Former Cal/OSHA Insiders Melissa Peters and Eric Compere Join Ogletree Deakins as Workplace Safety Shareholders

Ogletree Deakins, one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management, has welcomed Melissa Peters and Eric Compere as shareholders in its San Francisco and Los Angeles offices, respectively. Their arrival enhances the firm’s nationally recognized workplace safety and health practice and underscores the firm’s continued strategic growth in California.

Peters and Compere are a unique duo, having worked together since they met while working as attorneys for the California Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). Their prior government experience affords them firsthand insight into enforcement priorities, which they have successfully leveraged to assist employers with regulatory compliance. They firmly believe that most employers take their roles as stewards of workplace safety seriously and work to facilitate long-lasting, impactful relationships between their clients and the relevant regulators. They both bring a breadth of experience across heavily regulated sectors and frequently speak to business organizations and media outlets on emerging regulatory developments and enforcement trends.

“Melissa and Eric’s experience leading a national OSHA practice, serving within Cal/OSHA and advising major employers on some of the most challenging regulatory issues significantly expands the practical, proactive solutions we deliver to clients,” said managing director Greg Cheng. “This move reflects our commitment to exceptional client service as we continue expanding in key priority markets and practice areas.”

Peters has a proven track record of assisting employers through crisis situations, including accident and fatality investigations and multi-agency events. She represents employers in all phases of OSHA litigation and provides timely counseling on the impact of health and safety regulations for their workplaces and operations. Her work includes advising employers on compliance strategies, managing accident and fatality investigations, and representing employers and industry groups in OSHA rulemaking proceedings. She has extensive experience across many sectors, including energy, healthcare, telecommunications, construction, manufacturing and logistics.

Compere draws on his prior experience in complex litigation to represent clients effectively and efficiently through the entire administrative hearing and appeal process. He provides employers with practical guidance on emerging OSHA regulations, crisis and incident response, internal investigations, safety audits and the development of mandatory safety plans. He regularly defends employers during all stages of OSHA citation challenges, from issuance through appeal. His work includes public advocacy, which involves drafting regulatory comments, supporting judicial challenges to regulations and preparing amicus briefs for industry coalitions. Eric advises clients in numerous high-hazard industries, including logistics, construction, manufacturing, automotive, logging, energy, robotics, healthcare and agriculture.

“I’ve known Melissa and Eric and admired their work for years. Their agency and private‑sector experience will be a tremendous asset to our clients,” said Karen Tynan, co-chair of Ogletree Deakins’ Workplace Safety and Health practice group. “We are excited to welcome them to our growing West Coast practice.”

Information for this article was sourced from Ogletree Deakins.