President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the nation’s workplace safety agency previously oversaw health operations at UPS, when heat seriously injured dozens of workers at the delivery company.
If confirmed to lead the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, David Keeling will play a key role in deciding whether the agency would enact a regulation requiring U.S. employers for the first time to protect workers from the dangerous effects of heat, at a time when global temperatures are reaching levels never before seen by people.
Keeling served as the top safety official at UPS for three years until 2021. During that time, about 50 UPS workers were “seriously injured” by heat exposure and required hospitalization, according to OSHA records. Heat was the top reason for injuries during Keeling’s time at the company, resulting in 20 percent of incidents.
At the end of Trump’s first term, in 2019, OSHA cited UPS for leaving delivery drivers in Palm Beach County, Florida, exposed to dangerous temperatures over a two-day period when combined heat and humidity reached 104 degrees.
