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(800) 362-4228 PRINTER'S NO. 1990
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 1633 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY PERZEL, THOMAS, READSHAW, ARMSTRONG, BASTIAN,
BUNT, CAPPELLI, L. I. COHEN, CREIGHTON, DiGIROLAMO, FEESE,
FLICK, GANNON, LEWIS, McILHATTAN, NAILOR, O'BRIEN, ROSS,
SATHER, J. TAYLOR, WOGAN, BISHOP, BUTKOVITZ, CORRIGAN,
DIVEN,
FRANKEL, M. BAKER, KENNEY, HUTCHINSON, HARHAI, KAISER,
KELLER, LAUGHLIN, MANN, MAYERNIK, McGEEHAN, SOLOBAY, SURRA,
TIGUE, WATERS, SEMMEL, SAYLOR, J. EVANS, WOJNAROSKI, DALEY,
LESCOVITZ, COY, BROWNE, ALLEN, McCALL AND DALLY, MAY 21,
2001
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, MAY 21, 2001
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 2, 1915 (P.L.736, No.338),
entitled, as
2 reenacted and amended, "An act defining the
liability of an
3 employer to pay damages for injuries received by an
employe
4 in the course of employment; establishing an elective
5 schedule of compensation; providing procedure for the
6 determination of liability and compensation thereunder;
and
7 prescribing penalties," further defining
"occupational
8 disease."
9 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
10 hereby enacts as follows:
11 Section 1. Section 108(m) of the act of June 2, 1915
12 (P.L.736, No.338), known as the Workers' Compensation
Act,
13 reenacted and amended June 21, 1939 (P.L.520, No.281)
and
14 amended July 9, 1976 (P.L.935, No.180), is amended to
read:
15 Section 108. The term "occupational disease,"
as used in
16 this act, shall mean only the following diseases.
17 * * *
- (m) Tuberculosis, serum hepatitis [or], infectious
hepatit
1 or hepatitis C in the occupations of blood processors,
2 fractionators, nursing, or auxiliary services involving
exposure
3 to such diseases or in law enforcement occupations
involving 4 both the legal power to arrest and exposure to
such diseases.
5 * * *
6 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
E17L77DMS/20010H1633B1990 - 2 –
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1393 P.N. 1639
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HOUSE BILL 1393 P.N. 1639 PRINTER'S NO. 1639 THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE BILL
No. 1393 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY BELFANTI, HARHAI, WANSACZ, DeWEESE, GEORGE,
BELARDI, CALTAGIRONE, SHANER, JOSEPHS, HORSEY, SANTONI, BEBKO-JONES,
WOJNAROSKI, MANN, GRUCELA, BROWNE, McCALL, MICHLOVIC, DeLUCA,
ROONEY, WALKO, PETRARCA, MELIO, LAUGHLIN, TRELLO, CRUZ,
YUDICHAK, SURRA, SOLOBAY, THOMAS, C. WILLIAMS, CURRY, EACHUS,
JAMES, STEELMAN AND KIRKLAND, APRIL 24, 2001 REFERRED TO
COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, APRIL 24, 2001 AN ACT 1 Relating
to occupational health clinics; providing for the 2 Secretary
of Labor and Industry to make grants to public and 3 nonprofit
organizations to facilitate the development of 4 occupational
health clinics, for qualifications for grants, 5 for the
Secretary of Labor and Industry to make grants to 6 auxiliary
occupational health clinics, for the collection of 7 data
concerning occupational illnesses and injuries and for 8
investigation and surveillance of hazards in health 9
emergencies; establishing the Occupational Health Clinic 10
Advisory Committee; and making an appropriation. 11 The
General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 12 hereby
enacts as follows: 13 Section 1. Short title. 14 This act
shall be known and may be cited as the Occupational 15 Health
Clinics Act. 16 Section 2. Definitions. 17 The following words
and phrases when used in this act shall 18 have the meanings
given to them in this section unless the 19 context clearly
indicates otherwise: 20 "Auxiliary occupational health
clinic." A hospital or other 1 medical facility which is
approved by the Secretary of Labor and 2 Industry in
accordance with rules or regulations adopted under 3 this act
and which operates a corporate medicine program or an 4
employee wellness program which includes any of the following:
5 (1) Routine commercial activities, such as preemployment 6
examinations. 7 (2) Mandated examinations, such as Federal
Occupational 8 Safety and Health Administration examinations.
