The civic record

Read. Follow. Verify.

HB 308PENNSYLVANIASession 2025-2026State Billpassed chamber

Passed

Pennsylvania establishes workplace safety standards and enforcement for public employees under Jake's Law

Original title: An Act providing for workplace health and safety standards for public employees; providing for powers and duties of the Secretary of Labor and Industry; establishing the Pennsylvania Occupational Safety and Health Review Board; providing for workplace inspections; and imposing penalties.

Last action · April 30, 2025: Referred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY, April 30, 2025Sponsors: Pat Harkins and 39 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Would Do

Pennsylvania House Bill 308 establishes the Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health Act, extending workplace health and safety protections, inspection rights, and compliance standards to public sector workers across state and local government. The measure creates the Pennsylvania Occupational Safety and Health Review Board, empowers the Secretary of Labor and Industry to conduct workplace inspections and enforce standards, and establishes civil and criminal penalties for violations.

Why it matters

State and local government workers gain enforceable safety protections comparable to those in the private sector, while public employers face new compliance mandates, recordkeeping rules, and potential financial penalties for workplace hazards.

Background

Public employees in Pennsylvania previously lacked comprehensive state-level occupational safety and health standards equivalent to those provided to private sector workers under federal law. context
House Bill 308 is commonly referred to as Jake's Law in legislative materials. context

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Public employees

Public employees receive new occupational health and safety standards, inspection rights, protection from discrimination, and access to toxic exposure records.

Directly affected

Public employers

Public employers must comply with safety regulations, maintain hazard-free workplaces, keep required records, permit unannounced inspections, and face potential administrative or criminal penalties for violations.

Directly affected

Department of Labor and Industry

The department is tasked with adopting safety standards, conducting inspections, issuing compliance orders, and administering regulations.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is covered by the new safety standards?

The act covers public employees and public employers across Pennsylvania, including state agencies, counties, cities, towns, boroughs, townships, school entities, and local transportation organizations, except for those already covered by federal occupational safety and health standards.

Can inspectors enter a workplace without advance notice?

Yes. The Secretary of Labor and Industry or designated agents may enter a workplace without advance notice during regular working hours or other reasonable times to conduct inspections and investigations.

What penalties do employers face for safety violations?

Employers face administrative penalties of up to $10,000 for willful or repeated violations, up to $1,000 for serious or lesser violations, and up to $1,000 per day for failing to correct a violation within the allowed period.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Follow the record

Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.

Procedural history

11 actions

Apr 30, 2025SenateCommittee
Referred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY, April 30, 2025
Apr 30, 2025Senate
In the Senate
Apr 9, 2025HouseFloor
Third consideration and final passage, April 9, 2025 (111-92)
Apr 9, 2025HouseCommittee
Re-reported as committed, April 9, 2025
Apr 8, 2025House
Re-committed to APPROPRIATIONS, April 8, 2025
Apr 8, 2025HouseFloor
Second consideration, with amendments, April 8, 2025

Show 5 earlier actions

Mar 17, 2025House
Removed from table, March 17, 2025
Feb 5, 2025House
Laid on the table, Feb. 5, 2025
Feb 5, 2025HouseIntroduced
First consideration, Feb. 5, 2025
Feb 5, 2025HouseCommittee
Reported as committed, Feb. 5, 2025
Jan 23, 2025HouseCommittee
Referred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY, Jan. 23, 2025

Version history & redline

2 versions on file

Comparing Printer's No. 0261 → Printer's No. 1303

removed addedOfficial text

PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 261 PRINTER'S NO. 1303 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE BILL No. 308 Session of 2025 INTRODUCED BY HARKINS, MEHAFFIE, GIRAL, PROBST, ISAACSON, HILL- EVANS, PIELLI, FREEMAN, KHAN, McNEILL, BRENNAN, VENKAT, FIEDLER, HOWARD, NEILSON, CERRATO, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, SANCHEZ, D. MILLER, DALEY, HADDOCK, DONAHUE, BENHAM AND BENHAM, SAMUELSON, WARREN, CIRESI, O'MARA, DEASY, CEPHAS, CONKLIN, FLEMING AND K.HARRIS, JANUARY 23, 2025 REFERRED TO COMMITTEE AS AMENDED ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, JANUARY 23, SECOND CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, APRIL 8, 2025 AN ACT Providing for workplace health and safety standards for public employees; providing for powers and duties of the Secretary of Labor and […] 4. Application. Section 5. Employer duties. Section 6. Regulations. Section 7. Standards. Section 8. Variances. Section 9. Pennsylvania Occupational Safety and Health Review Board. Section 10. Appeal from review board.

Redline computed from the official version text (record lane).View this version →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Related Legislation

State Bill

Pennsylvania House Bill 834 requires monthly online posting of agency spending records and quarterly Auditor General affirmations

Pennsylvania agencies must publish monthly records of fund disbursements online by the last day of each month and submit quarterly compliance affirmat

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Alignment of Public and Private Safety Standards

The legislation explicitly seeks to eliminate the dual standard where private sector workers have federal OSHA protection while many public employees lacked equivalent mandatory safety standards.

Department of Labor and Industry Pennsylvania Occupational Safety and Health Review Board

Connected Entities

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Department of Labor and Industry, Pennsylvania and 2 more

OrganizationNational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health“Federal institute cooperating on research and medical examinations.”Map →

OrganizationDepartment of Labor and Industry“State department responsible for administering and enforcing the act.”Map →

locationPennsylvania“Commonwealth where the act applies.”Map →

OrganizationCommonwealth Court“Court with jurisdiction for injunctions, warrants, and judicial reviews.”Map →

OrganizationPennsylvania Occupational Safety and Health Review Board“Board established to hear and rule on appeals from compliance orders.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.palegis.us

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance85
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy40
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz45
Current news / social attention level

Publisher tools

What This Bill Would Do

Who It Would Affect

Key Facts

Frequently Asked Questions

News Coverage

Where This Stands

Procedural history

Version history & redline

Lobbying Activity

Full breakdown

Sponsors

Related Legislation

Pennsylvania House Bill 834 requires monthly online posting of agency spending records and quarterly Auditor General affirmations

Discoveries

Alignment of Public and Private Safety Standards

Connected Entities

Sources

Analysis Score

Share or embed this record