U.S. Senate Confirms OSHRC Nominees

On January 9, 2020, the U.S. Senate confirmed by voice vote both of President Donald Trump’s nominees to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC). Cynthia L. Attwood was first to be confirmed, followed shortly thereafter by Amanda Wood Laihow. The confirmations come as no surprise, as the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions unanimously approved both candidates on December 3, 2019.

As soon as Attwood and Laihow are sworn in, which we expect will happen in the coming weeks, they will serve alongside the Commission’s current chair, James J. Sullivan Jr., who is a familiar face to both. Laihow currently serves as Sullivan’s chief counsel, while Attwood served with Sullivan for over a year in her previous term. Attwood will soon begin serving her third term on the Commission, which will expire April 27, 2025. This will be Laihow’s first term as a commissioner, which will expire April 27, 2023. President Trump appointed Laihow to fill the seat of the Commission’s previous chair, Heather MacDougall, who left in 2019.

With all three seats occupied, the Commission will have a full complement of commissioners to decide the cases before it. According to the OSHRC website, there are currently 23 decisions from administrative law judges awaiting review.