OSHA Director to Leave Oregon
Wood was controversial as the spearhead for COVID-19 enforcement
Oregon OSHA Administrator Michael Wood will leave his post at the end of this month to take a job with the State of Washington, the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services announced today.
The department expects soon to name an interim administrator of the workplace health and safety division, with a national recruitment for the position planned.
"Michael has dedicated his career to public service, has skillfully steered Oregon OSHA through many challenges, and is leaving behind a strong team of highly skilled professionals who are ready to address new challenges," said Andrew Stolfi, director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services. "We will miss him and wish him well as he moves into a new phase of his impressive career in public service." Oregon OSHA operates within DCBS.
Wood was controversial as the spearhead for COVID-19 enforcement, which some say has been excessively heavy-handed. In the past, he has promised fines for businesses that failed to enforce vaccine requirements on their customers, as well as imposing maximum fines on businesses who failed to enforce mask mandates on their customers. Observers are waiting to see if Governor Brown will appoint a new administrator who has the will to continue what some say is a heavy-handed level of enforcement.
Wood's last day with Oregon OSHA is Oct. 22. He has accepted a position as deputy director of operations for the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Wood has served as administrator of Oregon OSHA for 16 years. Before joining the State of Oregon in his current position, he worked for the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries for more than two decades.
According to OSHA, "Even as it has quickly responded to the COVID-19 emergency -- including adopting requirements to protect workers -- Oregon OSHA has continued to advance its long-running work addressing high-hazard industries and various emphasis safety programs. For decades, the division's efforts – part of a larger system in Oregon focused on safe and healthy workplaces – have helped drive down injury, illness, and fatality rates in Oregon workplaces."