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Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.

Fisher & Phillips LLP

About

Edwin G. Foulke, Jr is a partner in the Atlanta office of Fisher & Phillips LLP, a leading national labor and employment law firm. Mr. Foulke currently serves as co-chair of the firm's Workplace Safety and Catastrophe Management Practice Group in its Atlanta, Georgia office. His practice includes workplace safety compliance and strategic safety planning, whistleblower compliance and litigation involving the 22 whistleblower statutes handled by OSHA, defense of employers in responding to workplace health and safety cases including OSHA citations and providing advice and assistance to employers in responding to workplace fatalities and catastrophic accidents and in legislative and regulatory matters. Mr. Foulke has represented employers in thousands of OSHA inspections and OSHA citation contests.

Prior to joining Fisher & Phillips, Mr. Foulke served as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, having been named to this position by President George W. Bush in September 2005. As head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Mr. Foulke oversaw a staff of more than 2,200 safety and health professionals, whistleblower investigators and support personnel. During his tenure at OSHA, workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities rates dropped to their lowest level in recorded history.

Nominated by President George H. W. Bush, Mr. Foulke served on the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission from 1990 to 1995, chairing the Commission from March 1990 to February 1994. The three-member Commission is an independent federal adjudicatory agency that renders legal decisions involving workplace safety and health citations arising from OSHA inspections. He is the only person in the United States to serve as the head of OSHA and the Chairman of the Review Commission.

For approximately thirty (30) years, Mr. Foulke has worked in the labor and employment area, specializing in occupational safety and health issues, whistleblower compliance, workplace violence risk assessment and prevention, and accident and fatality prevention. In 2010, 2011 and again in 2012-13 he was named one of the "50 Most Influential EHS Leaders" by EHS Today magazine, and in 2008 he was named one of the "50 Most Influential EHS Leaders" in the United States by Occupational Hazards magazine. Mr. Foulke is recognized as one of the nation's leading authorities on occupational safety and health issues.

Mr. Foulke currently serves on safety committees for the Associated Builders and Contractors, the Georgia Association of Manufacturers and the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. He previously served on safety committees for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Society of Human Resources (SHRM). Mr. Foulke is one of the most sought after speakers in the safety and health arena and has given thousands of speeches on the importance of safety to all employers. Mr. Foulke has authored numerous articles and books on workplace safety and health for various entities, including the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, American Bar Association, the South Carolina Bar Association, the North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry, and the American Chamber of Commerce Resources.

A native of Perkasie, Pennsylvania, Mr. Foulke graduated from North Carolina State University (with honors) in 1974, earned his law degree from Loyola University in 1978 and a Master of Law degree from Georgetown University Law School in 1993. He has served as an adjunct professor at New Orleans' St. Mary's Dominican College. Mr. Foulke was a high school and college All-American in swimming.

Mr. Foulke is admitted to practice in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and the District of Columbia, and is admitted in the Fourth, Eleventh, and D.C. Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court. He is married to Wendy Smith Foulke from Hampton, S.C. Mr. Foulke can be contacted at (404) 231-1400 or at efoulke@laborlawyers.com.

 

Details

Publications

Workplace Safety and Health Compliance Manual

Events

  • OSHA 2016 Update: Increased Penalties, More Reporting and Other Trends
  • Zero Injuries and Best Practices in Workplace Safety
  • OSHA Recordkeeping Update
  • The Whistleblower Complaints and COVID-19 | How to Deal with the Increase of Liability
  • Fisher Phillips Virtual Safety Symposium: Day One
  • Fisher Phillips Virtual Safety Symposium: Day Two
  • OSHA Recordkeeping Update: Ensuring Compliance After COVID-19
  • OSHA Recordkeeping: Ensuring Compliance After COVID-19

Phone

(404) 240-4273

Email

efoulke@fisherphillips.com