OKLAHOMA CITY – State Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn coasted to reelection Nov. 8 and said she intends to focus on “the most critical job shortages in Oklahoma” during her second term.
“I am blessed to have four more years in this job, thanks to the support of a lot of individuals and voters, associations and groups,” she said. The state Labor Department has “worked on things that make life better in this state, and I appreciate the voters for allowing me to continue this journey and the work we’re doing.”
Osborn, 59, a Republican former state legislator, collected nearly two-thirds of the 1.136 million votes cast in the Labor Commissioner’s race.
Final but unofficial results posted by the State Election Board showed that Osborn received 65.66% of votes cast in that race, to 29.23% for Democrat Jack Henderson and 5.01% for Libertarian Will Daugherty.
Her department has “started pushing a lot of information about the most critical job shortages in Oklahoma, and trying to get that information to people who are looking for second careers and kids who are graduating from high school,” she said.
One of the biggest areas of job shortages is in trades, Osborn noted.
Consequently, the state Labor Department is partnering with Oklahoma City public schools “on a project to have a multipurpose room in every high school” and is promoting more shop classes, she said. “We want to attract retired tradesmen to come in and be teachers for these students.”
Osborn said her department intends to “focus on those students who have the aptitude, the ability and the work ethic” to succeed in mechanical trades.
“During their junior and senior years in high school, we want them to enroll in one of our Career Tech centers or participate in one of the union or non-union trade apprenticeships,” she said, “so that by the time they’re 18 or 19 they can be fully licensed and start working as electricians or plumbers, or in some other profession, at a high salary and with no student debt.”
If the program succeeds, “We’ll try to replicate it statewide,” Osborn said. “We want to keep the best and brightest in good-paying jobs in this state.”
“During our first four years we worked on reducing the number of licensed professions from 508 jobs to 204,” Osborn said recently. Reportedly in Oklahoma, 19% of workers currently hold an occupational license.
Oklahoma has more than 200 occupational licenses issued by more than 40 state boards and agencies, according to the annual report of the Occupational Licensing Advisory Commission. The Labor Department “oversees the licensure, registration, and regulation of 51 distinct occupational licenses” – one-fourth of all occupational licenses in Oklahoma – the agency reports.
The ODOL licenses approximately 10,000 individuals and businesses “while simultaneously protecting the health, safety, and welfare of all Oklahomans by ensuring that licensees have met a standard of expertise.”
Labor Dept. areas of responsibility
The Labor Department has several statutory areas of responsibility, Osborn informed state budget writers during a legislative committee hearing:
• Inspection of the 69,500 registered boiler/pressure vessels throughout the state.
• Licensing alarms, locksmiths and fire sprinklers.
• Licensing alternative fuels companies and alternative fuels equipment technicians, compression technicians and electric vehicle technicians.
• Amusement park rides. (The Labor Department inspects all amusement rides at permanent amusement parks annually, and all mobile amusement rides are inspected every time they are moved. Labor Department personnel inspected 1,884 amusement rides at local and state events in 2020, Osborn said.)
• Enforcing child labor laws.
• Licensing welders. (A welder is required to renew the license each year.)
One legislator complained that Latimer County had no plumbers. “We don’t license plumbers,” Osborn replied. Plumbers are certified by the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board. “We need to get high-school counselors to push kids into areas where there are job opportunities,” such as plumbing, she suggested.
• Wage and hour division.
• The state Labor Department provides Occupational Safety and Health Administration consultation services. The department’s Safety and Health Consultation programs are a free and confidential service designed to help small, private-sector Oklahoma employers understand and comply with federal OSHA standards, the agency reports.
Elevators, escalators, asbestos regulations
• The state Labor Department inspects elevators and escalators, and licenses elevator inspectors, contractors and mechanics.
There are 6,665 public-access elevators throughout the state, Osborn said. The Labor Department is responsible for inspecting all elevators and escalators in the state except for those in Oklahoma City, which is the responsibility of City Hall, she said.
The Labor Department’s elevator master list includes residential stairway chair lifts, airport moving sidewalks, platform lifts at wholesale and retail businesses, escalators and freight/passenger elevators at city halls and county courthouses, state office buildings, public libraries, hospitals and medical office buildings, churches, hotels/motels, banks, schools, parking garages, private businesses, casinos, shopping malls, museums, etc.
• The state Labor Department also enforces compliance with asbestos regulations.
Thirty million tons of asbestos buildings materials were used in the U.S. between 1900 and 1975. Based on population, it is estimated that 300,000 to 600,000 tons of asbestos were used in Oklahoma – and 80% to 90% of it is believed to be still in place.
Because asbestos is a lung hazard and affects humans adversely when inhaled, asbestos removal is closely regulated by Oklahoma and most other states, and by the federal government through OSHA and Environmental Protection Agency regulations. The state Labor Department is the principal agency for asbestos regulation in Oklahoma.