More of the same: Michaels to stay on as head of OSHA

Leadership changes have been taking place all over the executive branch of government as President Obama begins his second term, but one place where the top ranks will remain the same is OSHA.

The Small Business Administration reported on its blog that David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, would stay on the job, as would two other top leaders, deputy assistant secretary of Labor Jordan Barab, and Chief of Staff Deborah Berkowitz. The news came out when Barab spoke at one of the SBA’s small business roundtables.

The OSHA leadership team also seems intent on forging ahead with it at least some items of its existing agenda. Barab announced at the roundtable, for example, that the agency would forging ahead with work on its Injury and Illness Prevention Program, also known as I2P2. There is little reason to believe that other key elements of the OSHA agenda, such as ramped-up enforcement, will change either.