New Worker Safety Act Expands OSHA to All Public Employees, Hikes Fines to $700K, and Gives Whistleblowers 180 Days to File

The Protecting America’s Workers Act is a massive overhaul of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) that significantly boosts worker rights and dramatically increases the financial pain for employers who cut corners on safety. Simply put, this bill takes the existing framework for workplace safety and upgrades it with higher penalties, broader coverage, and faster enforcement.

Finally, Safety Parity for Public Workers

One of the biggest changes in Title I is that it brings every public employee—federal, state, and local government—under the full protection of OSHA. Before this, many government workers were excluded from federal oversight. Now, whether you’re a city sanitation worker, a state highway crew member, or a federal office employee, your employer must adhere to the same federal safety standards as the private sector. This closes a major gap, ensuring that government employers are just as accountable for safety as any private company (SEC. 101).

Whistleblowers Get Their Power Back

Title II is a game-changer for anyone who has ever hesitated to report a safety hazard for fear of getting fired. It drastically enhances whistleblower protections against retaliation. Employees now have 180 days (up from the previous 30 days) to file a complaint if they are disciplined for reporting a safety issue. The process is also streamlined: if the Secretary of Labor, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), or the Review Board misses their respective 90-day decision deadlines, the employee can skip the administrative process and take their case straight to a U.S. District Court, complete with the right to a jury trial (SEC. 201).

If you win, the relief is comprehensive. You don’t just get your job back; the employer must pay compensatory and consequential damages (like covering medical bills or costs associated with being out of work), and they must expunge any negative records from your file. Crucially, proving retaliation is easier: you only need to show your safety complaint was a contributing factor to the negative action. The employer then has the tough job of proving by clear and convincing evidence that they would have taken the same action anyway. This is a very high bar for the employer to clear, making it much safer for workers to speak up.

The Cost of Cutting Corners Goes Up—Way Up

If you’re an employer, Title III is where you’ll feel the heat. The bill introduces massive increases to civil penalties (SEC. 351). The maximum fine for a serious or willful violation jumps from $70,000 to a staggering $700,000. Penalties for other violations increase tenfold as well, and all these fines are now indexed to inflation annually. This isn’t just a slap on the wrist anymore; these fines are designed to be an existential threat to businesses that intentionally disregard worker safety.

Beyond the fines, the bill also stiffens criminal penalties (SEC. 352). If an employer knowingly violates a safety rule and that violation causes an employee’s death, they face up to 10 years in prison for a first offense. If the violation causes “serious bodily harm” (like a major disfigurement or long-term loss of function), the penalty is up to 5 years in prison. In both cases, the term “employer” explicitly includes officers and directors, meaning the people at the top can no longer hide behind the corporate veil when tragedy strikes.

New Rules for Everyone: From Inspections to Data Transparency

Other notable changes in the bill focus on closing loopholes and increasing transparency:

• Exposure Counts as a Violation: Under the updated general duty clause, if an employer creates a hazard, every instance an employee is exposed to that hazard can be cited as a separate violation (SEC. 301). This means one unguarded machine could lead to multiple penalties if several workers are exposed to it.
• Pay Protection During Inspections: If an employee participates in an OSHA inspection, the employer must pay them for that time. It must be counted as “hours worked,” preventing employers from docking pay for cooperating with investigators (SEC. 313).
• Public Safety Data: Employers required to keep injury records must now report that data electronically to the Secretary annually. The Secretary is then required to make this information publicly available in a searchable format (SEC. 312). For the first time, the public will have easy access to detailed, site-specific injury data, allowing workers and consumers to see which workplaces are actually dangerous.
• Victim and Family Rights: The bill establishes formal rights for victims and their families during OSHA investigations. They must be informed about the investigation status, have the right to meet with the Secretary, and must be notified and allowed to appear before any citation is withdrawn or settled (SEC. 331). This ensures that the victims have a voice in the process, not just the employers.

No More State-Hopping for Repeat Offenders

For employers operating across state lines, Title IV closes a major loophole. State safety plans (which are run in lieu of federal OSHA) must now consider an employer’s safety history in all other states—both those with state plans and those with federal enforcement—when determining if a violation is a “repeat” offense (SEC. 402). This means a company can’t just move its operations a few miles to a new state and wipe its safety slate clean.