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Happening Today: Senate HELP Committee to Vote on OSHA Nominee

 

Today, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (“HELP”) is set to vote on President Joe Biden’s nomination of Doug Parker to serve as the head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”).

The HELP Committee, which currently has majority control by Democrats, is expected to clear Parker’s nomination (likely along party lines) and send it to the Senate for further debate and a vote.  The new head of OSHA will be stepping into what many think is the tail end of a rather turbulent time in regard to workplace safety.  After nearly a year and a half into the coronavirus pandemic, workplace safety has been a hot topic at OSHA as several requirements and recommendations have been released in regard to protecting workers against the pandemic.  These OSHA requirements and recommendations, in regard to workplace safety, have involved requiring face coverings in the workplace, stipulating how many workers are allowed in a confined work space, how employers are to handle workers that contract the coronavirus, etc.

Should Parker be confirmed, which at this point appears likely, he would oversee OSHA’s efforts to continue taking steps to protect workers as well as investigating workplace safety issues.  Even with the coronavirus pandemic appearing to be tapering off in the U.S., I suspect that concerns will still arise over how workers can (and should be) protected against related outbreaks in the workplace going forward.  Parker, as the head of OSHA, would certainly have the ability to shape OSHA’s policies in that regard, should he be confirmed.


For additional information:  https://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/nominations6921

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