Section 351.025 - Duties of department relating to mine safety - Administrative regulationsThe department shall:
(1) Promulgate administrative regulations that establish comprehensive criteria for the imposition and enforcement of sanctions against certified and noncertified personnel and owners and part-owners of licensed premises whose intentional violation of, or order to violate, mine safety laws places miners in imminent danger of serious injury or death. These criteria shall include but not be limited to the following: (a) In the case of individuals that are certified miners, the Mine Safety Review Commission may revoke or suspend an individual's certification, or probate an individual's certification for first offenses, and the Mine Safety Review Commission shall establish a maximum penalty for subsequent offenses;(b) In the case of individuals that are owners or part-owners of licensed premises, the Mine Safety Review Commission may impose civil monetary penalties against individuals not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000); and(c) In the case of noncertified personnel, the Mine Safety Review Commission may impose civil monetary fines equivalent to the value of the wages they receive for up to ten (10) working days for first offenses and the commission shall establish maximum penalties for subsequent offenses;(2) Notwithstanding KRS 351.070(15), promulgate administrative regulations that establish comprehensive criteria for the Mine Safety Review Commission's imposition of penalties against licensed premises for violations of mine safety laws that place miners in imminent danger of serious injury or death. These penalties shall include but not be limited to the revocation or suspension of the mine's license, the probation of a mine's license, or the imposition of a penalty against the licensee not to exceed the gross value of the production of the licensed premise for up to ten (10) working days;(3) Direct that an employer shall not directly or indirectly reimburse a sanctioned miner or mine supervisor for days of work lost as a result of sanctions imposed by the Mine Safety Review Commission;(4) Establish procedures by which the department shall communicate with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) concerning allegations of mine safety violations against Kentucky coal operators and miners and for reports made to the division under KRS 351.193;(5) Jointly with the Mine Safety Review Commission establish a process for referring allegations of mine safety violations to the Mine Safety Review Commission for adjudication and for the hearing of appeals from penalties imposed by the division, and the underlying violation, authorized under KRS 351.070(15); and(6) Establish procedures to distribute quarterly reports to every licensed entity describing mine fatalities, serious mine accidents, and penalties imposed on certified and noncertified personnel and licensed premises and to require the report to be distributed to every certified working miner employed by the licensed entity, posted at work sites, and reviewed at regular mine safety meetings.Amended by 2015 Ky. Acts ch. HB-407,§ 8, eff. 6/22/2015.Effective:6/26/2007
Amended 2007, Ky. Acts ch. 94, sec. 1, effective6/26/2007. -- Amended 2006, Ky. Acts ch. 185, sec. 7, effective 7/12/2006. -- Created 2001, Ky. Acts ch. 149, sec. 6, effective 3/20/2001.