent, safety and health committee, or employee safety and health representative; and (2) refusing to perform duties when reasonably apprehensive that doing so would result in serious injury to himself/herself or other employees, after having sought and been unable to obtain from the employer corrections of the circumstances causing such refusal.

Revises procedures for consideration of complaints of discrimination. Increases the period for filing such complaints from 30 to 180 days after the alleged discrimination. Requires the Secretary, within 60 days after receipt of the complaint, to investigate and notify the complainant and the alleged violator of the findings. Requires such findings to be accompanied by a preliminary order providing relief, if the Secretary has concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe a violation has occurred. Allows the alleged violator or the complainant to file, within 30 days, objections to the findings and/or the preliminary order, and to request a hearing on the record. Provides that such filing of objections shall not operate to stay any reinstatement remedy in the preliminary order. Requires such hearings to be conducted expeditiously. Deems the preliminary order a final order not subject to judicial review if a hearing is not timely requested. Directs the Secretary to issue a final order within 120 days after the conclusion of such hearing. Allows such proceedings to be terminated at any time in the interim on the basis of a settlement agreement by the Secretary, the complainant, and the alleged violator.

Requires the Secretary, upon determination that a violation of antidiscrimination provisions has occurred, to order: (1) correction of the violation; (2) reinstatement to the former position with all compensation (including back pay), terms, conditions, and privileges of such employment; and (3) compensatory damages. Authorizes the Secretary, upon request of the complainant, to assess against the person against whom such order is issued all costs and expenses (including attorney's fees) incurred by the complainant in connection with bringing the complaint. Allows adversely affected or aggrieved persons to petition within 60 days to obtain review of such orders in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit. Directs the Secretary to file a civil action in the appropriate U.S. district court to enforce such orders against persons who fail to comply. Authorizes such court to grant appropriate relief.

Requires the Secretary's regulations to include provisions requiring employers to post for employees the protections against discharge or discrimination for employee exercise of rights under OSHA.

Title VII: OSHA and NIOSH Training and Education - Revises OSHA provisions for training and education.

Includes education programs for employees and members of safety and health committees, as appropriate, among those programs which the Secretary of HHS is to conduct through NIOSH.

Requires the Secretary (of Labor) to develop and disseminate (directly or through grants and contracts) curricula, model programs, and other information and materials to assist employers in complying with OSHA standards and requirements for safety and health programs, employee training and education, safety and health committees.

Directs the Secretary to establish and implement (directly or through grants and contracts) a program to provide technical assistance and consultative services concerning worksite safety and health to employers and employees. Requires targeting such assistance and consultation at small employers, high hazard worksites, and high hazard industries.

Directs the Secretary to award grants to establish regional or State safety resource councils or centers to identify safety and health resources within the State or region that employers or employees can use. Requires such councils or centers to be not-for-profit organizations and include representatives from State agencies, employers, and labor organizations.

Directs the Secretary to establish a program to annually recognize and present excellence awards to employers with outstanding safety and health records. Allows such awards also to other organizations for their outstanding efforts to promote occupational safety and health.

Title VIII: Recordkeeping and Reporting - Revises OSHA provisions relating to statistics to require the Secretary to collect information and conduct analyses that identify: (1) industries, employers, processes, operations, and occupations that have a high rate of injury or illness; (2) factors that cause or contribute to injuries and illnesses; and (3) workers' compensation costs associated with the injuries and illnesses. Requires the Secretary (in collecting such information and conducting such analyses) to establish: (1) an effective system for targeting inspections of worksites, especially those with high potential for death, serious injury, or exposure to toxic materials or harmful physical agents; and (2) priorities for such inspections to ensure that enforcement activities are concentrated on such worksites. Requires such data to be publicly available in a form suitable for further statistical analysis and to be used in setting safety and health standards, targeting inspections of individual establishments, and evaluating standard setting and enforcement programs.

Directs the Secretary to require each employer covered by OSHA to report: (1) each work-related death of an employee immediately upon knowledge; and (2) each serious incident resulting in hospitalization of two or more employees within 24 hours of the incident.

Revises OSHA requirements for employer records and reports to include (in addition to work-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses) work-related illnesses reported by an employee or an employee's physician, unless the employer makes a reasonable determination that the illness is not work-related. Provides that all such employer records and reports shall be made available to the Secretary, the Secretary of HHS, employees, and employee representatives.

Title IX: NIOSH - Revises OSHA provisions relating to duties of the Secretary of HHS acting through NIOSH.

Includes under hazard evaluation reports an evaluation of whether any hazardous condition or harmful physical agent found in the place of employment poses a risk to exposed employees. Directs the Secretary of HHS, if a final determination of hazard is not made within six months of a request, to provide to the employer and employees an interim report on the known or suspected hazards, a recommendation for control, and an estimate of the time in which a final determination will be made.

Directs the Secretary of HHS to identify major factors contributing to occupational injuries and deaths through accident investigations and epidemiological research.

