WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has completed changes to restructure its regional operations and create a new region in Birmingham, Alabama. OSHA's intent with the new Birmingham Region is to make workplaces safer and healthier by giving workers a voice and promoting equitable quality service with commitment and respect.
Among the changes is the creation of a new region based in Birmingham to serve Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and the Florida Panhandle.
OSHA has combined operations that had been designated as Regions 9 and 10 to create a new San Francisco Region, to improve the ability of OSHA to deploy resources and serve workers in the new region.
The agency will now also use geographic designations to identify its regions rather than numerals.
The newly created Birmingham Region will be overseen by experienced OSHA leaders, including Dorinda Hughes who will serve as regional administrator. Currently leading OSHA efforts in Seattle, Hughes has served as a deputy regional administrator, area director, assistant area director and compliance assistance specialist. Hughes joined OSHA in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in biology, with an emphasis in microbiology and a minor in chemistry.
"Establishing the Birmingham Region sets the stage for OSHA's growth in the Southeast. Our dedicated team is committed to equitable worker safety and ensuring workers' voices are heard without fear of retaliation," said Birmingham Regional Administrator Dorinda Hughes. "We are grateful for the foundations laid by the Dallas and Atlanta regions and look forward to strengthening existing partnerships and forging new ones to promote positive safety cultures in every workplace."
Hughes' leadership team also includes OSHA veteran, Jack Rector, who will serve as Birmingham's deputy regional administrator. Rector currently serves as deputy regional administrator in Seattle. He began his career with OSHA in 2003 as a safety and health compliance officer and has served as an assistant area director and area director. Rector holds a bachelor's degree in occupational safety and health.
OSHA's restructuring is intended to bring its offices closer to communities in need of services, and strengthen the agency's presence in the southeastern U.S. The agency also anticipates the restructuring will reduce its response time to complaints, fatalities, imminent danger and significant events. Stakeholders can continue to contact their existing area offices for assistance.