James Frederick  00:21

Good afternoon. I’d like to extend my gratitude to Ken for the introduction, as well as Larry for both the introduction and your steadfast support of workplace health. I’m also grateful for the invitation for The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to be a part of today’s event. My thanks also go to the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the Integrated Bioscience and Built Environment Consortium for organizing this. While we’ve all become accustomed to virtual events, it’s worth noting that the technology isn’t always flawless. Thus, a special thanks to the staff working diligently behind the scenes to ensure a seamless experience for us.

To the audience, I appreciate your participation and commend your efforts to uplift workplace conditions through your roles in occupational health and industrial hygiene. Joining this summit is truly an honor for me.

While many here are familiar faces from past American Industrial Hygiene conferences, allow me a moment to introduce myself to newcomers. My involvement in workplace safety and health spans over 30 years. Much of this time was dedicated to the United Steelworkers Union, where I collaborated with OSHA, offering insights on regulatory actions, joining advisory committees, and working on health and safety initiatives. My aim has always been to ensure OSHA is receptive and responsive to the concerns of the workers I represented. Tragically, a significant part of my role involved investigating severe injuries and even fatalities. From these, I garnered invaluable insights into workplace safety. Additionally, I devoted considerable time to enhancing safety and health management systems, often in collaboration with various stakeholders, resulting in the development of standards such as NCC 10 and ISO 45,001.

One fundamental understanding I’ve drawn from my experience is the pivotal role of worker engagement. When workers are actively involved, there’s a tangible uplift in both safety and operational efficiency. Since joining OSHA, my appreciation for its potential impact has deepened. Working alongside the dedicated OSHA staff has been both rewarding and eye-opening, fueling my optimism for the future of workplace safety and health.

As some might be aware, OSHA recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Reflecting on the past five decades, we’ve seen a substantial decrease in workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. Workers are now safeguarded against previously unregulated hazards like asbestos, silica, and blood-borne pathogens. Moreover, it’s now unlawful for employers to retaliate against workers voicing safety concerns. One noteworthy milestone is the mandate requiring safety and health training to be delivered in a language understood by the workers. This progress isn’t solely OSHA’s achievement; it’s a collective effort of safety professionals and advocates. However, our mission isn’t accomplished. There are still workers at risk, and it’s uplifting to know that this summit aims to identify the needs of these vulnerable groups. At OSHA, we’re keenly interested in these findings and hope to collaborate on solutions.

Our joint efforts are paramount to maintaining progress. Your unwavering dedication to worker protection profoundly influences public policies.

Addressing the elephant in the room, the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored OSHA’s crucial role. In response, we’ve introduced two emergency standards: one aimed at healthcare workers and another for larger employers, ensuring vaccination or weekly testing. Additionally, we’ve launched a national emphasis program to protect workers most at risk and address employers suppressing workers’ rights. Adapting to legal challenges and the evolving situation, we’ve had to revisit some of these standards recently. For instance, after the Supreme Court’s January 13 decision, we’ve decided to withdraw the vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard but will keep it as a proposed rule. We’re redirecting our resources to finalize a permanent healthcare standard.

OSHA remains adamant about the significance of worker vaccination against COVID-19. The controls outlined in the ETS, though no longer mandatory, are essential for worker protection. We continue to emphasize the importance of a layered approach to safety, encompassing vaccination, testing, distancing, face coverings, and indoor ventilation.

I applaud your efforts in urging businesses to prioritize these safety measures. By doing so, they’re potentially safeguarding lives within their workspace and communities.

As the pandemic persists, OSHA remains committed to updating our guidelines based on the latest research. Our focus remains on ensuring businesses uphold their responsibility to guarantee worker safety in this challenging era.

OSHA’s regulatory agenda includes examples of the work the agency plans to undertake in the next several years. This work aims to make a lasting difference for workers, their families, and the health, safety, and specifically, the industrial hygiene community. While we remain committed to protecting workers from COVID-19 and working toward a permanent infectious disease standard, we are also addressing other crucial issues.

