Bill Text: NY A04047 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Enacts CJ's Law--oil and gas drilling workplace safety act; requires the enactment of rules and regulations for enhanced workplace safety and employee training for all oil and gas drilling operations in the state; provides that new permit holders should utilize union laborers or laborers with specific training; provides that employers shall report workplace accidents and the commissioner of the department of labor must publish a quarterly report on workplace accidents.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to labor [A04047 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A04047-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4047 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 1, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. COLTON, L. ROSENTHAL, ENGLEBRIGHT, COOK, GOTT- FRIED -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. J. RIVERA, WALKER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to enacting CJ's Law--oil and gas drilling workplace safety act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new article 34 to read 2 as follows: 3 ARTICLE 34 4 OIL AND GAS DRILLING WORKPLACE SAFETY 5 Section 960. Short title. 6 961. Rules and regulations. 7 962. Applicability of the workers' compensation law. 8 963. Special requirements. 9 964. Reports of injuries. 10 § 960. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as 11 "CJ's law--oil and gas drilling workplace safety act". 12 § 961. Rules and regulations. 1. The department, in conjunction with 13 the department of environmental conservation, shall issue rules and 14 regulations to provide for enhanced workplace safety requirements and 15 employee training requirements for all oil and gas drilling operations 16 in the state. Such rules and regulations shall include, but shall not be 17 limited to, requirements relating to exposure to chemicals, work hours 18 for both drilling site employees and employees involved in transporta- 19 tion, including truck drivers working on and off the drill rig site, 20 safety of machinery, proper care and treatment of clothing worn on 21 drilling sites, use of proper masks to protect worker respiratory 22 health, use of proper lighting, safety of living conditions for workers, 23 safety of site location, including stability of ground surfaces neces- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06195-01-1A. 4047 2 1 sary to support all equipment used at drilling sites, and required dura- 2 tion of training. 3 2. The rules and regulations issued pursuant to subdivision one of 4 this section shall be printed in English in at least fourteen point type 5 and conspicuously posted in a visible and prominent location at each oil 6 and gas drilling site location. 7 § 962. Applicability of the workers' compensation law. Pursuant to 8 section three of the workers' compensation law, all employees engaged in 9 oil and gas drilling operations in the state of New York shall be 10 considered to be engaged in hazardous employment, for which compensation 11 shall be payable for injuries or death incurred by such employees in the 12 course of such hazardous employment. In the event any covered employer 13 conducting oil and gas drilling operations in this state fails to make 14 provision of payment of disability benefits as required by section two 15 hundred eleven of the workers' compensation law, such employer shall be 16 subject to the penalties set forth in section two hundred twenty of the 17 workers' compensation law. 18 § 963. Special requirements. All applicants for a new drilling permit 19 for an oil and gas drilling operation shall utilize union laborers; 20 and/or laborers who have been trained or are undergoing training, appro- 21 priate for the type of and scope of work to be performed, where such 22 training is through a valid department apprenticeship program pursuant 23 to article twenty-three of this chapter, or an educational institution 24 or school chartered, licensed or registered by the department of educa- 25 tion, or a provider approved by the department of education. Following 26 completion of training required by this section, a certificate of 27 completion shall be issued by such department apprenticeship program, 28 educational institution, school or provider, and shall be conspicuously 29 posted at each site location where the holder of the certificate is 30 employed and shall be made available to the public upon request. Any 31 subcontractors or other independent contractors at such permitted sites 32 shall also agree to the employment of or contractual relation with the 33 same type of laborers. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this 34 section shall be construed to mandate an employer or contractor that is 35 subject to the provisions of this section to exclusively require the use 36 of union labor at a construction site or to be in violation of any 37 federal prohibition regarding the same. 38 § 964. Reports of injuries. 1. A drilling permit holder must report to 39 the commissioner any workplace accident occurring at the oil or gas 40 drilling location by the close of business of the commissioner's next 41 business day. In the event a drilling permit holder fails to report any 42 workplace accident pursuant to this subdivision, the commissioner may by 43 order which particularly describes the nature of the violation, assess 44 the permit holder a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars 45 for the first such violation, not more than two thousand dollars for a 46 second violation and not more than three thousand dollars for a third or 47 subsequent violation. Such penalty shall be paid to the commissioner for 48 deposit in the treasury of the state. In assessing the amount of the 49 penalty, the commissioner shall give due consideration to the size of 50 the employer's business, the good faith of the employer, the history of 51 previous violations and the failure with any other record-keeping 52 requirements. 53 2. The commissioner must publish a quarterly report on all workplace 54 accidents occurring at oil or gas drilling locations. Such quarterly 55 reports shall be available for public review, in writing and via an 56 online format on the department's website.A. 4047 3 1 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 2 it shall have become a law; provided, however, that no new permits or 3 renewal permits for oil and gas drilling shall be issued until the rules 4 and regulations referred to in section one of this act take effect. 5 Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule 6 or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec- 7 tive date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such 8 effective date.
