Chairman W. Scott Railton announced the selection of Alexander Fernández to fill the position of General Counsel at the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The Review Commission is an independent adjudicatory agency created by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Its cases emanate from contested workplace inspections conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The General Counsel supervises a staff of attorneys responsible for providing the Review Commission with advice in a variety of substantive legal areas, including Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), labor relations and personnel, procurement, ethics, privacy, etc. The General Counsel’s office also prepares drafts of the Commission’s opinions.

Mr. Fernández will join the Review Commission on August 22, 2005. He currently serves as the Deputy Associate Solicitor of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health at the Department of Labor (DOL). He has been at DOL for 14 years and has developed substantial experience in occupational safety and health, pensions, civil rights, labor-management, FOIA and litigation. Mr. Fernández has represented DOL before the Supreme Court of the State of Washington and has litigated before numerous federal district and appellate courts. While in the Occupational Safety and Health Division, he was focused primarily on Voluntary Protection Programs, assisting OSHA in negotiating several national and international partnerships. In addition, he served as Assistant Director for Legal Research Writing and Analysis at the George Mason University School of Law, where he also taught Evidence and Remedies.

A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, he earned his undergraduate degree, cum laude, at Florida International University in Miami. Mr. Fernández is fluent in Spanish and proficient in American Sign Language. He earned nine Secretary of Labor exceptional achievement awards while working at the Department of Labor.