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Washington Report
February 2000
OSHA Puts Costly Ergonomics Proposal
on Fast Track
by Robert M. Fells, Esq., General Counsel
Recently the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its proposed Ergonomics Program to reduce musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), that is, repetitive stress injuries, in the workplace. The 300-page proposal, including a lengthy preamble, affects cemeteries, funeral homes and related facilities by requiring employers in manufacturing and manual handling operations to initiate a number of activities when an employee reports an OSHA-recordable MSD.
Among the employer obligations are establishing:
- management leadership and employee participation programs;
- hazard information and reporting;
- job hazard and analysis control;
- training;
- MSD (medical) management; and
- program evaluation.
The Ergonomics proposal has been heavily criticized by the business community on the basis that each employer is on its own to determine what MSD hazards may exist in its workplace and to develop a program dealing with them. Only after the fact will OSHA review the site and, in effect, second-guess the employer by imposing fines if OSHA disagrees with the steps taken by the employer.
In addition to the vague standards and substantial fines for non-compliance, there is considerable disagreement over the costs to American businesses. OSHA claims the program will cost businesses approximately $4 billion annually, but the U.S. Small Business Administration argues that the cost could be 15 times higher. Adding to the controversy, OSHA refused to wait until the conclusion of a Congressionally funded study by the National Academy of Sciences into the causes and extent of MSDs in the workplace.
The Ergonomics Program would affect every business in the United States because it has no "small business" exemption and creates new claims under the Workers Compensation laws. Despite the complexity of the proposal, OSHA has placed the program on a fast track and hopes to implement it by the end of the year. A relatively brief public comment period ends on February 1st with hearings following in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Illinois, and Portland, Oregon, ending by mid-April. The ICFA has already filed a request for an extension of time with OSHA, but it is generally believed the agency will be unwilling to allow a longer comment period.
The ICFA has joined forces with the National Coalition on Ergonomics (NCE), which represents more than 300 associations and businesses, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in aggressive opposition to the proposal. The ICFA is also working with the National Funeral Directors Association to focus attention on the effects the Ergonomics proposal will have in funeral and burial-related industries. The OSHA program is favored by the Clinton Administration and heavily supported by labor unions.
ICFA members who would like to learn more about the Ergonomics proposal should check the NCE Web site on the Internet at www.ncergo.org. Important developments will be reported as they occur.
Copyright ICFA 2000.
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