The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has just 230 out of its 2,235 employees working during the federal government shutdown, leaving only enough staff to respond to the most serious workplace emergencies.
OSHA’s active staff comprises members of the executive, compliance and information technology staff in the national office; administrators and support staff in the regional offices; two inspectors in each of the area offices; and chemists and industrial hygienists in the Salt Lake City Technical Center, according to OSHA head David Michaels.
“OSHA employees should be able to respond to safety and health complaints or other information when employees are potentially exposed to hazardous conditions that present a high risk of death or serious physical harm,” Michaels said. (For the full article, visit Bloomberg BNA.)