Specifies that the authority of the Secretary of HHS, and of NIOSH, to inspect records extends to the Secretary's designees and contractors.

Directs the Secretary of HHS, through NIOSH (and in cooperation with other HHS agencies and the Secretary of Labor), to establish a national surveillance program to identify cases of occupational illnesses, deaths, and serious injuries. Requires coordination with State health agencies and Federal and State workers' compensation agencies under such program. Directs the Secretary of HHS to collect data each year on the number and characteristics of all occupational deaths and selected occupational illnesses and injuries. Requires, in making such selections, consideration of known frequency and severity of the disorder and of the size of the population at risk. Directs the Secretary of HHS to report on and analyze the occupational deaths, illnesses, and injuries collected under such program, and transmit such information to the Secretary of Labor, State health agencies, employers, employees, and other interested parties. Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to require an employer, through a physician or health professional employed by or under contract to the employer, to report information on occupational deaths, illnesses, and injuries.

Establishes NIOSH as a separate agency within the U.S. Public Health Service in the Department of HHS.

Title X: State Plans - Revises OSHA requirements for State plans to provide for: (1) development of safety and health programs and safety and health committees and training programs that are at least as effective as those under the new OSHA requirements; and (2) reporting requirements, protection of employee rights, and access to information that are at least as effective as those under OSHA or other Federal laws governing access to information related to OSHA. Requires the State to enforce the Federal standard until a State standard at least as effective is in effect, if a State fails to adopt or promulgate such a standard within six months after the Federal standard is promulgated.

Requires the Secretary (of Labor) to: (1) promptly investigate complaints against a State plan if there are reasonable grounds to believe a deficiency exists; (2) investigate complaints alleging a deficiency in a State enforcement action within 30 days of receipt; and (3) within 30 days of completion of the investigation, transmit findings and recommendations for correction to the State and complainant (or notify the complainant if there are no reasonable grounds to believe a deficiency exists). Requires a State to respond as to what action it has taken on the Secretary's findings and recommendations within 30 days of their receipt. Directs the Secretary to issue a citation with reasonable promptness if, after receipt of the State's response, the Secretary believes a serious violation of OSHA exists for which the State has failed to issue a citation.

Title XI: Victim's Rights - Sets forth provisions for victims' rights under OSHA.

Defines a victim as: (1) an employee who has sustained a work-related injury or illness which is the subject of an OSHA inspection or investigation; or (2) the family member of an employee who either is killed or cannot reasonably exercise victim's rights as a result of such an injury or illness. Grants victims the right, on request, to: (1) meet with the Secretary or a representative respecting the inspection or investigation before the Secretary's decision to issue a citation or to take no action; (2) receive a free copy of any citation or report issued as a result of the inspection or investigation; (3) be informed of any notice of contest filed; (4) be provided an explanation of the rights of employees and employee representatives to participate in OSHA enforcement proceedings; and (5) be provided an opportunity to appear and make a statement before the parties conducting any settlement negotiations before the Secretary agrees to withdraw or modify the citation. Provides that a victim shall have the same rights as an employee under OSHA enforcement procedures. Entitles a victim, if such victims' rights are violated, to declaratory relief, injunctive relief, recovery of costs of securing specified documents, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Directs the Secretary to take reasonable actions to inform victims of these rights.

Title XII: Construction Safety - Construction Safety, Health, and Education Improvement Act of 1991 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the Act, for purposes of this title) to establish in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA, for purposes of this title) an Office of Construction Safety, Health, and Education (the Office) to ensure safe and healthy working conditions in the performance of construction work.

Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to: (1) identify construction employers with high rates of fatalities or lost workday injuries or illnesses or with patterns of noncompliance with health and safety requirements; (2) develop a system for notification of identified employers; (3) establish training courses and curriculum for training OSHA inspectors and other OSHA employees with duties related to construction safety and health; (4) establish model compliance programs for construction safety and health standards, and assist employers, employees, and their representative organizations in establishing training programs appropriate to such standards; and (5) establish a toll-free line on which reports, complaints, and notifications required under the Act may be made.

Establishes within OSHA the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Construction who is to: (1) be appointed by the Secretary to head the Office; and (2) coordinate Office and Committee activities with those of other offices and directorates within OSHA as they relate to safety, health, and education in the construction industry.

Directs the Secretary, with the advice of the Committee, to determine the necessary qualifications and training for OSHA inspectors, including: (1) full understanding of the Act and the Secretary's standards and regulations for the construction industry; and (2) at least five years' experience working in the construction industry.

Establishes requirements for construction safety and health plans and programs.

Requires a project constructor (the constructor) for every construction project covered by the Act. Gives the constructor overall responsibility for establishing the safety and health plan for such project and ensuring that the project safety coordinator exercises duties under this Act. Considers the general or prime contractor (if there is only one) or the construction owner as the constructor, if such contractor or owner does not designate a constructor.

Directs the constructor for a worksite to develop and implement written safety and health plans, including: (1) hazard analyses that identify the potential for and provide instructions to prevent hazards in the construction process; and (2) construction process protocols that include means to ensure worksite structural stability and worksite inspections.

