Additional amendments relating to inspections and investigations

(a) Hours of inspections Section 103(a) (30 U.S.C. 813(a)) is amended by inserting after the third sentence the following: Such inspections shall be conducted during the various shifts and days of the week during which miners are normally present in the mine to ensure that the protections of this Act are afforded to all miners working all shifts.. (b) Review of mine pattern of violations status Section 103(a), as so amended, is further amended by inserting before the last sentence the following: The Secretary shall, upon request by an operator, review with the appropriate mine officials the Secretary’s most recent evaluation for pattern of violations status (as provided in section 104(e)) for that mine during the course of a mine’s regular quarterly inspection of an underground mine or a biannual inspection of a surface mine, or, at the discretion of the Secretary, during the pre-inspection conference.. (c) Injury and illness reporting Section 103(d) (30 U.S.C. 813(d)) is amended by striking the last sentence and inserting the following: The records to be kept and made available by the operator of the mine shall include man-hours worked and occupational injuries and illnesses with respect to the miners in their employ or under their direction or authority, and shall be maintained separately for each mine and be reported at a frequency determined by the Secretary, but not less than annually. Independent contractors (within the meaning of section 3(d)) shall be responsible for reporting accidents, occupational injuries and illnesses, and man-hours worked for each mine with respect to the miners in their employ or under their direction or authority, and shall be reported at a frequency determined by the Secretary, but not less than annually. Reports or records of operators and contractors required and submitted to the Secretary under this subsection shall be signed and certified as accurate and complete by a knowledgeable and responsible person possessing a certification, registration, qualification, or other approval, under section 118. Knowingly falsifying such reports or records shall be grounds for revoking such certification, registration, qualification, or other approval under the standards established under subsection (b)(1) of such section.. (d) Orders following an accident Section 103(k) (30 U.S.C. 813(k)) is amended by striking, when present,. (e) Conflict of interest in the representation of miners Section 103(a) (30 U.S.C. 813(a)), as amended by this section, is further amended by adding at the end the following: During inspections and investigations under this section, and during any litigation under this Act, no attorney shall represent or purport to represent both the operator of a coal or other mine and any other individual, unless such individual has knowingly and voluntarily waived all actual and reasonably foreseeable conflicts of interest resulting from such representation. The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary considers appropriate to ascertain whether such individual has knowingly and voluntarily waived all such conflicts of interest. If the Secretary finds that such an individual cannot be represented adequately by such an attorney due to such conflicts of interest, the Secretary may petition the appropriate United States district court which shall have jurisdiction to disqualify such attorney as counsel to such individual in the matter. The Secretary may make such a motion as part of an ongoing related civil action or as a miscellaneous action..