According to Kathy Seabrook, Michaels for the first time publically outlined his areas for OSHA emphasis and reform:
- aggressively pursuing a plan (similar to plans to reform EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act) to update hundreds of chemical exposure limits set in the 1950s and 1960s and figure out a way to set chemical exposure standards at pace greater than two in the past 12 years, which is OSHA’s current track record;
- aggressive rulemaking for essential standards, such as a national workplace injury and illness prevention program;
- emphasis on prevention through design rather than retrofitting hazardous operations to make them safer;
- giving workers a greater voice in workplace safety than they now have;
- take a hard look at incentive and disciplinary programs to ensure they do not discourage worker reporting of injuries and illnesses.