Senate Confirms New Head of OSHA

In a 50–41 vote on Monday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Doug Parker, who most recently served as chief of California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), as the new assistant secretary of labor for OSHA. The agency had been without a permanent administrator since David Michaels resigned in 2017. Parker will take over for acting OSHA administrator Jim Frederick, and AIHA member with three decades of experience providing occupational health and safety leadership to North American labor unions.

AIHA welcomes Parker as the new head of OSHA.

“AIHA looks forward to working with Mr. Parker toward our shared goal of protecting the health and safety of workers throughout the nation,” said AIHA CEO Lawrence D. Sloan.

Prior to leading Cal/OSHA, Parker was executive director of Worksafe, a legal services provider based in Oakland, California. He also worked as a member of the Biden-Harris transition team focused on worker health and safety issues and previously served as deputy assistant secretary for policy at the Mine Safety and Health Administration during the Obama administration. He also held positions as a senior policy advisor and special assistant at the Department of Labor.