OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary Jordan Barab ended some speculation late last month when he announced that he and agency head Dr. David Michaels will remain at their posts.

Most of the sources with longstanding OSHA connections that ISHN has contacted post-election contend that we are in for a revival of the Injury and Illness Prevention Program (i2P2). OSHA officials backed off discussing in public to any detailed degree the controversial rule during the 2012 presidential election race.

OSHA’s long-standing VPP, born during the Reagan years and which received staunch support during Republican years in the White House (2000-2008), came under scrutiny as the Obama administration, with a more open ear to organized labor’s concerns about the VPP use of incentive and behavior-based safety programs, took the helm.