We are progressing with rulemaking for workplace violence in health care and social assistance settings. Workplace violence can lead to both physical and emotional harm, hindering workers’ ability to perform their duties. Health care and social services account for nearly as many serious violent injuries as all other industries combined. In 2016, OSHA sought information on this topic, and we are now poised to initiate a process through the Small Business Administration, referred to as sub-refa. This involves engaging the small business community to understand their perspectives and concerns about the rulemaking process.

Furthermore, we are addressing protections from hazardous chemicals by working on rulemaking to update our hazard communication standard. As many are aware, OSHA and other US agencies have been part of a long-term project to establish a Globally Harmonized approach to classifying chemical hazards, and providing labels and safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals. In March of 2021, OSHA integrated the Globally Harmonized System of Classification, Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) into the hazard communication standard. This integration added specific requirements for hazard classification and standardized label components and information on safety data sheets. However, as the GHS is a dynamic document, and it has been revised multiple times since our initial rulemaking. We are now working to harmonize the hazard communication standard with the latest edition of the GHS. Additionally, we aim to codify several enforcement policies issued after the 2012 standard. We issued a notice of proposed rulemaking last February and collected public comments through May. In September, we hosted an informal public hearing on hazard communication, and we are currently reviewing the feedback received as we plan our next steps.

In alignment with the administration’s inter-agency efforts on workplace safety, climate resilience, and environmental justice, we are taking decisive steps to shield workers from the impacts of the climate crisis, particularly the dangers of working in heat. I know this is a long-standing concern for many. I have always hoped OSHA would address this issue, and I’m pleased that we have initiated efforts in that direction. Both outdoor and indoor work settings are on our radar because workers face these hazards irrespective of their work environment. Our approach encompasses a national Emphasis Program rulemaking and updates to our heat illness prevention campaign. The National Emphasis Program will target high-risk industries, focusing resources on heat inspections. We recently published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on heat illness prevention in October, initiating a comment period. This phase allowed us to gather diverse insights and technical expert opinions as we work on a comprehensive heat standard. We eagerly await stakeholder input, especially from the industrial hygiene and occupational health community. The comment period has been extended until January 26, so please provide your feedback if you haven’t already.

At the heart of our rulemaking and all our endeavors is to gain valuable insights from our stakeholders, ensuring that our actions align with every worker’s needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted disparities in workplace health and safety, especially concerning workers of color, those for whom English isn’t a first language, and individuals in specific industries, such as caregivers. We must guarantee that every worker in this country receives the protection they deserve. Workplace safety isn’t a luxury; it’s a right. Every worker, regardless of their job, ethnicity, language proficiency, or citizenship, should be heard by their employers and safety professionals. They are most familiar with job hazards and face the direct risks if these hazards aren’t adequately addressed. We must rethink our strategies to ensure that all workers receive necessary protections, considering the unique needs of every individual.

I’m glad to note that this summit emphasizes safeguarding our most vulnerable workers. This afternoon’s sessions will address the distinct challenges faced by various groups like first responders, education professionals, gig economy workers, agricultural workers, and construction workers. Many of these challenges predated the pandemic but were exacerbated over recent years. Like all of you, we at OSHA are dedicated to anticipating, recognizing, evaluating, and controlling workplace environmental factors to protect worker health and well-being. Effective Safety and Health Management Systems are crucial for achieving these goals. Ensuring that information and training are accessible to every worker is vital. They must be aware of their rights and how to voice concerns about unsafe working conditions without fearing retaliation. It’s crucial to develop and implement safety and health management systems across workplaces, emphasizing worker involvement at every stage.

We are also intent on enhancing our outreach to underserved worker communities and would appreciate any suggestions on effectively connecting with them to cater to their health and safety needs. Another pivotal focus at OSHA is ensuring that we possess the necessary resources to fulfill our mission. This encompasses bolstering our enforcement program, securing the necessary resources and personnel for compliance assistance, rulemaking, and the Whistleblower Protection Program. We’ve filled various positions over the past year, bringing in additional safety and health officers and whistleblower investigators. Still, we need more. Interested candidates can find available positions at USAjobs.gov and more details at osha.gov/careers. Please help us spread the word about these opportunities. If you’re considering joining our team, I urge you to apply and keep an eye on our website for new listings.

