OSHA issued its final rule on ergonomics in November. Although
the agency tried to smooth out some of the rough edges from last
year's proposal, business groups complain the final rule has
too many splinters. So the National Coalition on Ergonomics, an
alliance of associations and businesses representing employers,
filed a lawsuit to stop implementation of the rule, which forces
companies to revise the way employees perform physically stressful
jobs involving excessive amounts of repetitive motion.
Small-business groups were particularly irked because there are
no small-business exemptions in the final rule. Damon Dozier,
director of government and public affairs for National Small
Business United (NSBU), says his group and other small-business
representatives aren't against worker protection, particularly
because entre-preneurs gen-erally hire relatives and friends.
Rather, he is concerned that OSHA doesn't have the scientific
backing to go forward with this rule.
Despite such dissatisfaction, OSHA has made significant changes
in an effort to accommodate businesses, if not specifically small
businesses. For instance, OSHA attempted to placate business groups
that argued the initial proposal would have forced companies to
redesign jobs whenever an employee reported even the sketchiest
musculo-skeletal disorder (MSD). In the final rule, OSHA devised a
new two-part test. First, an employee reports an MSD or symptoms of
one; then the employer determines whether it qualifies under OSHA
guidelines as an "MSD incident." Once a company
establishes that an incident took place, it must use designated
OSHA "screens," which specify, for example, how much
weight must be lifted how frequently and at what distance before
that particular movement becomes hazardous. Only jobs that fail the
screen must be corrected. Companies then have two options. They can
implement OSHA guidelines and provide a "Quick Fix,"
which is an option that gives companies 90 days to make some
changes without being held to the higher standard. Only certain
jobs are affected by this option, and such changes as raising or
lowering a chair or providing a platform for employees to use to
prevent overhead reaching mitigate rather than eliminate the
hazard.
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If a Quick Fix is impossible, companies must use their second
option: a six-step ergonomics program that includes management
leadership, employee participation, MSD management, job hazard
analysis and control, training, and evaluation. These are the same
six steps OSHA set out in the proposed rule, but within the six,
it's made some changes. For example, it changed the language to
clarify that although employees should be involved in developing
your ergonomics program, employee involvement isn't practical
or justified in every instance.
In the weeks prior to the publication of OSHA's final rule,
the House and Senate passed an amendment to a Labor, Health and
Human Services appropriations bill that would prevent OSHA from
moving forward. But President Clinton threatened to veto that bill
because of the ergonomics provision. Regardless of what the appeals
court rules, the 2001 Congress may revisit the issue.
And that's final
(too): In October 2000, OSHA released a less
controversial final rule on its consultation program, which allows
companies with fewer than 500 employees to get a workplace audit
from a state employee working under OSHA's aegis. The
consultation is free as long as you agree in advance to correct any
serious hazards the consultant identifies. Once you make those
recommended changes, your company is exempt from OSHA inspections
for one year. The final rule adds some new requirements concerning
employee involvement in consultation visits.
Stephen Barlas is a freelance business reporter who covers
the Washington beat for 15 magazines.