Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act

Occupational Safety and
Health Act of 1970
To assure safe and healthful working conditions
for working men and women; by authorizing
enforcement of the standards developed under
the Act; by assisting and encouraging the States in
their efforts to assure safe and healthful working
conditions; by providing for research, information,
education, and training in the field of occupational
safety and health; and for other purposes.

Public Law 91-596
84 STAT. 1590
91st Congress, S.2193
December 29, 1970,
as amended through January 1, 2004. (1)

An Act
To assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women; by
authorizing enforcement of the standards developed under the Act; by assisting
and encouraging the States in their efforts to assure safe and healthful working
conditions; by providing for research, information, education, and training in
the field of occupational safety and health; and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may
be cited as the “Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.”
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND PURPOSE

(a) The Congress finds that personal injuries and illnesses arising out of work
situations impose a substantial burden upon, and are a hindrance to, interstate
commerce in terms of lost production, wage loss, medical expenses, and disability
compensation payments.
(b) The Congress declares it to be its purpose and policy, through the exercise
of its powers to regulate commerce among the several States and with foreign
nations and to provide for the general welfare, to assure so far as possible every
working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions and
to preserve our human resources -(1) by encouraging employers and employees in their efforts to reduce the
number of occupational safety and health hazards at their places of employment, and to stimulate employers and employees to institute new and to perfect
existing programs for providing safe and healthful working conditions;
(2) by providing that employers and employees have separate but dependent responsibilities and rights with respect to achieving safe and healthful
working conditions;
(3) by authorizing the Secretary of Labor to set mandatory occupational
safety and health standards applicable to businesses affecting interstate commerce, and by creating an Occupational Safety and Health Review
Commission for carrying out adjudicatory functions under the Act;
(4) by building upon advances already made through employer and
employee initiative for providing safe and healthful working conditions;
(5) by providing for research in the field of occupational safety and health,
including the psychological factors involved, and by developing innovative
methods, techniques, and approaches for dealing with occupational safety and
health problems;
(6) by exploring ways to discover latent diseases, establishing causal connections between diseases and work in environmental conditions, and conducting other research relating to health problems, in recognition of the fact
that occupational health standards present problems often different from those
involved in occupational safety;
(7) by providing medical criteria which will assure insofar as practicable
that no employee will suffer diminished health, functional capacity, or life
expectancy as a result of his work experience;
(8) by providing for training programs to increase the number and competence of personnel engaged in the field of occupational safety and health;
Footnote (1) See Historical notes at the end of this document for changes and amendments
affecting the OSH Act since its passage in 1970 through January 1, 2004.

29 USC 651

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Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, as amended through January 1, 2004

29 USC 659

the employer has fifteen working days within which to notify the Secretary that he
wishes to contest the Secretary's notification or the proposed assessment of penalty. If, within fifteen working days from the receipt of notification issued by the
Secretary, the employer fails to notify the Secretary that he intends to contest the
notification or proposed assessment of penalty, the notification and assessment, as
proposed, shall be deemed a final order of the Commission and not subject to
review by any court or agency.
(c) If an employer notifies the Secretary that he intends to contest a citation
issued under section 9(a) or notification issued under subsection (a) or (b) of this
section, or if, within fifteen working days of the issuance of a citation under section 9(a), any employee or representative of employees files a notice with the
Secretary alleging that the period of time fixed in the citation for the abatement of
the violation is unreasonable, the Secretary shall immediately advise the
Commission of such notification, and the Commission shall afford an opportunity
for a hearing (in accordance with section 554 of title 5, United States Code, but
without regard to subsection (a)(3) of such section). The Commission shall thereafter issue an order, based on findings of fact, affirming, modifying, or vacating the
Secretary's citation or proposed penalty, or directing other appropriate relief, and
such order shall become final thirty days after its issuance. Upon a showing by an
employer of a good faith effort to comply with the abatement requirements of a
citation, and that abatement has not been completed because of factors beyond his
reasonable control, the Secretary, after an opportunity for a hearing as provided in
this subsection, shall issue an order affirming or modifying the abatement requirements in such citation. The rules of procedure prescribed by the Commission shall
provide affected employees or representatives of affected employees an opportunity to participate as parties to hearings under this subsection.
SEC. 11. JUDICIAL REVIEW
29 USC 660

