DOL Restructures OSHA Regions to Enhance Workplace Safety
The move focuses largely on realigning regions to better reflect their geographic locations.
- By Robert Yaniz Jr.
- May 14, 2024
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a restructuring of OSHA’s regional operations. This includes introducing two new regional offices and revising the naming convention for all regions to better reflect geographic locations rather than numerical designations. The move aims to improve safety by adapting to demographic shifts.
According to a recent release, the reorganization includes the creation of a new regional office in Birmingham, Alabama. This office will oversee OSHA operations not only in Alabama but also in Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and the Florida panhandle. The Birmingham Region will focus on high-hazard industries such as food processing, construction, heavy manufacturing and chemical processing.
OSHA will also consolidate its existing Regions 9 and 10 into the streamlined San Francisco Region, in order to maintain enforcement while reducing operating costs. Region 4 will now be known as the Atlanta Region, covering Florida (excluding the panhandle), Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Similarly, Region 6 will be renamed the Dallas Region, with oversight over New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
“The changes reflect the nation’s demographic and industrial changes since the passage of the OSH Act and will allow our professionals to better respond to the needs of all workers, including those historically underserved,” OSHA Assistant Secretary Doug Parker said in a statement. “With a stronger enforcement presence in the South and more consolidated state oversight and whistleblower presence in the West — an area dominated by states that operate their OSHA programs — we can direct our resources where they’re needed most.”
OSHA plans to transition to this updated regional structure by the end of fiscal year 2024. Updates to the regional maps and contact information will updated after that.
About the Author
Robert Yaniz Jr. is the Content Editor of Occupational Health & Safety.