                          TITLE 2--THE CONGRESS
 
                CHAPTER 24--CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY
 
           SUBCHAPTER II--EXTENSION OF RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS
 
           Part C--Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
 
Sec. 1341. Rights and protections under Occupational Safety and 
        Health Act of 1970; procedures for remedy of violations
        

(a) Occupational safety and health protections

                           (1) In general

        Each employing office and each covered employee shall comply 
    with the provisions of section 5 of the Occupational Safety and 
    Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 654).

                           (2) Definitions

        For purposes of the application under this section of the 
    Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 [29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.]--
            (A) the term ``employer'' as used in such Act means an 
        employing office;
            (B) the term ``employee'' as used in such Act means a 
        covered employee;
            (C) the term ``employing office'' includes the General 
        Accounting Office, the Library of Congress, and any entity 
        listed in subsection (a) of section 1331 of this title that is 
        responsible for correcting a violation of this section, 
        irrespective of whether the entity has an employment 
        relationship with any covered employee in any employing office 
        in which such a violation occurs; and
            (D) the term ``employee'' includes employees of the General 
        Accounting Office and the Library of Congress.

(b) Remedy

    The remedy for a violation of subsection (a) of this section shall 
be an order to correct the violation, including such order as would be 
appropriate if issued under section 13(a) of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 662(a)).

(c) Procedures

                    (1) Requests for inspections

        Upon written request of any employing office or covered 
    employee, the General Counsel shall exercise the authorities granted 
    to the Secretary of Labor by subsections (a), (d), (e), and (f) of 
    section 8 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
    U.S.C. 657(a), (d), (e), and (f)) to inspect and investigate places 
    of employment under the jurisdiction of employing offices.

              (2) Citations, notices, and notifications

        For purposes of this section, the General Counsel shall exercise 
    the authorities granted to the Secretary of Labor in sections 9 and 
    10 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 658 
    and 659), to issue--
            (A) a citation or notice to any employing office responsible 
        for correcting a violation of subsection (a) of this section; or
            (B) a notification to any employing office that the General 
        Counsel believes has failed to correct a violation for which a 
        citation has been issued within the period permitted for its 
        correction.

                       (3) Hearings and review

        If after issuing a citation or notification, the General Counsel 
    determines that a violation has not been corrected, the General 
    Counsel may file a complaint with the Office against the employing 
    office named in the citation or notification. The complaint shall be 
    submitted to a hearing officer for decision pursuant to subsections 
    (b) through (h) of section 1405 of this title, subject to review by 
    the Board pursuant to section 1406 of this title.

                       (4) Variance procedures

        An employing office may request from the Board an order granting 
    a variance from a standard made applicable by this section. For the 
    purposes of this section, the Board shall exercise the authorities 
    granted to the Secretary of Labor in sections 6(b)(6) and 6(d) of 
    the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)(6) 
    and 655(d)) to act on any employing office's request for a variance. 
    The Board shall refer the matter to a hearing officer pursuant to 
    subsections (b) through (h) of section 1405 of this title, subject 
    to review by the Board pursuant to section 1406 of this title.

                         (5) Judicial review

        The General Counsel or employing office aggrieved by a final 
    decision of the Board under paragraph (3) or (4), may file a 
    petition for review with the United States Court of Appeals for the 
    Federal Circuit pursuant to section 1407 of this title.

                         (6) Compliance date

        If new appropriated funds are necessary to correct a violation 
    of subsection (a) of this section for which a citation is issued, or 
    to comply with an order requiring correction of such a violation, 
    correction or compliance shall take place as soon as possible, but 
    not later than the end of the fiscal year following the fiscal year 
    in which the citation is issued or the order requiring correction 
    becomes final and not subject to further review.

(d) Regulations to implement section

                           (1) In general

        The Board shall, pursuant to section 1384 of this title, issue 
    regulations to implement this section.

                       (2) Agency regulations

        The regulations issued under paragraph (1) shall be the same as 
    substantive regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor to 
    implement the statutory provisions referred to in subsection (a) of 
    this section except to the extent that the Board may determine, for 
    good cause shown and stated together with the regulation, that a 
    modification of such regulations would be more effective for the 
    implementation of the rights and protections under this section.

           (3) Employing office responsible for correction

        The regulations issued under paragraph (1) shall include a 
    method of identifying, for purposes of this section and for 
    different categories of violations of subsection (a) of this 
    section, the employing office responsible for correction of a 
    particular violation.

(e) Periodic inspections; report to Congress

                      (1) Periodic inspections

        On a regular basis, and at least once each Congress, the General 
    Counsel, exercising the same authorities of the Secretary of Labor 
    as under subsection (c)(1) of this section, shall conduct periodic 
    inspections of all facilities of the House of Representatives, the 
    Senate, the Capitol Guide Service, the Capitol Police, the 
    Congressional Budget Office, the Office of the Architect of the 
    Capitol, the Office of the Attending Physician, the Office of 
    Compliance, the Office of Technology Assessment, the Library of 
    Congress, and the General Accounting Office to report on compliance 
    with subsection (a) of this section.

                             (2) Report

        On the basis of each periodic inspection, the General Counsel 
    shall prepare and submit a report--
            (A) to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 
        President pro tempore of the Senate, and the Office of the 
        Architect of the Capitol or other employing office responsible 
        for correcting the violation of this section uncovered by such 
        inspection, and
            (B) containing the results of the periodic inspection, 
        identifying the employing office responsible for correcting the 
        violation of this section uncovered by such inspection, 
        describing any steps necessary to correct any violation of this 
        section, and assessing any risks to employee health and safety 
        associated with any violation.

                       (3) Action after report

        If a report identifies any violation of this section, the 
    General Counsel shall issue a citation or notice in accordance with 
    subsection (c)(2)(A) of this section.

                       (4) Detailed personnel

        The Secretary of Labor may, on request of the Executive 
    Director, detail to the Office such personnel as may be necessary to 
    advise and assist the Office in carrying out its duties under this 
    section.

(f) Initial period for study and corrective action

    The period from January 23, 1995, until December 31, 1996, shall be 
available to the Office of the Architect of the Capitol and other 
employing offices to identify any violations of subsection (a) of this 
section, to determine the costs of compliance, and to take any necessary 
corrective action to abate any violations. The Office shall assist the 
Office of the Architect of the Capitol and other employing offices by 
arranging for inspections and other technical assistance at their 
request. Prior to July 1, 1996, the General Counsel shall conduct a 
thorough inspection under subsection (e)(1) of this section and shall 
submit the report under subsection (e)(2) of this section for the One 
Hundred Fourth Congress.

(g) Effective date

                           (1) In general

        Except as provided in paragraph (2), subsections (a), (b), (c), 
    and (e)(3) of this section shall be effective on January 1, 1997.

        (2) General Accounting Office and Library of Congress

        This section shall be effective with respect to the General 
    Accounting Office and the Library of Congress 1 year after 
    transmission to the Congress of the study under section 1371 of this 
    title.

(Pub. L. 104-1, title II, Sec. 215, Jan. 23, 1995, 109 Stat. 16.)

                       References in Text

    The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, referred to in 
subsec. (a)(2), is Pub. L. 91-596, Dec. 29, 1970, 84 Stat. 1590, as 
amended, which is classified principally to chapter 15 (Sec. 651 et 
seq.) of Title 29, Labor. For complete classification of this Act to the 
Code, see Short Title note set out under section 651 of Title 29 and 
Tables.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 1407, 1414, 1415, 1416 of 
this title.
