§ 28-20-14. Procedures to counteract imminent dangers.
(a) The superior court shall have jurisdiction, upon petition of the attorney general,
to restrain any conditions or practices in any place of employment that are such that
a danger exists which could reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical
harm immediately or before the imminence of the danger can be eliminated through the
enforcement procedures otherwise provided by this chapter. Any order issued under
this section may require any steps to be taken that may be necessary to avoid, correct,
or remove the imminent danger and prohibit the employment or presence of any indi
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§ 28-20-14. Procedures to counteract imminent dangers.
(a) The superior court shall have jurisdiction, upon petition of the attorney general,
to restrain any conditions or practices in any place of employment that are such that
a danger exists which could reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical
harm immediately or before the imminence of the danger can be eliminated through the
enforcement procedures otherwise provided by this chapter. Any order issued under
this section may require any steps to be taken that may be necessary to avoid, correct,
or remove the imminent danger and prohibit the employment or presence of any individual
in locations or under conditions where the imminent danger exists, except individuals
whose presence is necessary to avoid, correct, or remove the 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 the cessation to be accomplished in a safe and orderly manner.
(b) Upon the filing of the petition, the superior court shall have jurisdiction to grant
injunctive relief or temporary restraining order pending the outcome of an enforcement
proceeding pursuant to this chapter. The proceeding shall be as provided by Superior
Court Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 65, except that no temporary restraining order
issued without notice shall be effective for a period longer than five (5) days and
no security as provided in paragraph (c) of Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure
Rule 65 shall be required of the state or its political subdivisions. No action brought
under this section shall be construed as affecting a labor dispute as defined in § 28-10-3, nor shall the action be subject to the provisions of § 28-10-2 or paragraph (e) of Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 65.
(c) Whenever and as soon as a compliance inspector concludes that conditions or practices
described in subsection (a) of this section exist in any place of employment, he or
she shall inform the affected employees and employers of the danger and that he or
she is recommending to the director that relief be sought.
(d) If the director arbitrarily or capriciously fails to seek relief under this section,
any employee who may be injured by reason of that failure or the representatives of
the employees may bring an action against the director in the superior court for the
county in which the imminent danger is alleged to exist for a writ of mandamus to
compel the director to seek the order and for any further relief that may be appropriate.