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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 662. Injunction proceedings
(a) Petition by Secretary to restrain imminent dangers; scope of
order
The United States district courts shall have jurisdiction, upon
petition of the Secretary, to restrain any conditions or practices
in any place of employment which are such that a danger exists
which could reasonably be expected to cause death or serious
physical harm immediately or before the imminence of such danger
can be eliminated through the enforcement procedures otherwise
provided by this chapter. Any order issued under this section may
require such steps to be taken as may be necessary to avoid,
correct, or remove such imminent danger and prohibit the employment
or presence of any individual in locations or under conditions
where such imminent danger exists, except individuals whose
presence is necessary to avoid, correct, or remove such imminent
danger or to maintain the capacity of a continuous process
operation to resume normal operations without a complete cessation
of operations, or where a cessation of operations is necessary, to
permit such to be accomplished in a safe and orderly manner.
(b) Appropriate injunctive relief or temporary restraining order
pending outcome of enforcement proceeding; applicability of Rule
65 of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Upon the filing of any such petition the district court shall
have jurisdiction to grant such injunctive relief or temporary
restraining order pending the outcome of an enforcement proceeding
pursuant to this chapter. The proceeding shall be as provided by
Rule 65 of the Federal Rules, Civil Procedure, except that no
temporary restraining order issued without notice shall be
effective for a period longer than five days.
(c) Notification of affected employees and employers by inspector
of danger and of recommendation to Secretary to seek relief
Whenever and as soon as an inspector concludes that conditions or
practices described in subsection (a) of this section exist in any
place of employment, he shall inform the affected employees and
employers of the danger and that he is recommending to the
Secretary that relief be sought.
(d) Failure of Secretary to seek relief; writ of mandamus
If the Secretary arbitrarily or capriciously fails to seek relief
under this section, any employee who may be injured by reason of
such failure, or the representative of such employees, might bring
an action against the Secretary in the United States district court
for the district in which the imminent danger is alleged to exist
or the employer has its principal office, or for the District of
Columbia, for a writ of mandamus to compel the Secretary to seek
such an order and for such further relief as may be appropriate.
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