Speakers

Emil Szotko

Safety Specialist

Emil Szotko has been with OSHA for 18 years. As a Compliance Officer Emil conducted hundreds of trenching and excavation inspections including fatal and serious injury accident investigations. During most of the inspections, Emil was able to help contractors quickly abate cave-in hazards at the sites. Emil has served as the Regional Construction Coordinator for Chicago Region since 2022 where he has performed, reviewed, and assisted with numerous trenching and excavation investigations and high-impact cases resulting in issuance of violations from 29 CFR 1926 Subpart P. Peter Pekala has been with OSHA since 2012. He was an inspector in Naperville Area Office for almost ten years prior to becoming a Safety Specialist at the Regional Office in Chicago. His current duties include a wide range of technical support for the enforcement activities of the area offices. Peter specializes in general industry safety with a focus on high-impact cases, accident investigations, machine guarding, etc.

szotko.emil@dol.gov

Event Schedule

16
Sep
2025
10:15 am – 11:45 am
Session T02
Room: 164

SAFETY CONFERENCE

HEALTH CONFERENCE

ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE

Why This Conference Matters

Each year, the conference brings together 450-500 professionals from 29 states, 142 Illinois communities, and 3 countries, representing 465 companies across 26 industries all with a shared goal: advancing environmental stewardship, workplace safety, and public health

If you are, or 

if you know of someone

who is an excellent presenter,

please consider our 

2026 conference.