Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 20, 1995 TAG: 9503210078
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The new ergonomics regulations proposed by the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration are dramatically weaker than those drafted in June, before the Republicans took control of both houses of Congress.
Under intense political pressure, the Labor Department's proposed rules would now cover 2.1 million businesses instead of a total 6.1 million. The number of employees covered by the rules would drop to 6.1 million from 96 million.
Under the new rules, companies would no longer be required to review worker compensation and OSHA records to identify possible patterns that might indicate jobs that cause ergonomic-related injuries.
Employers also would not be required to evaluate programs they develop to deal with ergonomic problems.
Repetitive motion injuries, once a chronic problem for meat cutters, supermarket check-out clerks and assembly-line workers whose jobs require that a motion be repeated again and again, has spread to writers, secretaries and other computer keyboard users.
Work-related disorders such as back strain and carpal tunnel syndrome account for 60 percent of all new occupational illnesses, government figures show.
The annual cost to businesses in worker compensation claims and lost time has been estimated at $100 billion.
The heart of the OSHA proposal remains unchanged when it comes to identifying five ``signal risk factors'' that might present a workplace ergonomic hazard:
Performance of the same motion or motion pattern for a specified period of time.
Use of vibrating or impact tools.
Using forceful hand exertions over a set period of time.
Unassisted frequent or heavy lifting.
Fixed or awkward postures for more than a certain number of hours.
``The proposal's a lot narrower,'' said Joe Dear, the assistant secretary of labor in charge of OSHA. Dear predicted there would be more refinements before a consultation process was over. He would not predict a date for OSHA to issue a final proposal.
The new regulations will be presented for comment at meetings with employers in Milwaukee and St. Paul, the first in a series of scheduled consultations with employers and lobbying groups.
After OSHA finishes the consulting phase, it must get approval from the Office of Management and Budget for any final proposal it wants to issue and then put that proposal out for public comment.
If past regulatory efforts are any indication, the process could take several years to complete, even without any congressional intervention.
by CNB