9 (3) Routine workers' compensation cases. 10 (4) Routine
medical evaluations involving establishment 11 of product
liability. 12 (5) Evaluations consigned to independent medical
13 examiners. 14 (6) Employee physical programs. 15 (7)
Employee wellness programs. 16 (8) Employee drug-testing
programs. 17 "Committee." The Occupational Health
Clinic Advisory 18 Committee. 19 "Department." The
Department of Labor and Industry of the 20 Commonwealth. 21
"Health hazard evaluation." A study of a particular
22 workplace or community performed by an interdisciplinary
team of 23 occupational health professionals to determine
whether there is 24 a health hazard to workers caused by
exposure to toxic chemicals 25 or physical agents in the
environment. 26 "Occupational disease." A disease
that is peculiar to an 27 occupation in which an employee was
or is engaged and which is 28 due to causes, in excess of the
ordinary hazards of employment, 29 which are attributable to
the occupation, and that includes, but 30 is not limited to:
20010H1393B1639 - 2 - 1 (1) A disease due or attributable to
exposure to or 2 contact with any radioactive material by an
employee in the 3 course of the employee's employment. 4 (2)
Poisoning from lead, phosphorus, arsenic, brass, 5 wood
alcohol or mercury or their compounds or from anthrax or 6
compressed air illness. 7 (3) Any other disease, contracted as
a result of the 8 employment of a person, which is due to
toxic or hazardous 9 chemicals, materials, gases or other
substances identified by 10 the United States Department of
Labor under occupational 11 safety and health standards
contained in 29 CFR Parts 1911- 12 1925 (relating to
Occupational Safety and Health 13 Administration, Department
of Labor). 14 "Occupational health clinic." A public
or nonprofit medical 15 facility providing diagnosis,
treatment and preventative 16 services for patients with
<< occupational diseases>> which is 17 licensed by
the Commonwealth for those purposes. These services 18
include, but are not limited to, outpatient care, medical 19
surveillance, data collection and the assessment of workplace
20 exposure. 21 "Occupational physician." Any doctor
licensed to practice 22 medicine in this Commonwealth and
found to be qualified to 23 practice occupational medicine by
the American Board of 24 Preventive Medicine. 25 "OSHA."
The Federal Occupational Safety and Health 26 Administration.
27 "Secretary." The Secretary of Labor and Industry
of the 28 Commonwealth. 29 "Surveillance." The
detection by epidemiologic means of 30 disease states or
significant laboratory abnormalities, the 20010H1393B1639 - 3
- 1 interpretation of existing data or the active pursuit of
new 2 data and disease associations. The term does not include
3 preemployment-related physicals, insurance examinations or
other 4 data collection activities of a purely commercial
nature. The 5 term may incorporate the experience of other
states and may 6 include technical support available through
the National 7 Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 8
Section 3. Grants-in-aid to occupational health clinics. 9 (a)
General rule.--The secretary, in consultation with the 10
Secretary of Health, shall encourage the development of 11
occupational health clinics by making grants-in-aid to public
12 and nonprofit organizations, subject to the following: 13
(1) The grants-in-aid shall be used to facilitate the 14
development and operation of the clinics, including, but not
15 limited to, preproject development, site acquisition, 16
development, improvement and operating expenses. 17 (2) The
grants-in-aid may be used for activities 18 involved in
occupational disease evaluation, treatment and 19 prevention,
particularly when these activities are not 20 compensated by
other sources. Grants-in-aid may also be used 21 for
conducting health hazard evaluations. 22 (3) No grants-in-aid
shall be used to compensate any 23 occupational health clinic
for any activities which could be 24 included in a corporate
medicine or employee wellness 25 program, as described in
section 2. 26 (4) The secretary shall consult with the
committee 27 before making any grant-in-aid. 28 (b)
Qualifications.--For a public or nonprofit organization 29 to
qualify for a grant-in-aid under this act, the occupational 30
health clinic to be operated shall meet all of the following
20010H1393B1639 - 4 - 1 criteria: 2 (1) Clinical directorship
by a board-certified or board- 3 eligible occupational health
physician. 4 (2) Membership in, application to or plans for 5
application to the Association of Occupational and 6
Environmental Clinics. 7 (3) Availability of industrial
hygiene or related 8 services. 9 (4) Current involvement in or
willingness to assist in 10 the training of occupational
health professionals. 11 (5) Agreement to work with the
department and the 12 Department of Health to reduce the
burden of occupational 13 disease. 14 (6) Provision of
assistance and medical consultative 15 services to the
department and OSHA. 16 (7) Cooperation with the department,
the Department of 17 Health and the Insurance Department to
transfer granted 18 occupational medicine costs to appropriate
insurance and 19 other private funding mechanisms. 20 (8)
Agreement to attempt to educate medical 21 professionals on
use of the surveillance system. 22 (9) Agreement to compile
and report surveillance data. 23 (10) Cooperation with the
department, the Department of 24 Health and the Insurance
Department to carry out the purposes 25 of this act. 26
Section 4. Grants-in-aid for auxiliary occupational health 27
clinics. 28 The secretary, in consultation with the Secretary
of Health, 29 shall encourage the development of auxiliary
occupational health 30 clinics by making grants-in-aid to
auxiliary occupational health 20010H1393B1639 - 5 - 1 clinics,
subject to the following: 2 (1) The grants-in-aid shall be
used to compensate 3 auxiliary clinics for the costs
associated with the reporting 4 of data under section 5. 5 (2)
No grants-in-aid shall be used to compensate any 6 auxiliary
clinic for any activities which could be included 7 in a
corporate medicine or employee wellness program, as 8
described in section 2. 9 (3) The secretary shall consult with
the committee 10 before making any grant-in-aid. 11 Section 5.
