California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that he has appointed Debra Lee as the new Chief of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health at the Department of Industrial Relations (also known as Cal/OSHA). Lee, a 30-year veteran of Cal/OSHA, had been serving as Acting Chief since Jeff Killip departed the position in January.

Lee has previously served the Division as Regional Manager, District Manager, and Deputy Chief for Field Enforcement. Prior to joining the agency, Lee was an Industrial Hygienist at various companies.

The news comes as Cal/OSHA makes a push to fill numerous vacancies and struggles to recruit new talent, which will certainly be one of many issues at the Division that Lee will need to confront in the early days of this new role.

For more information on the latest Cal/OSHA updates please check out our recent blog article Extensive Rulemaking Offered at the May Cal/OSHA Standards Board and Cal/OSHA Advisory Committee Meetings blog and our Cal/OSHA Mid-Year Update webinar.