Management-side labor and employment attorney James Sullivan was sworn in as an OSHRC Commissioner on August 28, 2017 after his Senate confirmation. Immediately prior to being appointed by President Donald Trump, Sullivan was a shareholder with Cozen O’Connor. Sullivan’s practice focused on labor and employment law and workplace safety and health matters.1 Sullivan’s term expires in April 2021.
Sullivan joins OSHRC Chairman Heather MacDougall, who was sworn in on August 16, 2017 and was former acting chairman and member of the Commission. MacDougall too is a former management-side labor and employment attorney, most recently with Akerman LLP in Florida. MacDougall’s term also expires in April 2021. The last Commissioner is Cynthia L. Attwood, first appointed by President Barack Obama. Attwood spent 30 years in the Federal government as a lawyer and judge. Her term expires in April 2019.
For the first time in over two years, the OSHRC will have each of its seats filled. Chairman MacDougall said the following upon being sworn in: “With a quorum restored and a full complement of commissioners for the first time in over two years, our first order of business is the cases awaiting Commission consideration.”2
1 Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, Current Commissioners, (Oct. 5, 2017 12:51 PM).