Eric J. Conn Portrait

Eric J. Conn

Chair, OSHA & Workplace Safety Practice

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Chambers Eric Conn

“Eric is the first name I would think of for OSHA.”

Eric J. Conn is a founding partner of Conn Maciel Carey and Chair of the firm’s national OSHA & Workplace Safety Practice. His practice focuses exclusively on issues involving occupational safety and health law. Before launching his own OSHA Practice, Eric practiced for more than a decade alongside the former first General Counsel of the OSH Review Commission.

Eric is extremely proud to preside over Conn Maciel Carey LLP’s national OSHA Practice, which has been recognized as one of only two “Band 1” Rated OSHA Law Firms by Chambers USA every year since 2022 (the first year that Chambers ranked the OSHA Law category) and as the OSHA Law Firm of the Year by Corporate INTL in 2025. Eric is also individually recognized by Chambers USA as one of only six “Band 1” rated OSHA law practitioners nationwide. Additionally, he has been named a “Super Lawyer” by Washington, DC Super Lawyers every year since 2015. He has also been selected for inclusion in the Washington Post’s Top-Rated Lawyers list in Washington, DC.

Eric is a prolific writer on all OSHA-related topics. He is the curator of Conn Maciel Carey LLP’s award-winning OSHA Defense Report blog and previously edited a popular OSHA law blog at another firm. He has also authored multiple chapters in OSHA treatises.

Eric is also a popular speaker on OSHA and related legal issues, including as the producer of Conn Maciel Carey’s annual OSHA Webinar Series, and regularly keynotes at trade groups and industry conferences. He is often quoted as a leader in the field in trade publications.

Eric created and curates the OSHA Defense Report Group on LinkedIn, and can be found on “X” as @OSHA_Guy.

Key Services

  • Advising and representing clients about inspections, investigations and enforcement actions involving the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), and state and local regulators.
  • Managing the full range of litigation against OSHA, including appeals of citations, negotiations of settlements geared to minimize the impact of enforcement actions on wrongful death and personal injury civil cases, and trials before the OSH Review Commission.
  • Representing employers during U.S. Attorney criminal investigations and prosecutions of alleged OSH Act criminal violations.
  • Advising employers’ other attorneys in civil cases stemming from workplace accidents about the overlapping OSHA regulatory issues.
  • Counseling clients through catastrophic industrial, construction, and manufacturing workplace accidents, including explosions and chemical releases, covered by OSHA’s Process Safety Management Standard.
  • Developing and auditing safety programs and policies.
  • Providing workplace safety training and compliance counseling for employers.

Outside the Office

Eric lives in the Washington, DC area with his wife and three young children, whom he loves to coach in baseball and basketball.

  • “Band 1” Ranked Attorney in Occupational Safety and Health, Chambers USA – Nationwide (2022 – Present)
  • “2025 Health and Safety Law Firm in Washington, DC,” Corporate INTL (2025)
  • “Super Lawyer,” Washington, DC Super Lawyers (2015 – Present)
  • “Rising Star,” Washington, DC Super Lawyers (2013-2014)

Eric regularly speaks to audiences about a broad range of workplace safety issues. Recent invitations have included the following organizations and events:

  • Safety Connect Virtual Safety Conference & Expo
  • Process Safety and Reliability Group’s PSM Forum
  • Small Business Administration OSHA/MSHA Safety Roundtable
  • Corporate Environmental Enforcement Council (CEEC) Meetings
  • American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers’ (AFPM) National Occupational and Process Safety Conference
  • National Grain & Feed Association (NGFA) Annual Conference
  • Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) Monthly Safety Committee and Annual Conference
  • National Grocers Association (NGA) Government Relations Committee
  • Countless other trade association conferences and safety committee meetings

Eric also frequently presents on a variety of topics for the firm’s OSHA Webinar Series.

  • CMC’s OSHA Defense Report Blog
  • “OSHA Inspections” in the Occupational Safety and Health Law Handbook, 2nd ed. (Gov’t. Institutes, 2008)
  • “Defending Against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Increasingly Severe Enforcement Practices,” Complying with the Occupational Safety and Health Act: Leading Lawyers (Aspatore, Inside the Minds, 2012).

  • American Bar Association, Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee

  • J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, with honors, 2000
    • Virginia Law Review
    • Pro se clerk at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
  • B.A., University of Virginia, 1997

Related Practice Areas

Eric is a top-tier attorney who we can always count on to help find an amicable solution with OSHA offices nationwide.

Client Quoted in Chambers USA

Eric Conn is truly outstanding. He is knowledgeable about every aspect of OSHA and considers all angles. He provides such thoroughly detailed analyses of any issue in which he is involved.

