James (Jim) Frederick Profile

James (Jim) Frederick joined the Biden-Harris Administration in January 2021, serving in the capacity of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. This role concluded in January 2025.

Jim’s role at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) supported the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health and the Secretary of Labor in matters of policy, administration, and operations. Jim’s day to day role provided oversight and support of OSHA’s senior leadership ensuring that policy matters were executed by OSHA to improve workplace safety and health and to provide efficient agency administration. Jim’s role also included interactions with agency outside stakeholders in response to issues, concerns and priority matters. Jim regularly coordinated OSHA matters with other governmental representatives and entities in support of the agency’s mission.

Prior to his work at OSHA, Jim spent three decades as an OSHA stakeholder working primarily in organized labor as a health and safety representative for unions. During most of that time, Jim was with the United Steelworkers Union where he served as the Assistant Director of Health, Safety and Environment and Principal Investigator for the union. Jim’s prior roles afforded him with the opportunity to work with employers, governments, and workers in the United States, throughout North America, and Globally.

In addition to his work with organized labor, Jim worked as an occupational safety and health consultant with numerous industry representatives and worker safety and health advocates.

Jim has a MS in Environmental Health and Safety Management from Rochester Institute of Technology and a BS in Environmental Health from Purdue University. Jim was honored to receive the Purdue School of Health Sciences Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2022 as well as the University’s Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Health and Human Sciences in 2024.

While Jim’s work has varied over the decades, his focus has always been to address those hazards and unsafe conditions that cause serious injuries, fatalities and illness to workers and ensuring that proper controls are in place to ensure that workers return home safely after each shift.