By James L. Curtis and Craig B. Simonsen

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced yesterday that “this afternoon, I submitted my resignation to President Obama.” This resignation casts a question about Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels ongoing role at the Agency.

Undoubtedly Dr. Michaels’ role at OSHA has been as a driving force for its increased enforcement and inspection activities. At this point Dr. Michaels has not signaled any intention to move on. However, it will be interesting to see if the Administration under the next Secretary of Labor continues to follow that position, or if a new, more business friendly driver is put in-place!