Thank you again for the opportunity to join you today. It was the hard work of safety professionals and worker advocates that led to the creation of OSHA, and it was your dedication and passion to protecting workers that has helped lead us to many of the advancements that we’ve seen over the past half century. As we look ahead to the future of workplace health and safety, and to ensuring that every worker has the protections that they need and deserve, it is imperative that we keep the needs of all workers at the heart of everything we do. 

That is why events like this are so important, and why the work that we do matters. Workplace Health and Safety has improved much over the past half century, thanks in large part to your efforts, and the work of those who came before you. We have to keep working hard each and every day, until every worker is able to go home to their family safe and healthy at the end of each day. And now I’ll turn it back over to Ken and some questions and answers.

Kenneth Martinez  21:11

Thank you, Jim, for that insightful presentation and perspective on the issues. Before diving in, I’d like to comment on the OSHA emergency temporary standard. After reading through it many times, I was genuinely impressed with its alignment to our committee care program areas. The layered approach you mentioned is more than just layered; it’s a holistic strategy. It doesn’t merely address what individuals can do, like vaccination, wearing masks, or social distancing, but also what businesses can do, like improving ventilation to minimize the risk of airborne transmission. This combination of actions is crucial. It’s not just about medical countermeasures. Recognizing that it’s also a built space issue and that actions are required to mitigate risks is significant. I appreciate your input on this.

James Frederick  22:05

Absolutely, Kenneth. And just to reiterate, both in the initial emergency and in the OSHA “Protecting Workers” guidance, this layered approach is present and accessible to all workers, employers, and anyone else interested in occupational health and safety.

Kenneth Martinez  22:28

As we wait for questions, I have one for you. Considering this is a joint event between the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) and The integrated Bioscience and Built Environment Consortium (IBEC),and given that IBEC comprises a diverse group including doctors, scientists, engineers, and industrial hygienists like myself, why, in your opinion, should industrial hygienists be involved in the proposed ETS? What makes them suited to address these issues? I have my thoughts, but I’d like to hear yours.

James Frederick  23:02

Certainly, Kenneth. The industrial hygiene community plays a pivotal role in workplace health, especially in the context of infectious diseases like COVID-19. Their expertise is crucial in multiple areas, like ensuring proper ventilation systems are installed and function efficiently, and in the use of personal protective equipment. Who better than industrial hygienists to confirm that the right PPE is being used effectively to guarantee workers’ safety? The workplace is a significant link in the chain of infectious disease transmission. If we can eliminate that link, we can significantly mitigate the overall impact of the pandemic.

Kenneth Martinez  24:26

Thank you. Now, onto our first audience question: Can you elaborate on the vision and plans for standards addressing airborne infectious diseases in workplaces?

James Frederick  24:36

Of course. As we progress with the airborne infectious disease rulemaking, we’re ensuring that our agency’s priority items remain at the forefront. This standard will primarily target workers in healthcare settings, which was the main focus from our previous sessions. Information from the Supreme Court process offers a solid starting point for considering and addressing various issues. The experiences of the past two years during the pandemic have enriched our understanding of occupational health in workplace settings. We’re factoring in those learnings as we shape the next stages of the infectious disease process. Stakeholders will have more opportunities to contribute as we navigate through the rulemaking’s subsequent phases. While rulemaking can be time-consuming due to various considerations, we’ll ensure there’s ample opportunity for all interested parties, including workers, the regulated community, and others, to provide feedback before we finalize the rules.

Kenneth Martinez  26:43

Thank you. I had another question in mind. Oh, I recall now. What is OSHA currently doing to promote not just vaccination and respirators, but also improvements in ventilation? I’m aware that you have a consulting program in Salt Lake City. Do representatives go out and present or brief on various strategies investigated? How can I assist in improving this?

