Bush Appoints Review Commissioner

Aug. 19, 2002
The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission finally has a quorum and can render decisions on disputed job safety cases.

In a recess appointment announced last week, President George W. Bush named W. Scott Railton to join Clinton appointee Thomasina Rogers, the current chair of the review commission. A minimum of two commissioners is necessary for the independent federal adjudicatory panel to resolve disputed job safety and health inspection cases.

As a recess appointee, Railton's term will last through the next session of the Senate, sometime near the end of 2003, unless the Senate confirms him to a full term, a review commission spokesperson said.

Railton leaves his position as a senior labor partner at the law firm of Reed, Smith, Shaw & McClay to return to the review commission. In the mid-1970s, he served as chief counsel to two agency commissioners and later was acting general counsel.

The review commission has been without a quorum for seven months and has a backlog of 71 cases. The commission has been without a quorum four times in the last four years, and the number of undecided cases is not unusual, according to the spokesperson.

It remains to be seen, with one Republican and one Democratic commissioner, whether the commission will have trouble deciding cases and reducing the backlog.

Sponsored Recommendations

April 25, 2025
Environmental audits should be a core part of your EHS program regardless of whether you choose to pursue ISO 14001 certification.
April 25, 2025
Streamline EHS inspections. Conduct, track, and manage inspections effortlessly with customizable checklists, real-time reporting, and actionable insights.
April 25, 2025
A winning business case is based on the ROI of the project. The essential first step is determining your EHS costs today.
April 25, 2025
The use of QR codes can greatly simplify observation, near miss, and incident reporting and improve the quantity and quality of data. The more safety information that is collected...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of EHS Today, create an account today!