Protecting America’s Workers Act

This bill updates federal job-safety rules to protect more workers and hold employers more accountable. It broadens who is covered, including many public employees and volunteers , and it clearly says the goal is to expand coverage, boost whistleblower protections, raise penalties, and give victims and families rights. Workers get stronger whistleblower protections—so they can report hazards or refuse dangerous work without retaliation—and there are clearer steps and timelines for complaints and relief . Employers must follow stronger reporting and inspection rules after serious injuries and deaths, preserve evidence, and keep injury logs for each worksite . Penalties increase a lot and will adjust each year for inflation, and there is possible jail time when violations kill or seriously injure workers . Victims and families get the right to be notified, to be heard, and to receive help from an OSHA family liaison .

Key points

• Who is affected: Workers in more kinds of jobs (including many public employees and volunteers), employers—especially those who control multi‑employer worksites—and families of injured or deceased workers .
• What changes:
  • Report serious harm promptly; no policies that discourage injury reporting; yearly electronic injury data will be made public; keep a site‑level injury log.
  • OSHA must investigate any work‑related death and incidents with 2 or more hospitalizations; employers must preserve evidence.
  • Higher civil fines with annual inflation updates; criminal penalties for deaths, serious bodily harm, or tipping off about inspections .
  • More training and education for employers and employees through the federal safety and health program.
• When: Most changes start 90 days after enactment. States with OSHA‑approved plans have 12 months to update their plans (with a possible extension). For state or local government workplaces in states without such a plan, the changes apply after 36 months.