Rachel L. Conn is a Partner and the Chair of Conn Maciel Carey’s California Practice. She is based out of the firm’s San Francisco office.
Rachel’s practice focuses on Occupational Safety and Health compliance and litigation, including inspections, investigations and enforcement actions involving Cal/OSHA, Federal OSHA, and other State OSH Plans.
Rachel has extensive experience working with employers on some of the most novel and complex OSHA and Cal/OSHA issues, including:
- Litigated California’s first COVID-19 citations (under new and novel legal theories) under the Cal/OSHA Aerosol Transmissible Disease standard on behalf of a leading health care system.
- Designed and implemented global technology company’s Workplace Violence Prevention and Response program to identify and mitigate risk of violence, harm, and disruption to the workplace.
- Represented utility company in defending against Cal/OSHA citations related to one of the country’s largest natural gas leaks, including complex jurisdictional issues.
- Drafted employer and trade association comments to various Cal/OSHA proposed regulations including Wildfire Smoke Prevention, Workplace Violence Prevention in Healthcare, COVID-19 Prevention, and Workplace Violence in General Industry.
- Represented waste management company during district attorney investigation and prosecution of alleged safety violations under the California Business and Professions Code Section 17200.
- On behalf of a main insurance company, audited and developed safety program for lone workers in the field.
- Managed hundreds of on-site inspections, including intensive site inspection for large winery related to confined spaces, lock out tag out, HazWoper, and HazCom.
- Represented and counseled employers through the Cal/OSHA Bureau of Investigation (BOI) process.
- Defended employers in Serious and Willful petitions before the California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board.
- Obtained workplace violence prevention temporary and permanent restraining orders.
Prior to joining Conn Maciel Carey, Rachel was a Partner at Nixon Peabody, where she led the firm’s national Occupational Safety and Health Practice. She developed state of the art safety procedures, conducted or directed OSH-related training and compliance audits, managed and litigated appeals of citations, and represented employers and trade associations in Cal/OSHA and federal OSHA rulemakings.
In 2022, Rachel was selected by the San Francisco Business Times as a “40 Under 40” honoree, recognizing business leaders making significant contributions to the Bay Area community and to their company.
Rachel is often quoted as a thought-leader in the field in various trade journals and publications.
- “Band 3” Ranked Attorney in Occupational Safety and Health, Chambers USA – Nationwide (2025)
Rachel regularly speaks to audiences about a broad range of workplace safety issues. Recent invitations have included the following organizations and events:
- “California Workplace Violence Prevention,” Phylmar’s BioPharma Environmental Health & Safety In-Person Annual Conference, Carlsbad, CA, September 25, 2024
- “CA SB533 Issues & Workplace Violence Prevention Policies,” Northern California Threat Assessment Symposium, Santa Rosa, CA, September 10, 2024
- “Workplace Violence Prevention,” California Grocers Association’s Educational Foundation, May 1, 2024
- “Workplace Violence Programs: Is It Part of Your Culture?” Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) 2024 Retail Asset Protection Conference, Dallas, TX, April 17, 2024
- California Grocers Association, ERP: Connect, April 1, 2024
- “Workplace Violence Prevention,” The Food Industry Association, February 22, 2024
- “Legal issues in threat assessment & response,” Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) NorCal Chapter Meeting, Folsom, CA, April 14, 2023
- “California Wage Transparency Law,” SFMade, March 22, 2023
- “Relevant Happenings at Cal/OSHA,” American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law Workplace and Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee 2023 Midwinter Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 9, 2023
- “Human Resource Issues: Policies for Companies in a Post-Pandemic Era,” Council for Affordable and Rural Housing’s Annual Meeting, Arlington, VA, June 27, 2022
- “Beyond Federal OSHA: Enforcement Efforts at the State Level,” 2022 Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee Midwinter Meeting, March 10, 2022
- “COVID-19 (Coronavirus) in the Workplace,” Lorman Education Services, Webinar, January 27, 2022
- “Federal and State Legislative Crystal Ball: Preparing Employers for 2022,” 2021 CIHC 30th Annual Professional Development Seminar, Webinar, December 6, 2021
- “What the vaccine mandate means for your company,” Protocol, Webinar, September 30, 2021
- “Behavior-Based Safety,” Lorman Education Services, Webinar, August 18, 2021
- “Making it through changes in employment, labor and workplace health and safety law,” Rhode Island Manufacturers Association Spring Reignite & Reengage Conference, April 13, 2021
- “COVID Litigation Trends, and Legislative and Regulatory Developments,” The Bar Association of San Francisco: Annual Labor and Employment Conference, Webinar, February 2021
- “California’s COVID-19 Emergency Standards: How to Comply and Avoid Costly Enforcement,” Business & Learning Resources (BLR), Webinar, February 2021
- “Returning to Work in the COVID-19 Era: Health and Safety Issues Raised by the Remote Workplace and the Return to Work,” Bar Association of San Francisco, Webinar, May 2020
Rachel also frequently presents on a variety of topics for the firm’s Cal/OSHA Webinar Series and OSHA Webinar Series.
- Contributing Editor, Rutter Guide-California Workplace Safety- May 2014- to present
- California League of Food Producers (CLFP)
- California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA)
- American Bar Association (ABA), Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee
- Association of Threat Assessment Professionals-Northern California Chapter
- J.D., University of California, Berkeley School of Law
- Associate Editor, Berkeley Technology Law Journal
- Recipient, Prosser Award for Pre-Trial Civil Litigation
- B.A., Catholic University of America