Requires constructors to designate project safety coordinators (coordinators) for construction projects.

Requires coordinators, on behalf of constructors, to: (1) implement the plan; (2) ensure that each employer on the project has a safety and health program which complies with the plan and specified minimum program requirements; (3) conduct regular worksite inspections to monitor employers' compliance with the plan and their programs; (4) notify affected employers of any hazardous conditions discovered at a worksite or of an employer's noncompliance with the project plan or the employer's own plan; and (5) if the hazard or noncompliance is not corrected, notify the construction owner and the project constructor.

Requires the coordinator to issue written approval before an employer may engage in an operation of a type determined by the Secretary to pose a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.

Requires coordinators to: (1) inspect a worksite, upon request of an employer, employee, or employee representative, to determine if an imminent danger exists and, if so, stop work at or remove employees from the area; (2) investigate each fatality, serious bodily injury, structural failure, fire or explosion on the project; (3) notify the Secretary if an employer fails to abate an imminent danger promptly, and request the Secretary to conduct a worksite inspection immediately; and (4) be on site as necessary and promptly available at all times that work is being performed on the project.

Requires coordinators to: (1) be certified by an approved organization as having fulfilled requirements of a standardized training course and testing program developed or approved by the Secretary with Committee advice; or (2) until the Secretary develops such approved procedures, meet the requirements for a competent person under this title.

Requires each construction employer (employer) on a construction project to develop and implement a project safety and health program commensurate with the scope of their work. Requires such programs to require: (1) the employer to appoint one competent person to be responsible for general program administration; (2) a competent person to be at each worksite at all times that the employer is engaged in construction work; (3) competent persons to inspect worksites frequently and take all necessary actions to eliminate hazards, including work stoppage or removal of affected employees if necessary and notification of constructor or coordinator; (4) provision of prescribed general health and safety training for construction employees; (5) emergency evacuation procedures; and (6) safety meetings. Sets forth procedures for emergency waivers of such requirements under specified conditions.

Sets forth provisions for inspections, investigations, reporting, and recordkeeping.

Directs the Secretary to establish an effective targeting system for general schedule construction inspections. Requires such system to give inspection priority to construction work, projects, worksites and operations on the basis of their potential for deaths, injuries, or illnesses giving due weight to: (1) employers' and owners' worksite compliance records; and (2) rates of fatalities and lost workday injuries attributable to particular owners and employers and particular types of construction projects, worksites, and operations. Prohibits such priority system from limiting the Secretary's authority to conduct inspections of any employer or worksite under other provisions of the Act.

Directs the Secretary to require that, before commencement of a specific, highly hazardous construction work, or any work by the identified employers, the constructor report project information to enable the Secretary, on the basis of the inspection priority system, to determine whether to inspect such project or worksites within it.

Directs the Secretary to require constructors to report promptly any incident involving construction work that results in a fatality, an injury or illness causing two or more hospitalizations, or a structural failure or fire or explosion which caused or could have caused serious bodily injury to employees. Requires identification of the owner, constructor, coordinator, and employer in such reports. Requires the Secretary to investigate any such reported incident. Requires constructors to make and maintain accurate records of such incidents.

Grants the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (the Committee) specified powers to carry out its functions under the Act and under the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. Revises membership provisions. Limits the terms of members of such Committee. Directs the Secretary to respond in writing within 60 days to any recommendation made by such Committee.

Requires any State construction safety and health plan to comply with specified requirements for State plans under the Act and to provide for development and enforcement of requirements at least as effective as those imposed by the Act and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act.

Establishes in OSHA a Construction Safety and Health Academy to train: (1) OSHA employees who conduct construction worksite inspections; (2) construction employers and employees; and (3) other persons as the Secretary, with the advice of the Committee, consider appropriate.

Considers a project constructor an employer for purposes of specified enforcement provisions under the Act.

Directs the Secretary to report to the President and the Congress: (1) annually on certain general subjects as these relate to the construction industry, including the operation of the Office; and (2) within 120 days after three years of Office operation, on whether specified relevant information supports the continued existence of the Office within OSHA or supports enactment of legislation to establish in the Department of Labor a Construction Industry Safety and Health Administration to be headed by an Assistant Secretary of Labor for Construction Safety and Health.

Directs the Secretary, within 90 days after enactment of this Act, to deliver to specified congressional committees recommendations regarding legislative changes required to make safety records (including records of compliance with safety and health laws and regulations) one criterion considered in the awarding of Federal construction contracts.

Provides that nothing in the amendments made by this title or regulations to carry out such amendments shall limit or lessen any requirements of the Act or the Contract Work Hours Standards Act, or standards or regulations issued to carry out either such Act. Provides that the presence and duties of a project constructor or project safety coordinator shall not diminish construction employers' responsibilities under the Act for their employees' safety and health.

Sets forth an effective date for this title and timetables for interim and final regulations.

Title XIII: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.