WASHINGTON — OSHA plans to open a new regional office, consolidate two regions and change the name of the regional office.
These changes are expected to be completed by October 1st.
The new regional office in Birmingham, Alabama, will oversee the agency's efforts in the Panhandle and its home states of Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Florida.
“The Birmingham region will be dealing with a growing population of workers in the region and hazardous work by people employed in food processing, construction, heavy industry, and chemical processing,” OSHA announced the changes in May. This is stated in a press release on the 8th.
The numbered designation of regions is obsolete. Instead, OSHA refers to each region by its home office location.
For example, Region 6 is known as the Dallas Region. He will oversee the agency's efforts in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Additionally, with the addition of the Birmingham office, the Atlanta area will oversee OSHA activities in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and the rest of Florida not under the new office's oversight.
Regions 9 and 10 will be combined into a region known as the San Francisco Region “to improve operations and reduce operating costs.” Seven of the eight states in these two regions are state plan states.
“This change reflects the country's demographic and industrial changes since 2019. [Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970] This will enable our professionals to better meet the needs of all workers, including historically underserved workers,” said OSHA Administrator Doug Parker. Told. “With increased enforcement in the South and stronger state oversight and whistleblower presence in the West, a region with a majority of states that operate OSHA programs, we need our resources the most. You can direct it to where you are.”
Once the changes are complete, OSHA will update its website to display the new area map and contact information.
