John Conyers: “today, I express strong opposition to H.R. 742, the Occupational Safety Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act.…”

“today, I express strong opposition to H.R. 742, the Occupational Safety Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act. This fee shifting legislation before us is really a wolf in sheep's clothing. It is dangerous to our workers, overbroad, and unnecessary. The bill is dangerous because it creates an incentive for employers to litigate with OSHA rather than to correct any safety flaws in the workplace. Since OSHA was created in 1970, its mission has been clear: ``to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the nation safe and healthful working conditions.'' Unfortunately, H.R. 742 will undermine that goal and penalize OSHA for any instance in which it attempts to safeguard worker safety and loses the case even for technical reasons. The bill is overbroad because it applies to any company with less than 100 employees, regardless of their revenues or their safety record. Currently, over 6.5 million private sector establishments fall into this category, more than 97 percent of all employers. These companies employ more than 55 million workers. Many of these businesses have millions if not billions of dollars in annual revenues, and have no business being covered by a ``small business'' bill. The bill is unnecessary because this Committee has not received a shred of evidence that OSHA has pursued unwarranted litigation or abused its prosecutorial discretion.…”