Collection of data regarding occupational illnesses 12 and
injuries. 13 (a) General rule.--The department shall receive
and 14 coordinate data from occupational health clinics,
auxiliary 15 occupational health clinics and other data bases
and medical 16 sources concerning occupational illnesses and
injuries at 17 various sites and related to various
occupations. 18 (b) Data sources.--The department shall
coordinate data 19 collection activities from current
available and competent 20 sources, from new sources and from
occupational health clinics 21 and auxiliary occupational
health clinics and shall educate 22 unions, employers and
individual workers on use of the 23 surveillance system. Data
collection and reporting shall be in a 24 form which is
consistent with the system used by the United 25 States
Centers for Disease Control. 26 (c) Annual summary.--The
department shall make available at 27 least annually to the
public, the General Assembly, the 28 Department of Health, the
Insurance Department and OSHA a 29 summary of the data
collected under this section. 30 Section 6. Implementation of
investigating studies or 20010H1393B1639 - 6 - 1 surveillance
in emergency situations. 2 (a) General rule.--In the event of
recognition of a health 3 emergency, suggested disease cluster
or imminent hazard, the 4 department and the Department of
Health, upon their own 5 initiatives or upon notice from an
occupational health clinic or 6 auxiliary occupational health
clinic, may initiate site-specific 7 hazard evaluations,
industrywide epidemiologic and industrial 8 hygiene studies or
other surveillance activities. The 9 investigatory studies or
surveillance shall be conducted in full 10 cooperation with
local public health officials. 11 (b) Procedure.-- 12 (1) The
department and the Department of Health are 13 authorized to
make such evaluations and studies and to 14 conduct such other
surveillance activities and in furtherance 15 thereof to
interview employees onsite, to conduct onsite 16 inspections,
tests or sampling and to examine or require 17 production of
books, papers, records and physical evidence 18 pertinent to
any matter under investigation pursuant to this 19 act, and
for these purposes the duly authorized agents and 20 employees
of the department and the Department of Health are 21
authorized to enter and examine any property, facility, 22
operation or activity upon presentation of appropriate 23
credentials, without prior notice, at all reasonable times 24
during regular business hours of the operation and at times 25
when activity is being conducted at the site. 26 (2) The
owner, operator or other person in charge of 27 such property,
facility, operation or activity, upon 28 presentation of
proper identification and purpose of 29 inspection by the
agents or employees of the department or 30 the Department of
Health, shall give such agents and 20010H1393B1639 - 7 - 1
employees free and unrestricted entry and access and, upon 2
refusal to grant such entry or access, the agent or employee 3
may obtain a search warrant or other suitable order for the 4
purposes of making such evaluations and studies and to 5
conduct other such surveillance activities and to interview 6
employees onsite, to conduct onsite inspections, tests or 7
sampling, and to examine or require production of books, 8
papers, records and physical evidence pertinent to any matter
9 under investigation pursuant to this act. Such warrants
shall 10 be issued upon probable cause. It shall be sufficient
11 probable cause to show that the department or the
Department 12 of Health has recognized a health emergency, a
suggested 13 disease cluster or imminent hazard and that the
agent or 14 employee has been refused entry or access. 15
Section 7. Rules. 16 The secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of Health, 17 shall adopt rules to carry out this
act. 18 Section 8. Occupational Health Clinic Advisory
Committee. 19 (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established
the 20 Occupational Health Clinic Advisory Committee. 21 (b)
Members.--The committee shall be comprised of the 22 following
persons or their designees: 23 (1) The Secretary of Health. 24
(2) The Secretary of Labor and Industry. 25 (3) The Insurance
Commissioner. 26 (4) Three persons appointed by the Governor,
of which 27 one must represent organized labor, one must
represent 28 business and one must represent occupational
health 29 professionals. 30 (5) Three persons appointed by the
President pro tempore 20010H1393B1639 - 8 - 1 of the Senate,
of which one must represent organized labor, 2 one must
represent business and one must represent 3 occupational
health professionals. 4 (6) Three persons appointed by the
Speaker of the House 5 of Representatives, of which one must
represent organized 6 labor, one must represent business and
one must represent 7 occupational health professionals. 8 (c)
Report.--The committee shall report to the Governor and 9 the
General Assembly no later than September 15, 2002, and 10
annually thereafter, its recommendations as to the following:
11 (1) Methods for the coordination of activities among 12
occupational health clinics, auxiliary occupational health 13
clinics, the Commonwealth and any other entities. 14 (2)
Methods and the nature of disclosure of research and 15 data
collection results and related educational information. 16 (3)
The appropriate methods of funding, including 17 sources of
funding for occupational health clinics and 18 related
Commonwealth activities, particularly regarding 19
surveillance. 20 (4) Delineation of new goals in occupational
disease 21 detection and prevention. 22 Section 9.
Appropriation. 23 The sum of $1,000,000, or as much thereof as
may be 24 necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Department
of Labor and 25 Industry for the fiscal year July 1, 2001, to
June 30, 2002, to 26 carry out the provisions of this act. 27
Section 10. Effective date. 28 This act shall take effect in
60 days. A29L35BIL/20010H1393B1639 - 9 -
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