Ergonomic Rules For Employers

Preventing on-the-job injuries to the neck, back and wrist, should be the employers' responsibility, a federal agency concluded Friday in unveiling a draft of national standards for industry.

Freed in October from Republican-imposed restrictions on such rules, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration outlined "ergonomics" standards that would require employers to alter work stations, redesign facilities or change tools to reduce the risk of workers being injured on the job.

If approved in the fall, the standards would prevent businesses from spending extra money to comply with "a patchwork quilt of different ergonomics rules in different states," OSHA Administrator Charles N. Jeffress told reporters.

But business groups, who have long fought such standards, objected. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, for example, urged the agency to wait for the National Academy of Sciences to finish its study on whether there is a scientific basis for national ergonomics standards.

"This hopelessly vague draft is a blank check for OSHA inspectors," said Peter Eide, U.S. Chamber of Commerce manager for labor law. "It would require all American businesses to become full-time experts in ergonomics, a field for which there is little if any credible evidence."

Jeffress said more than 647,000 Americans suffer serious injuries and illnesses due to musculoskeletal disorders from their jobs, accounting for more than 34 percent of injuries that result in lost workdays. Such injuries and illnesses cost employers $15 billion to $20 billion a year in worker compensation costs, Jeffress said.

Employers can expect a $4 return for every $1 they spend to reduce the risk of work-related injuries, Jeffress said.

He added that the draft standards were developed over many years with input from companies and experts in ergonomics, the science of adapting the work environment to suit the worker.

The proposals apply primarily to industrial jobs, such as meatpacking, sewing, assembly lines and package handling. But office workers who perform tasks that require repetitive motions such as operating a computer keyboard could be included under the guidelines.

Under the proposed rules, employers might have to offer medical care and time off for workers who suffer injuries. Businesses also would be required to set up a system for employees to report possible hazards.

Labor officials, who have been pushing for the standards for nearly a decade, said the proposal represents an effort by OSHA to address a problem that accounts for more than one-third of all serious workplace injuries.

"These disorders constitute the biggest safety and health problem in the workplace today," Peg Seminario, director of occupational safety and health for the AFL-CIO, wrote in a letter to Jeffress.

Seminario said implementing programs to address the problem also can benefit businesses by reducng injuries and associated worker compensation claims and by boosting productivity.

But Seminario complained that the proposed OSHA rules exclude certain workers: those in agriculture, construction and the maritime industry, all sectors in which musculoskeletal disorders are serious problems. She also said the standards should deal more with potential injuries before they occur.

"As drafted, in many workplaces, the rule is only triggered after workers are injured," she wrote.

The draft language is available on OSHA's Web site at www.osha.gov.

Written By Kalpana Srinivasan, Associated Press Writer