By Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, Adam R. Young, A. Scott Hecker, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: Yesterday the Senate voted to affirm Doug Parker to function Assistant Secretary of the Occupational Safety and Well being Administration (OSHA).
Mr. Parker beforehand served within the Obama Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coverage to the Mine Security and Well being Administration. Mr. Parker additionally served as a member of the Biden-Harris transition workforce, the place he targeted on employee health and safety points, and has held positions as a senior coverage advisor and particular assistant on the Division of Labor. An legal professional, Mr. Parker beforehand labored as in-house counsel at a labor union.
Since 2019 he has served because the Chief of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Well being. In his tenure at CalOSHA, the Company has aggressively enforced an overbroad and hastily-issued COVID-19 emergency short-term normal, utilizing COVID-19 as a vehicle to drive employers to have interaction in widespread surveillance testing, and to legislate by regulation progressive priorities on wage and hour points, which many imagine is much past the scope of CalOSHa’s safety and health mission.
We anticipate Mr. Parker will pursue labor union priorities at federal OSHA, along side Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, in addition to aggressive enforcement on a spread of controversial points. Whereas Mr. Parker could not have an official function in issuing a federal COVID-19 emergency short-term normal (ETS), employers ought to concentrate on CalOSHA’s ETS necessities, together with the testing and worker advantages provisions talked about above.
For extra info on this or any associated matter, please contact the authors, your Seyfarth legal professional, or any member of the Workplace Safety and Health (OSHA/MSHA) Staff.