Tressi L. Cordaro

Ms. Cordaro’s unique experience with government agencies involved in OSHA enforcement enables her to provide employers with especially insightful guidance as to how regulators view OSHA compliance obligations, and evaluate contested cases.

Before joining Ogletree Deakins, Ms. Cordaro served as the Presidentially-appointed Legal Counsel and Special Advisor to the past Chairman and current Commissioner Horace A. Thompson, III at the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (OSHRC) in Washington, DC, the agency that adjudicates contested federal OSHA citations.  As the Commissioner’s chief counsel, Ms. Cordaro analyzed all cases presented to OSHRC and  advocated the Commissioner’s position during decisional meetings with other Presidentially-appointed members of the Commission.  For example, she was instrumental in researching and drafting Commissioner Thompson’s vigorous dissenting opinion in the important decision in Secretary of Labor vs. Summit Contractors 23 BNA OSHC 1196 (No. 05-0839, 2010).  The dissent argues that contrary to the majority’s ruling, OSHA lacks statutory authority to cite employers on a multi-employer worksite on the basis of “controlling employer” theory. These arguments will doubtlessly be presented to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to which Summit has appealed.  These experiences have given Ms. Cordaro a keen understanding of how OSHA interprets and applies its statute and standards, and an insider’s view of how successful litigation positions are best presented.

In addition, Ms. Cordaro served the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration developing OSHA standards, regulations and enforcement and compliance policies, with emphasis on the construction industry. She has in-depth experience on technical issues including, in particular, issues related to cranes and derricks in construction and has given several presentations on the standard’s requirements.