Amanda Wood Laihow is acting administrator of OSHA

Washington — Amanda Wood Laihow is the new acting head of OSHA, according to the agency’s revised organizational chart.

OSHA updated the chart on March 12, one day after Lori Chavez-DeRemer was sworn in as labor secretary. Laihow had been serving as OSHA’s deputy assistant secretary since February.

Laihow joins longtime OSHA staffer Scott Ketcham as deputy assistant secretary. She’ll oversee the following directorates:

• Standards and Guidance 
• Technical Support and Emergency Management 
• Cooperative and State Programs 
• Administrative Programs 
• Whistleblower Protection Programs 

Laihow was a member of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission from January 2020 to April 2023. President Joe Biden renominated her in July 2023, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved the nomination three months later. However, the Senate never voted on her confirmation.

Laihow previously served as chief counsel to former OSHRC Chair James Sullivan and was the director of labor and employment policy at the National Association of Manufacturers. She was also deputy general counsel and director of governmental affairs with the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

President Donald Trump has tapped former UPS and Amazon safety executive David Keeling to lead OSHA. Keeling’s nomination is with the Senate HELP Committee.