The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) is urging the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to accept a recommended update of qualifications for federal occupational safety and health (OSH) managers.
The job employee classification for the position (GS-0018) was last updated in 1980. In a letter to OPM Director John Berry, ASSE President Richard A. Pollock noted that many ASSE members are federal employees, according to an ASSE press release.
For a Limited Time receive a
FREE HR Report "Top 10 Best Practices in HR Management." This comprehensive special report will give you the information you need to know about these current HR challenges and how to most effectively manage them in your workplace.
Download NowThe update by the Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health acknowledges that the current classification fails to reflect changes in OSH practice and the value of practitioners.
“Today’s safety and health professional confronts complex risks that did not exist a decade ago, much less in 1980 when the GS-0018 series was written,” Pollock wrote. Proposed changes include deleting the option of using experience alone as a qualification and requiring education and/or professional certification.