The U.S. Senate has confirmed David Keeling as Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It happened on a deadline. Keeling’s confirmation was one of a tranche of 107 nominations, approved 51-46 under a Senate resolution. Also confirmed was Wayne Palmer as head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Palmer …
The Trump administration proposed David Keeling as the nominee for Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, the Administrator of OSHA, in February 2025. Currently, the acting administrator is Amanda Wood Laihow, also a Trump appointee. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a key agency within the U.S. Department of Labor. …
Cal/OSHA’s “SOAR” report for fiscal 2024, the State OSHA Annual Report, measures how the program did against its strategic plan. That plan, which was supposed to run until 2023, was extended through 2025, and the agency reports that it met some of its objectives, particularly outreach and education, and came close on others. SOAR is …
Fed-OSHA monitors Cal/OSHA (and all state plans) on how well their program is adhering to and meeting federal metrics on a two-year, biennial evaluation cycle. Since 2023, the Federal Annual Monitoring and Evaluation (FAME) report shows Cal/OSHA is improving. Among other things, the agency has improved its vacancy rate since the 2023 evaluation. And while …
The recent National Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction included training demonstrations nationwide, including many in California. These private events are intended to educate construction workers about the serious issue of fall protection. Here’s what one safety professional told construction employees at two events in the Bay Area during stand-down week. Menlo Park’s Rudolph and …