Revision: Jan. 7, 2019, 4:02 p.m.
HB 406 - AS INTRODUCED
2019 SESSION
19-0476
04/01
HOUSE BILL 406
AN ACT relative to reporting and investigation of serious injuries and death in the workplace.
SPONSORS: Rep. McBeath, Rock. 26
COMMITTEE: Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires the commissioner of the department of labor to inspect a place of employment where a serious injury or death has occurred and requires an employer to report such injury or death to the department of labor.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
19-0476
04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen
AN ACT relative to reporting and investigation of serious injuries and death in the workplace.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Safety and Health of Employees; Definitions. Amend RSA 277:1-b by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
V. "Serious injury" means an incident that results in an amputation, loss or fracture of any body part, head injury, or internal injury that necessitates immediate hospitalization.
2 New Sections; Safety and Health of Employees; Inspections; Reports of Death or Serious Injury. Amend RSA 277 by inserting after section 15 the following new sections:
277:15-a Inspections. In the case of a workplace incident resulting in a serious injury or death involving the state, a state agency, a county, a municipality or municipal agency, a school district, or other public corporation or political subdivision, the commissioner of labor, or his or her designee, shall inspect such place of employment.
277:15-b Reports of Death or Serious Injury.
I. Every employer shall report the death of any person in the workplace or on the workplace premises within 8 hours of such occurrence to the commissioner of the department of labor by telephone or electronically, stating as fully as possible the cause of the death and the place where the body of the deceased person was sent, and supplying any other information relative to the death that may be required by the commissioner. The commissioner shall investigate the cause of death and may notify the employer of precautions to be taken that may prevent the recurrence of similar events. A statement contained in any such report shall not be admissible in evidence in any action arising out of the death reported.
II. Every employer shall report the serious injury of any person in the workplace or on the workplace premises within 24 hours of such occurrence to the commissioner of the department of labor by telephone or electronically, stating as fully as possible the cause of the injury and the place where the injured person was sent for medical evaluation or treatment, and supplying any other information relative to the injury that may be required by the commissioner. The commissioner may investigate the cause of the injury and notify the employer of precautions to be taken that may prevent the recurrence of similar events. A statement contained in any such report shall not be admissible in evidence in any action arising out of the injury reported.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.