OSHA Unveils New Inspection and Regulatory Plans

The acting head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) gave a preview of how the agency will operate under the new administration.  During an address to the Small Business Labor Safety Roundtable last week, acting OSHA chief Jordan Barab said the agency plans to hire between 130 and 160 new safety enforcement inspectors over the coming weeks.  Of those new inspectors, 35 will be exclusively assigned to review safety procedures on stimulus-funded projects.  He added that the agency was bringing on an additional 20 people to help write new safety standards.  While these moves clearly indicate a greater emphasis on more regulatory and enforcement efforts, Mr. Barab did back down from earlier reports that the agency would walk away from its efforts to partner with employers.  He noted, for example, that while the agency has suspended its practice of setting quotas, early reports that the agency was planning to disband its VPP and alliance programs were not true. He added that the agency was planning on circulating a proposed Globally Harmonized Systems rule within the administration for review "very soon." For more information contact, Kevin Cannon, Director of Safety and Health at (703) 837-5410 or cannonk@agc.org.