We at the Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America (LHSFNA) are pleased to announce that Travis M. Parsons, LHSFNA Senior Safety and Health Specialist, was recently appointed to a four-year term on Virginia’s Safety and Health Codes Board. Confirmed by Governor Terry McAuliffe in late August, Parsons joins a team dedicated to finding common ground with members of both parties to grow Virginia’s economy and help create safe jobs for the working men and women of the Commonwealth.

Virginia’s Safety and Health Codes Board authorizes, adopts, amends and appeals rules and regulations to protect the occupational safety and health of the state’s employees. Like many other states around the country, Virginia maintains its own occupational safety and health program within the guidelines set out by federal OSHA. Through the guidance of the Safety and Health Codes Board, Virginia has enacted a number of safety and health regulatory standards that are unique to the state or have requirements that are more stringent than federal OSHA regulations.

The Board is made up of 14 members from diverse backgrounds and industries, including both employee/employer representatives, the general public and the Executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality and the Commissioner of Health. In addition to regulating occupational health and safety for general industry, construction, agriculture and the public sector, the Safety and Health Codes Board also oversees the state’s asbestos and lead contractor notification and inspection programs.

We are proud to congratulate Travis on his appointment and look forward to him bringing the same expertise and professionalism to the Board that he provides every day at the LHSFNA.

[Nick Fox]