OSHA’s Regulations After 1976

Abstract

In 1977 the Carter administration did not reappoint Dr. Morton Corn as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. In April, 1977, Eula Bingham was named to replace Corn. Like Corn, Bingham had a strong background in occupational health. She had served on the standards advisory committee for the coke oven emissions standard and had been a toxicologist at the University of Cincinnati. She quickly let it be known that she would prefer to err in favor of workers’ protection than in favor of industries’ compliance capabilities. Her top staff included Basil Whiting, who had worked on civil rights, community development, anti-poverty programs, and occupational safety and health for the Ford Foundation; Bertram Cottine, who had worked for Ralph Nader’s Health Research Group; Franklin Greer, who had worked for a public interest consulting firm; and Susan Nelson, Peggy Taylor, and Jeannie Warner, all of whom once worked for Senate and House committees overseeing OSHA.