One of the nation's leading experts on workplace safety issues and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), David Jones, said there will likely be few immediate changes in OSHA enforcement, regardless of who wins the presidential election.
Jones will be the keynote speaker at Metals Service Center Institute's (MSCI's) Safety Conference, October 19-20 in Anaheim, CA. He chairs the Workplace Safety and Practices Group at the national law firm Ogletree Deakins, having worked for more than 35 years in and outside government on labor and employment issues.
"For the last seven and a half years OSHA has been quite aggressive in its enforcement efforts," Jones said. "The maximum fines for a range of violations increased by more than 75% in August. Today, the agency is a lot more heavy handed in outing employers who are not in compliance and it has been attempting to shame employers into compliance."
Jones will explore a variety of specific ways metals industry companies can minimize their exposure to OSHA compliance efforts in his keynote talk at the MSCI Safety Conference.
The upcoming presidential election has naturally prompted considerable speculation about what changes any new administration might bring to OSHA. "In either case, Trump or Clinton, it is not at all clear," he said. "My experience has been that newly appointed political officials often do not have a lot of expertise in how their agencies are run and it takes them a while to figure out how they can affect the change that they want to put in place. Even though it takes time to turn the OSHA ship around, we know that any new president is interested in implementing their vision as expeditiously as possible."
MSCI President and CEO M. Robert Weidner, III, emphasized the organization's commitment to safety programs and resources for its members. "Safety must be a top priority and concern for each and every company in the industrial metals supply chain," stressed Weidner. "We are continually enhancing the tools and educational offerings that we provide for members. Bringing a speaker of the caliber and expertise of Mr. Jones is part of our focus on safety."
The Safety Conference, co-located with the National Safety Council (NSC) Expo and Congress, is the part of an overall safety initiative by MSCI to provide information and resources for its members to improve employee safety. Quarterly webinars, the Optimum Results Safety Helpline, a Safety Handbook and the Safety Best Practices & Success Study are also offered to members. Additional tools and resources in partnership with NSC will debut in October.
For more information contact:
Metals Service Center Institute
4201 Euclid Ave.
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
847-485-3000
info@msci.org
www.msci.org