Lori Chavez-DeRemer has been confirmed as the new U.S. Secretary of Labor following a 67–32 vote in the Senate, giving her the mandate to address workplace safety concerns that contributed to more than 5,200 on-the-job fatalities in 2023.
The confirmation marks a new chapter for the Department of Labor, as employers and safety advocates call for stronger protections and clearer guidance to prevent serious workplace injuries and deaths.
“With thousands of workers losing their lives each year, we need decisive action to prevent these tragedies,” said Mark Chung, executive vice president of safety leadership and advocacy at the National Safety Council. “NSC stands ready to collaborate with the Department of Labor on data-driven policies that eliminate injuries and fatalities, strengthen protections for all workers and ensure everyone returns home safely at the end of each workday.”
According to the National Safety Council, workplace fatalities and serious incidents cost the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars annually in productivity losses, medical expenses and other costs.
NSC is urging the department under Chavez-DeRemer’s leadership to act on several key issues, including finalizing rules around heat-related illness prevention, updating hazardous energy control regulations, and improving reporting on leading indicators of workplace risk. The organization also stressed the importance of young worker safety, addressing labor exploitation, and partnering with the Department of Transportation on work zone safety.
A successful labor department, NSC said, must respond to the evolving safety challenges faced by employers, particularly as new technologies and regulatory complexities reshape the workplace.
