Less than two years after being sworn in as chief of Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, Jeff Killip is leaving the agency. His last day will be January 19th, the Department of Industrial Relations says.
Neither DOSH nor DIR has made an official announcement, but the resignation was revealed Wednesday morning at a meeting of the Cal/OSHA Appeals Board, according to a participant.
DIR spokesman Erika Monterroza confirms the surprising news. “Cal/OSHA Chief Jeff Killip has advised he is leaving for personal reasons to return to Washington state,” she tells Cal-OSHA Reporter. “DIR will soon be announcing a search for a new Cal/OSHA Chief.”
In a memo to DOSH staff Killip issued after learning that “word is getting out,” and obtained by Cal-OSHA Reporter, he says, “The simple explanation is that the move from [Washington] to the Bay Area was harder on our family life than we anticipated. Despite adjustments and trouble-shooting possibilities, I could not sufficiently improve our situation.” He has accepted a job as executive director of the Washington State Utilities & Transportation Commission in Olympia, the state capital.
Killip formerly was acting deputy director at the Washington Safety and Health Administration, known informally as WSHA.
He says he is “immensely grateful” for his time at Cal/OSHA and proud of the work of the Division.
–30 –