Interpretation of the Work Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China (99)

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Article 99: If a production or business operation entity fails to take measures to eliminate potential accident hazards, it shall be ordered to eliminate them immediately or within a specified time limit； If the production and operation entity refuses to comply, it shall be ordered to suspend operations for rectification, and shall also be fined not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan; the persons in charge who are directly responsible for this situation and other persons directly liable shall be fined not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan. Interpretation: This article stipulates the legal responsibilities of production and business entities that fail to fulfill their obligations regarding the identification and rectification of potential accident hazards. This provision was added during this amendment to the Work Safety Law. It was introduced because the amendment included a requirement that production and business operations entities must establish systems for identifying and addressing potential accident hazards; to ensure the implementation of these requirements, it was necessary to add corresponding provisions regarding legal responsibilities. (1) Subjects liable under law The subjects liable under law as stipulated in this article are the production and operation entities, their directly responsible supervisors, and other directly responsible personnel. (II) Illegal acts subject to legal liability: This provision penalizes the illegal act of production and operation entities failing to take measures to eliminate potential accident hazards. (III) Form of liability: The form of liability specified in this article is administrative liability. First and foremost, it is to order the immediate elimination or elimination within a specified time frame of the potential accident hazards; this is the fundamental goal. If the production and operation entity refuses to comply, in order to prevent accidents, it shall be ordered to suspend operations for rectification, and shall also be fined not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan. At the same time, to reinforce the responsibility of the relevant individuals, it is also stipulated that supervisors who are directly responsible and other persons directly liable shall be fined between 20,000 yuan and 50,000 yuan.