(a) In carrying out § 50-6-501, the commissioner of labor and workforce development shall promulgate rules that include, but are not limited to, provisions:

(1) Prescribing the membership of the committees to ensure equal numbers of hourly employees and employer representatives as well as specifying the frequency of meetings;

(2) Requiring employers to make adequate written records of each meeting and to maintain the records subject to inspection by Tennessee occupational safety and health administration representatives; and

(3) Requiring employers to compensate employee representatives on safety committees at the regular hourly wage while the employees are engaged in safety committee training or are attending safety committee meetings.

(b) The duties and functions of the safety committee shall include, but are not limited to:

(1) Assisting in establishing procedures for workplace safety inspections by the committee;

(2) Assisting in establishing procedures for investigating all safety incidents, accidents, illnesses and deaths; and

(3) Assisting in evaluating accident and illness prevention programs.

(c) The employer shall provide training for safety committee members in their duties and responsibilities provided in subsection (b).

(d) An employer operating under a collective bargaining agreement that contains provisions regulating the formation and operation of a safety committee that meets or exceeds the minimum requirements of this section and § 50-6-501 may apply to the commissioner of labor and workforce development for a determination that the employer meets the requirements of this section and § 50-6-501.