Client Quoted in Chambers USA

Eric is a go-to attorney in the OSHA space.

Client Quoted in Chambers USA

Eric is an excellent attorney who provides great service.

Client Quoted in Chambers USA

He [Eric] is smart, responsive, and practical. He is the kind of partner a business wants.

Client Quoted in Chambers USA

He [Eric] is knowledgeable, responsive, open to feedback and practical in his approach.

Client Quoted in Chambers USA

Eric is the first name I would think of for OSHA.

Client Quoted in Chambers USA

Eric, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you are my hero. This is not an exaggeration. You have been a bright, shining, north star of guidance and hope for me throughout this entire pandemic, and I can’t imagine I will ever succeed in thanking you enough. Please be secure in the knowledge that you bring hope and comfort to so many.

Client in the Construction Industry

We appreciate the positive relationships you have with Area Offices/AGs in general, Eric. That insight you bring to the table is invaluable. Thank you for continuing to support [us] at the highest level; we appreciate the partnership that continues to grow.

Client in the Retail Industry

I have been favorably impressed by you and your firm; your work on the OSHA charges was excellent, and I appreciate your firm’s frequent webinars on OSHA topics and the email updates on COVID-19 regulations.

Client in the Energy Industry

You [Eric] and your team provide exemplary service to [us], for which we are very grateful. Thank you for your continued dedication to the corporation.

Client in the Aerospace Industry

We so appreciate all the support that you [Eric] and your colleagues have provided to [us] over the years and that you continue to provide. Of particular note, the comprehensive, thoughtful, insightful, detailed, highly informative, timely, practical….updates provided by your team throughout the pandemic (at all hours) have been exceptional! Your team’s COVID-related advice and support have set an incredibly high standard! We are hugely appreciative of all your support and our partnership and are comforted to know that you all are there to call upon.

Client in the Aerospace Industry

I commend your firm for being willing to apply (and experiment with) different AFA [alternative fee] arrangements. We are committed to applying AFA arrangements across the board, and your firm is a ready, willing and able participant in that process. This helps us form an effective and efficient partnership.

Client in the Aerospace Industry

You and your colleagues provide excellent legal analysis, as well as terrific insights into the evolving OSHA landscape. Your contacts at the various agencies are very valuable in this regard. We look forward to continuing to partner with you.

Client in the Aerospace Industry

Eric is a smart attorney who provides practical legal advice and is excellent at addressing regulatory bodies.

Client Quoted in Chambers USA

You [Aaron] and Eric were great to work with throughout the trying difficulties we experienced. I think the outcomes would have been much more problematic for [us] without all of your help.

Client in the Manufacturing Industry

Thank you for the support...Eric, Aaron and the rest of the [OSHA] team at Conn Maciel are rock stars.

Client in the Retail Industry

Thanks a bunch for all the work that you [Eric], Kate, and Michelle have put into the brief – especially on such a short timeline. The quality of your work is evident in the final product...thanks again – we, too, are delighted with the partnership!

Client in the Retail Industry

Thank you so much for your excellent support of our team...it was a whirlwind trip through some complex factual and legal issues, but thankfully you got up to speed very, very quickly. And you helped bring focus to a strategy and convert it into as favorable an outcome as we thought possible under the circumstances. It was a pleasure working with both of you [Lindsay and Eric], and while I truly hope that such incidents remain the rare exception, I know that if it ever happens again, I’ll be able to look to the CMC team for good advice.

Client in the Aerospace Industry

Related Insights

Istock 2165716668

OSHA Defense Report Blog

Proposed Changes to DOL’s Administration of Whistleblower Protections: Will OSHA Only Be Investigating Retaliation Complaints Under the OSH Act?
Istock 2165716668

Employer Defense Report Blog

Proposed Changes to DOL’s Administration of Whistleblower Protections: Will OSHA Only Be Investigating Retaliation Complaints Under the OSH Act?
Istock 1552632991

OSHA Defense Report Blog

OSHA Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Rescind Ladder Retrofit Requirements in the Walking-Working Surfaces Standard
Adobestock 593818314

OSHA Defense Report Blog

OSHA Cares – The Rebranding: An Agency-Wide Effort Focused on Strengthening Customer Service and Compliance Assistance
Istock 916152336 (2)

Employer Defense Report Blog

CMC’s Southeast Workplace Safety (OSHA & MSHA) and Labor & Employment Law Summit in Atlanta, GA – June 23, 2026
916152336

Cal/OSHA Defense Report Blog

CMC’s Southeast Workplace Safety (OSHA & MSHA) and Labor & Employment Law Summit in Atlanta, GA – June 23, 2026