H.R. 739: Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court Act of 2005

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H.R. 739: Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court Act of 2005

109th Congress · introduced 2005-02-10 · Labor and Employment · Latest: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

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Official title

Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court Act of 2005

Plain summary

(Pursuant to H.Res. 351, the engrossed version of H.R. 739 sent to the Senate contains the texts of H.R. 739, H.R. 740, H.R. 741, and H.R. 742 as passed by the House on July 12, 2005.) Title I: Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court Act of 2005 - Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court Act of 2005 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to revise a requirement that, if an employer fails to file a notice of contest within 15 working days following the issuance of a citation or proposed assessment of a penalty, the citation or assessment becomes a final order not subject to review. Provides for an exception if such failure results from mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. Title II: Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Efficiency Act of 2005 - Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Efficiency Act of 2005 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to increase the membership of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) from three to five. Includes an individual's legal training among possible qualifications for OSHRC membership. Authorizes the President to extend for up to 365 days the term of an OSHRC member until a nominated successor is confirmed to serve by the Senate. Title III: Occupational Safety and Health Independent Review of OSHA Citations Act of 2005 - Occupational Safety and Health Independent Review of OSHA Citations Act of 2005 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) to revise requirements for judicial review of orders by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), which is the agency for independent review of citations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) against businesses for violations of the OSH Act. Requires deference to be given to reasonable conclusions of OSHRC (rather than OSHA) with respect to all questions of law that are subject to agency deference under governing court precedent. Title IV: Occupational Safety and Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act of 2005 - Occupational Safety and Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act of 2005 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) to provide for the award of attorney's fees and costs to certain small employers when they prevail in specified administrative or court proceedings. Requires such awards to prevailing employers if they had not more than 100 employees and a net worth of not more than $7 million at the time of: (1) the initiation of the administrative proceedings (in the case of an adversary adjudication); or (2) the filing of the action addressed in the court proceedings (in the case of judicial review of an administrative action). Provides for such awards without regard to whether the position of the Secretary of Labor or the Federal Government was substantially justified or whether special circumstances make an award unjust.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House amended), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Norwood, Charles W. [R-GA-9] · 23 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 739, Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court Act of 2005 (2005-04-15); CBO cost estimate: H.R. 739, Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court Act of 2005 (2005-04-15)

Cosponsors on this site

Joe Wilson (R-SC), Virginia Foxx (R-NC)

Recorded votes

• House roll call 369 (2005): On Passage, HR739 (2005-07-12): Passed

Sources

• Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House amended)
• Congress.gov
• Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-109hr739.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/109/hr>

Record fed-us-cong109-hr739 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong109 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong109