Senate Bill No. 377
(By Senators Schoonover, Mitchell, Snyder, Kessler and Edgell)
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[Introduced February 1, 1999;
referred to the Committee
on Labor; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections two and nineteen, article
three-a, chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all
relating to providing coverage for municipal firefighters
under the occupational safety and health act.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections two and nineteen, article three-a, chapter
twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 3A. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT.
§21-3A-2. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise:
(a) "Commission" means the occupational safety and health review commission established under this article;
(b) "Commissioner" means the labor commissioner or his or
her designated agent;
(c) "Employee" means any public employee of the state, or
any state agency;
(d) "Employer" means public employer and shall include
includes the state or any department, division, bureau, board,
council, agency or authority of the state and a municipality as
an employer of firefighters, but shall does not include the
department division of corrections, the department division of
health and the Legislature;
(e) "Occupational safety and health standard" means a
standard for health or safety which requires the adoption or use
of one or more practices, means, methods, operations or processes
reasonably necessary or appropriate to provide safe and healthful
employment in places of employment;
(f) "Person" means one or more individuals; and
(g) "Workplace" means a place where public employees are assigned to work but shall does not include any place where
public employees are assigned to work that is inspected and
regulated in accordance with federal occupational safety and
health standards or mine safety and health administration
standards, or facilities under the authority of the department
division of corrections, the department division of health, or
the Legislature.
§21-3A-19. Coverage by subdivisions.
(a) A municipality that employs firefighters is covered
under this article, but only as it relates to the employment of
its firefighters.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section,
the governing body of any county or municipality or any
department, division, bureau, board, council, agency or authority
of any county or municipality or of any school district or
special purposes district created pursuant to law may, by
ordinance, resolution or other procedure, explicitly elect that
some or all of its workplaces or employees shall be covered by
the provisions of this article. The commissioner shall issue
rules and regulations and prescribe forms and procedures
regarding such the optional coverage. The commissioner may issue rules and regulations providing for variances from the procedural
and substantive requirements of this article in the case of the
optional coverage described herein in this subsection.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide OSHA coverage
for municipal firefighters.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.