Mississippi Workplace Safety Act; enact.

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To: Judiciary, Division A;
Accountability, Efficiency,
Transparency
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Chism

SENATE BILL NO. 2770

AN ACT TO ENACT THE MISSISSIPPI WORKPLACE SAFETY ACT; TO 1
DEFINE RELEVANT TERMS; TO PREVENT INSPECTORS AUTHORIZED UNDER THE 2
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION OR OTHER APPLICABLE 3
LAW TO SELECT A NONEMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVE EXCEPT UNDER CERTAIN 4
CIRCUMSTANCES; TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR HIRING ACCEPTABLE 5
NONEMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVES; TO PROVIDE RELIEF FOR AGGRIEVED 6
EMPLOYERS; TO ALLOW EMPLOYERS TO ASSERT VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACT IN 7
JUDICIAL OR ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS; TO INSTITUTE A FINE FOR A 8
KNOWING VIOLATION OF THIS ACT; TO PROHIBIT USE OF SOVEREIGN 9
IMMUNITY AS AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE IN ANY ACTION PURSUANT TO THIS 10
ACT; TO NOTE THAT THIS ACT IS SEVERABLE; TO PROVIDE FOR JUDICIAL 11
DECISIONS NAMING THIS ACT INVALID, UNDULY BURDENSOME, OR 12
UNCONSTITUTIONALLY VAGUE; TO ALLOW THE LEGISLATURE AND THE 13
GOVERNOR TO INTERVENE AS A MATTER OF RIGHT IN ANY CASE WHERE THE 14
CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THIS ACT IS CHALLENGED; AND FOR RELATED 15
PURPOSES. 16
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 17
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 18
"Mississippi Workplace Safety Act." 19
SECTION 2. For purposes of this act, the following words 20
shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly 21
requires otherwise: 22
(a) "Employer" means a person engaged in a business 23
affecting commerce who has employees, but does not include the 24
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United States or this state or political subdivision of this 25
state. 26
(b) "Employee" means personnel of an employer who works 27
in a business of his or her employer which affects commerce. 28
(c) "Person" means any person employed by the 29
government, acting as an agent, contractor or official of the 30
government or acting under color of state law. 31
(d) "Government" means: 32
(i) The State of Mississippi or a political 33
subdivision of the state; 34
(ii) Any agency of the state or of a political 35
subdivision of the state, including a branch, department, agency, 36
bureau, board, instrumentality, court or political subdivision of 37
the state; 38
(iii) Any person or official acting under color of 39
state law; or 40
(iv) Any private party or third party suing under 41
or enforcing a law, ordinance, rule or regulation of the state or 42
political subdivision of the state. 43
SECTION 3. (1) Notwithstanding 29 CFR Section 1903.8(c), or 44
any other rule, regulation or interpretation of the Occupational 45
Safety and Health Act of 1970, no person authorized under the 46
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the U.S. 47
Department of Labor, or any other applicable federal or state law, 48
to conduct inspections, or otherwise act as a Compliance Safety 49
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and Health Officer, shall be permitted to select a representative 50
authorized by an individual who is not an employee of the 51
employer, except where good cause has been shown that: 52
(a) The nonemployee representative possesses industry 53
specific and applicable expertise and experience in reducing 54
worker illness, injury or death: 55
(i) The nonemployee representative possesses 56
industry specific and applicable technical education, expertise 57
and experience essential to an effective and thorough physical 58
inspection of the workplace; or 59
(ii) The nonemployee representative possesses 60
specific and applicable language skills essential to an effective 61
and thorough physical inspection of the workplace. 62
(b) The nonemployee representative is unlikely to 63
interfere with a fair and orderly physical inspection of the 64
workplace. 65
(c) The nonemployee representative is not reasonably 66
known to be employed by, affiliated with, or under contract with a 67
competitor of the employer and is not likely to encounter 68
proprietary information or trade secrets of the employer. 69
(2) The credentials of the nonemployee representative must 70
be documented in writing and provided to the employer prior to the 71
opening conference of the physical inspection. 72
(3) An employer is not required to pay for the services of 73
any nonemployee representative. 74
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(4) An employer may request a warrant before permitting the 75
entry or continued participation of a nonemployee representative. 76
SECTION 4. An aggrieved employer must first seek injunctive 77
relief to prevent or remedy a violation of this act or the effects 78
of a violation of this act. If injunctive relief is granted by 79
the court and the injunction is thereafter violated, the aggrieved 80
party may seek the following: 81
(a) Compensatory damages for pecuniary and nonpecuniary 82
losses; 83
(b) Nominal damages; 84
(c) Reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation 85
costs; and 86
(d) Any other appropriate relief, except that only 87
declaratory relief and injunctive relief shall be available 88
against a private person not acting under color of state law. 89
SECTION 5. (1) An employer may assert a violation of this 90
act as a claim against the government in any judicial or 91
administrative proceeding, or as defense in any judicial or 92
administrative proceeding without regard to whether the proceeding 93
is brought by or in the name of the government, any private person 94
or any other party. 95
(2) An action under this act may be commenced, and relief 96
may be granted, in a court of the state without regard to whether 97
the person commencing the action has sought or exhausted available 98
administrative remedies. 99
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(3) A person who knowingly violates this act, as determined 100
by a preponderance of the evidence, is punishable by a civil 101
penalty of an amount equal to, but not more than, Ten Thousand 102
Dollars ($10,000.00) per violation. 103
(4) Sovereign immunity shall not be an affirmative defense 104
in any action pursuant to this act. 105
SECTION 6. (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that 106
every provision, section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, 107
phrase or word in this act and every application of the provisions 108
in this act is severable from each other. If application of any 109
provision in this act to any person, group of persons, or 110
circumstances is found by a competent court to be invalid, the 111
remaining applications of that provision to all other persons and 112
circumstances shall be severed and may not be affected. All 113
constitutionally valid applications of this act shall be severed 114
from any applications that a court finds to be invalid, leaving 115
the valid applications in force, because it is the Legislature's 116
intent and priority that the valid applications be allowed to 117
stand alone. Even if a reviewing court finds a provision of this 118
statute to impose an undue burden in a large or substantial 119
fraction of relevant cases, the applications that do not represent 120
an undue burden shall be severed from the remaining provisions and 121
shall remain in force, and shall be treated as if the Legislature 122
had enacted a section limited to the persons, group of persons, or 123
circumstances for which the section's application does not present 124
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ST: Mississippi Workplace Safety Act; enact.
an undue burden. The Legislature further declares that it would 125
have passed this section and each provision, section, subsection, 126
paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word, and all 127
constitutional applications of this section, without regard to the 128
fact that any provision, section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, 129
clause, phrase or word, or applications of this act, were to be 130
declared unconstitutional or to represent an undue burden. 131
(2) If this act is found by any competent court to be 132
invalid or to impose an undue burden as applied to any person, 133
group of persons, or circumstances, the prohibition shall apply to 134
that person or group of persons or circumstances on the earliest 135
date on which this section can be constitutionally applied. 136
(3) If any provisions of this act are found by a competent 137
court to be unconstitutionally vague, then the applications of the 138
provision that do not present constitutional vagueness problems 139
shall be severed and remain in force. 140
SECTION 7. The Legislature, through one or more sponsors of 141
this act duly appointed by resolution of their respective chamber, 142
may intervene as a matter of right in any case in which the 143
constitutionality of this act is challenged. The Governor may 144
also intervene as a matter of right in any case in which the 145
constitutionality of this act is challenged. 146
SECTION 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from 147
and after July 1, 2026. 148