Bush Administration Issues New, Voluntary Ergonomics Rules

The Bush administration on April 5 unveiled a new initiative to protect workers from repetitive-stress injuries by asking companies to meet voluntary new safety guidelines, the New York Times reports. The move comes 13 months after Congress and President Bush repealed ergonomics regulations issued by the Clinton administration, which had called for mandatory enforcement measures (Greenhouse, New York Times, 4/6). The new plan outlined by the Labor Department contains four elements:

• Within six months, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will develop voluntary guidelines for industries with high rates of muscular-skeletal injuries (Chen, Wall Street Journal, 4/8).
• While the guidelines will not be mandatory, OSHA Director John Henshaw said that his agency will bring enforcement actions against "industries that had high injury rates and took few steps to reduce them" (New York Times, 4/8). OSHA will develop "specialized ergonomic inspection teams that will prosecute when necessary," USA Today reports (Armour, USA Today, 4/8). While Henshaw did not say which industries OSHA might focus on, nursing homes are among those with the highest rates of workplace-related injuries.
• The administration will offer "stepped-up compliance assistance" to help train companies and workers on how to reduce workplace injuries. Hispanic workers will be targeted specifically because they have a higher rate of workplace injuries and death because of their greater participation in the "worst low-end jobs" (New York Times, 4/6).
• Finally, officials will develop a national advisory committee to study ergonomics issues and advise OSHA (USA Today, 4/6).

Reaction
Henshaw said the new approach would work "far better" than the Clinton ergonomics rules "because it would be more adaptable to specific industries and would cost companies less to carry out." He said, "We know that one size does not fit all. This approach provides the flexibility needed to reduce these injuries," which total around 1.8 million in the United States each year (New York Times, 4/8). Henshaw added that OSHA will not receive any additional funding to implement the plan. "I believe we have the funds to execute this in 2002-2003," he said. Business groups, which had contended that the Clinton rules would be costly and burdensome, "generally applauded" the new initiative, although "some expressed concern that the agency might beef up enforcement actions." Jerry Jasinowski, head of the National Association of Manufactures, said the plan "promises to be more effective than reliance on new regulation and litigation, and far less disruptive of the workplace." But he expressed concern about the "potential for overzealous enforcement and unwarranted litigation." Union leaders and congressional Democrats criticized the action, saying the new rules favored industry over workers. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney called the new plan a "meaningless measure that yet again delays action and provides workers no protection against ergonomic hazards." Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) said the plan "shows that when it comes to protecting America's workers, this administration's goal is to look the other way and help big business get away with it." A Kennedy spokesperson said that the senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health Education, Labor and Pensions, will proceed with a scheduled ergonomics hearing on April 18, when Labor Secretary Elaine Chao is expected to testify (Wall Street Journal, 4/8).