Employment Law360 ran an article last week about the addition of Kathryn M. McMahon, a prominent Washington, D.C. OSHA and environmental attorney, to the national OSHA Practice Group at Epstein Becker & Green, a leading labor & employment and health law firm. Ms. McMahon focuses her practice in the areas of occupational safety and health (OSHA) law as well as environmental law. She has extensive experience and expertise in handling complex OSHA
rulemakings, and regularly assists clients in accident and fatality investigations, workplace hazard assessments, and a broad range of enforcement-related matters. She will reside in the firm's Washington, D.C., office.
The Law360 article (entitled "Epstein Becker Snares OSHA Pro From Kelley Drye") reported that:
"Kathryn McMahon comes to Epstein Becker after heading up the Occupational Safety and Health Administration practice at Kelley Drye. She said that the experience and skill of Epstein Becker's OSHA group, led by Eric J. Conn, provided a great opportunity to grow her practice: 'It's an incredible practice,' McMahon told Law360. 'It is the go-to firm right now in the OSHA world, and I think, with the team we have here, we're going to be the top OSHA practice in the country, with extensive, in-depth experience and know-how in all aspects of OSHA law, from the routine or complaint-driven OSHA inspections to safety whistleblower complaints and OSH Act criminal investigations.' McMahon's practice strikes a balance between offering regulatory guidance and helping with various enforcement issues. In the regulatory arena, McMahon has aided companies in various sectors, tackling hazard communication, ergonomics, hazardous waste operations and emergency response, process safety management and machine-guarding matters, among others.”
EBG also announced the news of its new OSHA Partner in a press release that talked about the value Ms. McMahon's experience and expertise will provide to the firm's clients. The Chair of EBG's National Labor Steering Committee, David W. Garland, described the Firm's strategic initiative "to continue to add to our OSHA capabilities and grow in this area, as it is a vital part of our Labor and Employment practice." In welcoming Ms. McMahon to the firm, the Head of EBG's OSHA Practice Group, Eric J. Conn, said: "Our national OSHA Practice Group continues to represent employers and associations in the most complex, high-profile OSHA matters of the day, so adding to our team an attorney of Kate's caliber, experience, and record of extraordinary success for her clients will be invaluable. Kate is known nationally for her role as the lead counsel for industry on the last two major OSHA rulemaking efforts. As OSHA rekindles its efforts to engage in new impactful rulemaking and standard setting, from the Injury & Illness Prevention Plan Rule to the new proposed Silica Standard, we are even better positioned to help employers in this area with Kate now a part of our team."
In describing her practice philosophy, Ms. McMahon explained:
“Whether the issue is the appropriate worker exposure limit to establish in an occupational health standard, the right safety systems to implement to address workplace accidents, or the acceptable abatement and other terms to resolve an enforcement action, approaching the problem with an eye towards an outcome that protects employees without impinging on an employer’s ability to operate, make a product, or serve customers is a strategy I have employed with great success for my clients. There is often common ground for collaborative approaches that work well for employers while ensuring the safety of my clients’ employees. Finding those solutions leads to successful outcomes for everyone.”
In addition to her OSHA work, Ms. McMahon has broad experience in the environmental area, both in the regulatory and enforcement contexts. For two decades, she has provided clients compliance counseling under all major environmental statues as well as representing them in numerous Superfund contribution actions and PRP allocations, Department of Justice enforcement matters, and myriad other federal and state administrative actions.
Check out the full press release, the Employment Law360 article, and Ms. McMahon's bio.