James Frederick  27:09

One crucial aspect at our agency is ensuring we have controls in place as an employer to ensure our staff works safely. Some of us at the agency primarily have inward-facing tasks, attending meetings like this one and participating in video conferences daily. However, others, especially those in our area and regional offices, interact more directly with workplaces either through enforcement or compliance assistance. It’s particularly through our compliance assistance, as well as some alliances and partnerships, where we promote the appropriate control measures for workplaces, ensuring that employers have the information they need to implement these controls. While I emphasize employers, we also ensure we reach out to other stakeholders, such as worker advocates, providing them with resources and materials, hoping they too can reach multiple employers, amplifying our agency’s message. We’re a relatively small agency within the federal government, so we always look for opportunities to amplify our message.

Kenneth Martinez  28:58

Though a small agency, your impact is tremendous. Thank you for joining us. I have a question from Dorothy Whitmore. California has an aerosol transmission disease standard that offers insights into what needs to be addressed. The politics around “aerosols” sometimes hinder the final outcome, but the standard does cover novel aerosols. How much are you referencing this standard and the lessons derived from its application?

James Frederick  29:23

Thank you for that, Dorothy. It’s great to be virtually connected. We’re certainly factoring in many elements, including what we can learn from our state plan partners like California. As some may know, Assistant Secretary Doug Parker led the California state program before joining OSHA. We’re definitely leveraging the insights we can gain from our state partners and other stakeholders in this process.

Kenneth Martinez  30:00

Thank you. This might be a bit off-topic, but much of my career revolved around indoor air quality and mold investigations for The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Mold exposure is a complex issue because its effects can manifest more as immune responses than direct infections. Is there a distinction between allergic responses and infections in OSHA’s considerations? Could mold exposure come under OSHA’s purview soon?

James Frederick  30:45

I’m not sure I fully followed your initial query, but regarding hypersensitivity or allergic reactions…

Kenneth Martinez  30:52

I meant more broadly, considering mold as a significant concern.

James Frederick  30:57

Understood. I can’t comment precisely on the eventual scope of the rule, but we would be keen to hear stakeholder feedback during the rulemaking process. Drawing from lessons over the past few years and OSHA’s work on this rulemaking before the pandemic, we’re seeing a framework emerge. We anticipate more opportunities for stakeholder input in the months ahead.

Kenneth Martinez  31:51

Thank you, Jim. I apologize for any confusion.

James Frederick  31:55

It was just a minor audio glitch when you mentioned mold. Once clarified, I understood.

Kenneth Martinez  32:02

We have another question from Karissa. Can you elaborate on OSHA’s current position in the hazard communication standard rulemaking process?

James Frederick  32:11

Certainly, Karissa. Thank you for the question. The proposal was introduced last year, and a hearing took place a few months ago. I believe the post-hearing comment period has concluded. We’re now in the phase post-public hearing where we consider all feedback and the record to shape the final rule. The regulatory process does take time due to its nature, but it’s in progress. In the near future, we’ll be advancing to the next steps as we finalize our review of the material in the record.

Kenneth Martinez  33:17

We have a question from Kevin Murphy. He asks, “What is your elevator pitch to the industrial hygiene consultants on this call to join the OSHA enforcement team?”

James Frederick  33:29

Kevin, thank you for that. I’ve been actively promoting the roles of OSHA, and I think it boils down to a few key points. The first is our mission: to protect workers in occupational health and safety. Everyone on this call shares this mission, and OSHA, as a federal agency, is committed to this daily. Additionally, we are a social organization striving to improve workplace health and safety. Throughout my 30-year career, I’ve investigated serious injuries and fatalities. I’ve spoken to families of the victims, and these are heartbreaking conversations. The aim is to transform workplace health and safety, and OSHA is at the forefront of this, making changes and improvements every day. Our approach includes regulatory processes, new standards, enforcement, compliance assistance, alliances, and partnerships. There’s a role for health and safety professionals and industrial hygienists to further this mission and ensure workers’ safety every day.

Kenneth Martinez  35:27

The questions are pouring in, Jim. Karen Cuda asks, “With the two COVID-19 ETS withdrawn, can you elaborate on OSHA’s enforcement approach, especially regarding the use of N95 respirators as face coverings in the workplace?”

