§ 28-20-17 - Enforcement procedure.
SECTION 28-20-17
§ 28-20-17 Enforcement procedure. –(a) After the issuance of a compliance order pursuant to § 28-20-16(a),the director shall, within a reasonable time after the termination of theinspection or investigation, notify the employer by certified mail of thepenalty, if any, proposed to be assessed under § 28-20-18 and that theemployer has fifteen (15) working days within which to notify the director thathe or she wishes to contest the compliance order or proposed assessment ofpenalty. If, within fifteen (15) working days from the receipt of the noticeissued by the director the employer fails to notify the director that he or sheintends to contest the compliance order or proposed assessment of penalty, andno notice is filed within that time by any employee or representative ofemployees under subsection (c) of this section, the compliance order and theassessment, as proposed, shall be deemed a final order of the review board andnot subject to review as to any question of fact by any court or agency.
(b) If the director has reason to believe that an employerhas failed to correct a violation for which a compliance order has been issuedwithin the period permitted for its correction, which period shall not begin torun until the entry of a final order by the review board in the case of anyreview proceedings under this section initiated by the employer in good faithand not solely for delay or avoidance of penalties, the director shall notifythe employer by certified mail of the failure and of the penalty proposed to beassessed under § 28-20-18 by reason of the failure, and that the employerhas fifteen (15) working days within which to notify the director that he orshe intends to contest the notification or proposed assessment of penalty. If,within fifteen (15) working days from the receipt of notification issued by thedirector, the employer fails to notify the director that he or she intends tocontest the notification or proposed assessment of penalty, the notificationand assessment, as proposed, shall be deemed a final order of the review boardand not subject to any review as to any question of fact by any court or agency.
(c) If an employer notifies the director that he or sheintends to contest a compliance order issued under § 28-20-16 ornotification issued under subsection (a) or (b) of this section, or if withinfifteen (15) working days of the issuance of a compliance order under §28-20-16 any employee or representative of employees files a notice with thedirector alleging that the period of time fixed in the compliance order for theabatement of the violation is unreasonable, the director shall immediatelynotify in writing the chairperson of the review board of the notification, andthe review board shall afford an opportunity for a hearing. The review boardshall subsequently issue an order based on findings of fact affirming,modifying, or vacating the director's compliance order or proposed penalty, ordirecting other appropriate relief, and the order shall become final thirty(30) days after its issuance. Upon a showing by an employer of a good faitheffort to comply with the abatement requirements of a compliance order, andthat abatement has not been completed because of factors beyond his or herreasonable control, the review board, after an opportunity for a hearing, shallissue an order affirming or modifying the abatement requirements in thecompliance order. The rules of procedure prescribed by the review board shallprovide the affected employee or representatives of affected employees anopportunity to participate as parties to hearings under this subsection.