Going Universal - VPPPA Region I Chapter

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In Brief
comPiled by Korey belAnger >> goVernment AffAirs
& communicAtions sPeciAlist, VPPPA, inc.
oSha looking for
prevention programs
During a joint meeting between the
American Society of Safety Engineers
(ASSE) and the American Industrial
Hygiene Association (AIHA) on March
25, 2010, Assistant Secretary of Labor
for the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) Dr. David
Michaels stated that OSHA has begun
investigating whether employers utilize
an injury and illness prevention program
at their worksites. These programs, not
mandated under the OSH Act but usually
implemented by both management and
labor, are used to identify, evaluate and
control hazards in the workplace.
Dr. Michaels stated, “Increasingly our
investigations are looking not only
at specific action or use of equipment
that caused a worker injury, but also
at the overall culture of the worksite
and the company.” He went on to say,
“We’re examining whether employers
are merely focusing on compliance, or
taking measured steps to improve overall
performance, reduce risk, and make
prevention a part of daily operations.”
An industry attorney with Ogletree,
Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.,
in Washington, D.C., Stephen Yohay,
responded to Dr. Michaels comments,
stating, “It seems ironic that at the same
8 the leAder >> sPring 2010
time Dr. Michaels is saying that OSHA
inspectors, in an enforcement mode, will
be reviewing ‘the overall culture of the
worksite and the company,’ and ‘whether
employers are taking measured steps to
improve the overall performance, reduce
risk, and make prevention a part of daily
operations,’ he and other agency leaders
want to shrink the main program that has
leveraged OSHA’s scarce resources and
has demonstrably fostered that kind of
approach by employers – the Voluntary
Protection Program.”
fairfax new Deputy
assistant Secretary
Assistant Secretary of Labor for the
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) Dr. David
Michaels announced via e-mail to agency
staff March 25, 2010, that the new Deputy
Assistant Secretary would be Richard
Fairfax. As deputy assistant secretary,
Fairfax is the second highest-ranking head
within OSHA and will be responsible
for supervision of the Directorates of
Enforcement and Construction and the
work of OSHA’s 10 regional offices across
the nation.
Fairfax has served OSHA since 1978, most
recently as the director of Enforcement
Programs and acting director of
Construction Programs for OSHA. Fairfax
is a certified industrial hygienist and has
worked as a field industrial hygienist,
regional industrial hygienist and as a
senior industrial hygienist.
AFL-CIO Director of Safety and Health
Peg Seminario called Fairfax “an
excellent choice for the career deputy
position at OSHA … [He has] decades
of experience, starting in the field, then
in the national office, a deep grasp
of the agency’s programs, and a deep
commitment to its mission.”
Solis Testifies on Dol
fy 2011 proposed budget
During a hearing March 10, 2010, with
the House Appropriations Committee’s
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and
Human Services, Education and Related
Agencies, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis
explained the Department of Labor’s
(DOL) plans for the fiscal year 2011
budget. Solis explained the department not
only seeks to increase enforcement, but to
promote green jobs and create new jobs.
Solis also mentioned the department’s
plans to launch Protecting Our Workforce
and Ensuring Reemployment (POWER),
a joint initiative between the Office of
Workers’ Compensation Programs and
the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration. POWER will challenge
the federal government to become a model
employer of workers with disabilities and
of workers who have returned to work
after an injury.
The overall request for DOL in FY 2011
is $116.5 billion and 17,800 full-time
equivalent employees. This includes the
budget requests of $573.1 million for
OSHA, an increase of $14.5 million from
the previous year, as well as a redirect of
35 full-time employees from compliance
assistance to enforcement.
“This administration wants to ensure that
investments in job creation will continue
until the labor market fully recovers from
the economic downturn,” stated Solis.
“Workers and their families are hurting in
these tough economic times. We know that
job opportunities and economic security are
of utmost importance to Americans.” H