James Frederick  35:43

We remain vigilant. This morning, we analyzed our enforcement data to gain insight into our current responsiveness to complaints. With state plan OSHA programs, almost half the country operates under one of these plans. From our federal data analysis, we’ve seen that most complaints come from healthcare, with meat processing being a secondary source. Specifically, regarding N95s, there are clear protocols in healthcare where they are necessary. If we identify areas during our enforcement where respiratory protection should be in place and it’s not, we can cite using our respiratory protection standard. As for the broader use of face coverings versus N95s, it’s more about OSHA’s guidance at this point. We will continue to update our guidelines based on the evolving science of the pandemic.

Kenneth Martinez  37:59

Natacha Letort has a question, “How does OSHA handle the varying requirements and swift changes as the pandemic evolves?”

James Frederick  38:08

Thank you, Natasha. Adapting to the pandemic’s changes has been challenging for everyone. We aim to stay updated with verified information and disseminate it quickly within the agency, ensuring ongoing education for our staff across all areas – be it enforcement, rulemaking, or compliance assistance.

Kenneth Martinez  39:19

An attendee asks about the World Health Organization’s recent recommendation for healthcare workers to wear fit-tested N95s or equivalents, even with suspected COVID patients. Is OSHA considering this?

James Frederick  39:46

Yes, we’re reviewing and considering the WHO’s recommendations to best guide workers and employers. However, our processes related to these recommendations are still in motion.

Kenneth Martinez  40:17

Ruth inquires, “Can you confirm if the workplace violence proposed standard will go before the SPR EFA this year?”

James Frederick  40:33

The workplace violence rule is one of our priority areas for rulemaking. We’re progressing as swiftly as possible. The best reference is the federal regulatory agenda, specifically the OSHA section. The next update will be in the spring version, coming soon.

Kenneth Martinez  41:14

Dorothy Wigmore revisits her earlier question about the HazCom standard. She asks about the likelihood of more conversations, particularly with worker groups, before OSHA finalizes changes to the standard.

James Frederick  41:45

Dorothy, I can’t give odds, but I acknowledge your input and our rulemaking team is considering it. We’ve received various comments on the proposed rule, and they’ll all be factored into our decisions.

Kenneth Martinez  42:20

Okay, we have another question. Sonya Stokes asked, and I believe it was previously asked, but let’s reiterate for emphasis. For employers with operations in multiple states with differing and sometimes conflicting requirements, how should they guide their policies on workplace safety during COVID? This is especially challenging to operationalize with respect to masking and face coverings.

James Frederick  42:44

Certainly. I’ve closely examined the ruling from the Supreme Court issued to OSHA recently, which emphasizes deferring to states in many aspects of this area. From firsthand experience, I understand that differences from one state to another regarding requirements can pose challenges. This is one of the reasons why OSHA ensures a minimum requirement level for all employers covered by the OSHA act. However, when we’re not regulating certain spaces, there are inherent differences between states and even within localities in those states.

Kenneth Martinez  44:03

I’d like to make a comment. As I reviewed the ETS, I genuinely appreciated the inclusion of a job hazard analysis. In my opinion, we don’t emphasize enough the importance of employers conducting risk assessments. It’s not just about identifying one risk or another, but understanding specific risks for various roles. For instance, consider a server in a restaurant. Patrons sit without masks while eating and drinking, yet the server approaches them with a mask. The server, in my view, is at high risk since they don’t know if anyone at the table is infected or releasing aerosols. So, I was pleased to see the emphasis on job hazard analysis in the ETS.

James Frederick  44:59

Thank you. I wholeheartedly agree about the significance of the job hazard analysis. Your earlier points also highlight the crucial role of the industrial hygiene community in this context. Their involvement is vital in many aspects of this work.

Kenneth Martinez  45:24

I don’t see any more questions in the comments. However, I do have a comment from Sonya. She expressed her gratitude for this session, calling it insightful and practically useful. I concur with her sentiments. Jim, thank you for joining us today. We truly appreciate your insights and commend the dedicated work OSHA is doing during the pandemic. There’s a clear need for effective strategies to reduce transmission risk, and OSHA is taking proactive steps. Thank you.

James Frederick  45:57

Thank you, Ken. I also want to extend my thanks to everyone who participated today and to the organizing entities. It’s been a pleasure.