The Occupational Safety and Health Administration officially has a new team of leaders working to improve worker safety around the country. Following the inauguration of President Joe Biden, James Frederick was announced as the new Deputy Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, Joseph Hughes, Jr. was appointed as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Pandemic and Emergency Response and Ann Rosenthal transitioned into her new role as Senior Advisor.

Interested in getting to know them a little better? Here's a look into the new leadership team at OSHA:

James Frederick, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health

Jim Frederick has three decades of experience providing occupational health and safety leadership to North American labor unions as an advocate and a resource to workers, their employers and regulatory agencies. Frederick spent twenty-five years in the Health, Safety and Environment Department of the United Steelworkers Union (USW), serving as Assistant Director and Principal Investigator until 2019. In that role, he provided technical guidance to the USW and other unions on matters pertaining to occupational health, safety, and the environment. Frederick worked closely with the USW’s management counterparts and organizations around the world on a wide range of projects to improve workplace health and safety.

More information about Frederick can be found here.

Joseph Hughes, Jr., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Pandemic and Emergency Response

Joseph “Chip” Hughes has forty years of experience in both the private and public sectors in developing environmental and occupational health education programs for workers and citizens in high-risk occupations and communities. Hughes previously served for more than thirty years as director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Worker Training Program. In this role, he led the program’s efforts to support the development and delivery of model safety and health training programs for workers involved in hazardous substances response in cooperation with universities, unions, community colleges and other non-profit organizations throughout the nation. Through this work, he pioneered efforts to create new methods and approaches for conducting needs assessments, reaching underserved populations, developing training partnerships and creating innovative program evaluation and assessment measures.

More information can be found about Hughes here.

Ann Rosenthal, Senior Advisor

Ann Rosenthal has spent her entire legal career focusing on protecting the safety and health of American workers. Rosenthal retired from the United States Department of Labor in June 2018, as Associate Solicitor for Occupational Safety and Health. She previously served as Deputy Associate Solicitor, and as Counsel for Appellate Litigation in both the Occupational Safety and Health and Mine Safety and Health Divisions of the Office of the Solicitor. In her role as counsel for appellate litigation, Rosenthal supervised OSHA and MSHA litigation in the courts of appeals and administrative appellate bodies and personally handed some major cases.

More information on Rosenthal can be found here.

For a more in-depth view at this season of change for OSHA, listen to OH&S' latest podcast down below.