Chapter 72 Oregon Laws 1999

Session Law

 

AN ACT

 

SB 211

 

Relating to occupational safety citations; amending ORS 654.071.

 

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

 

      SECTION 1. ORS 654.071 is amended to read:

      654.071. (1) If the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services or an authorized representative of the director has reason to believe, after inspection or investigation of a place of employment, that an employer has violated any state occupational safety or health law, regulation, standard, rule or order, the director or the authorized representative shall with reasonable promptness issue to such employer a citation, and notice of proposed civil penalty, if any, to be assessed under this chapter, and fix a reasonable time for correction of the alleged violation.

      (2) Each citation and notice required by subsection (1) of this section shall be in writing, shall be mailed to or served upon the employer or a registered agent of the [director] employer, and shall contain:

      (a) The date and place of the alleged violation;

      (b) A plain statement of the facts upon which the citation is based;

      (c) A reference to the law, regulation, rule, standard or order relied upon;

      (d) The amount, if any, of the proposed civil penalty;

      (e) The time, if any, fixed for the correction of the alleged violation;

      (f) Notice of the employer's right to contest the citation, the proposed civil penalty and the period of time fixed for correction of the alleged violation; and

      (g) Notice of any affected employee's right to contest the period of time fixed for correction of the alleged violation.

      (3) No citation or notice of proposed civil penalty may be issued under this section after the expiration of 180 days following the director's knowledge of the occurrence of a violation, but this shall not prevent the issuance, at any time, of an order to correct that violation or the issuance of a citation for a subsequent violation.

      (4) If the director has reason to believe that an employer has failed to correct a violation within the period of time fixed for correction, or within the time fixed in a subsequent order granting an extension of time to correct the violation, the director shall consider such failure as a separate and continuing violation and shall issue a citation and notice of proposed civil penalty, if any, to be assessed pursuant to ORS 654.086 (1)(d).

      (5) The director may prescribe procedures for the issuance of a notice in lieu of citation to inform an employer and employees of a minimal violation [which] that has no direct or immediate relationship to occupational safety or health.

      (6) Each citation and notice, or copies thereof, issued under ORS 654.001 to 654.295 and 654.750 to 654.780 shall be posted by the employer, immediately upon receipt, in a conspicuous manner in a sufficient number of locations in the place or places of employment to reasonably inform employees of such citation and notice.

      (7) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the director or authorized representative of the director shall deliver to the operator of a farm labor camp a copy of any notice, evaluation report or citation resulting from the inspection.

 

Approved by the Governor April 20, 1999

 

Filed in the office of Secretary of State April 20, 1999

 

Effective date October 23, 1999

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