(a) Any person adversely affected or aggrieved by an order of the Commission
issued under subsection (c) of section 10 may obtain a review of such order in any
United States court of appeals for the circuit in which the violation is alleged to
have occurred or where the employer has its principal office, or in the Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, by filing in such court within sixty
days following the issuance of such order a written petition praying that the order
be modified or set aside. A copy of such petition shall be forthwith transmitted by
the clerk of the court to the Commission and to the other parties, and thereupon the
Commission shall file in the court the record in the proceeding as provided in section 2112 of title 28, United States Code. Upon such filing, the court shall have
jurisdiction of the proceeding and of the question determined therein, and shall
have power to grant such temporary relief or restraining order as it deems just and
proper, and to make and enter upon the pleadings, testimony, and proceedings set
forth in such record a decree affirming, modifying, or setting aside in whole or in
part, the order of the Commission and enforcing the same to the extent that such
order is affirmed or modified. The commencement of proceedings under this subsection shall not, unless ordered by the court, operate as a stay of the order of the
Commission. No objection that has not been urged before the Commission shall be
considered by the court, unless the failure or neglect to urge such objection shall
be excused because of extraordinary circumstances. The findings of the
Commission with respect to questions of fact, if supported by substantial evidence
on the record considered as a whole, shall be conclusive. If any party shall apply
to the court for leave to adduce additional evidence and shall show to the satisfaction of the court that such additional evidence is material and that there were rea-

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29 USC 660

sonable grounds for the failure to adduce such evidence in the hearing before the
Commission, the court may order such additional evidence to be taken before the
Commission and to be made a part of the record. The Commission may modify its
findings as to the facts, or make new findings, by reason of additional evidence so
taken and filed, and it shall file such modified or new findings, which findings with
respect to questions of fact, if supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole, shall be conclusive, and its recommendations, if any, for the
modification or setting aside of its original order. Upon the filing of the record with
it, the jurisdiction of the court shall be exclusive and its judgment and decree shall
be final, except that the same shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court of
the United States, as provided in section 1254 of title 28, United States Code.
(b) The Secretary may also obtain review or enforcement of any final order of
the Commission by filing a petition for such relief in the United States court of
appeals for the circuit in which the alleged violation occurred or in which the
employer has its principal office, and the provisions of subsection (a) shall govern
such proceedings to the extent applicable. If no petition for review, as provided in
subsection (a), is filed within sixty days after service of the Commission's order,
the Commission's findings of fact and order shall be conclusive in connection with
any petition for enforcement which is filed by the Secretary after the expiration of
such sixty-day period. In any such case, as well as in the case of a noncontested
citation or notification by the Secretary which has become a final order of the
Commission under subsection (a) or (b) of section 10, the clerk of the court, unless
otherwise ordered by the court, shall forthwith enter a decree enforcing the order
and shall transmit a copy of such decree to the Secretary and the employer named
in the petition. In any contempt proceeding brought to enforce a decree of a court
of appeals entered pursuant to this subsection or subsection (a), the court of appeals
may assess the penalties provided in section 17, in addition to invoking any other
available remedies.
(c) (1) No person shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against any
employee because such employee has filed any complaint or instituted or
caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding or because of the exercise by
such employee on behalf of himself or others of any right afforded by this Act.
(2) Any employee who believes that he has been discharged or otherwise
discriminated against by any person in violation of this subsection may, within thirty days after such violation occurs, file a complaint with the Secretary
alleging such discrimination. Upon receipt of such complaint, the Secretary
shall cause such investigation to be made as he deems appropriate. If upon such
investigation, the Secretary determines that the provisions of this subsection
have been violated, he shall bring an action in any appropriate United States
district court against such person. In any such action the United States district
courts shall have jurisdiction, for cause shown to restrain violations of paragraph (1) of this subsection and order all appropriate relief including rehiring
or reinstatement of the employee to his former position with back pay.
(3) Within 90 days of the receipt of a complaint filed under this subsection
the Secretary shall notify the complainant of his determination under paragraph
2 of this subsection.

Pub. L. 98-620

SEC. 12. THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

(a) The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission is hereby established. The Commission shall be composed of three members who shall be
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from

29 USC 661