OSHA Adopts Ergonomics Rules by Stephanie Argy The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has repeatedly proposed federal regulations that would require employers to minimize ergonomic stresses that cause or aggravate hand, wrist and back injuries in the workplace. Finally, last November 13, the Clinton administration issued a landmark standard that will apply to all general industry employers, including those in film and television. The standard took nearly a decade to be implemented, largely due to objections by Republican lawmakers and organizations that represent manufacturers and business owners. Now, those same lawmakers and lobbyists have made overturning the standard a priority, and they clearly believe that President George W. Bush will be sympathetic to that goal. Jenny Saunders Krese, director of employment policy for the National Association of Manufactures, has said that her organization will focus on the Congressional Review Act, which allows the legislature to ‘disapprove’ certain regulatory rules, which would have the effect of nullifying them. In addition, NAM, along with several other industry organizations, has filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals on the grounds that the ergonomic regulation is unsound procedurally, scientifically and legally. The new standard, which went into effect on January 16, is based on the principle that musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) such as carpal tunnel syndrome can be reduced and ultimately eliminated if jobs are fit to the workers doing them. According to a recent study released by the National Academy of Sciences, approximately one million workers are affected by MSDs each year. This leads to lost wages, workers compensation costs and lowered productivity that may run from $45 million to $54 million annually. The guidelines in the new standard require employers to address the problem of MSDs in three phases. The first step they must take is to give their workers information about the symptoms and causes of MSDs, as well as the importance of reporting any symptoms. The standard includes two appendices that contain this information, which employers will have to post by October 14, 2001. After that date, employers who are notified of a worker experiencing MSD symptoms that last longer than seven days will have to take immediate steps to address the problem. To do so, they must determine whether the worker’s job involves any of the five risk factors listed in OSHA’s Basic Screening Tool chart – repetitive motion, force (including heavy lifting), awkward postures, contact stress (such as hammering with one’s hand or knee) and vibration. Finally, if the job does include risk factors, employers will have to eliminate those hazards, working with the employee to determine the best way to do so. Meanwhile, workers who are transferred to different jobs or given reduced duties must continue to receive their full salary. If they have to take time off, they must receive 90 percent of their salary and 100 percent of their benefits for 90 days. "Beginning this coming October, the nearly 85 percent of U.S. employers who have not addressed ergonomics in their workplaces will begin to do so, and the results will benefit everyone," said Charles N. Jeffress, OSHA Assistant Secretary, on January 16. "Workers will report problems earlier and get the help they need to prevent serious injury. Problem jobs will be fixed, preventing future workers from suffering MSDs. Employers will see medical expenses and workers’ compensation costs go down and productivity go up. Total savings will amount to $9.1 billion each year." OSHA estimates that businesses will have to spend approximately $4.5 billion to carry out the new rules. Organizations representing businesses and corporations, on the other hand, claim the cost will be much higher. The Employment Policy Foundation, for example, estimates the standards will cost nearly $126 billion a year. Because of this, business organizations such as NAM can be expected to lobby vigorously against OSHA’s new regulations. "This thing is a killer for us," said Pat Cleary, vice president of human resources policy for NAM at a panel session of the organization’s officials on January 9, 2001. "And they don’t have the science. They’ve not done their homework. So we’re going to pull out all the stops and try to stop it."   Stephanie Argy is the editor of the Guild Magazine. She can be reached via email   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Magazine Vol. 22, No. 1 - March/April 2001   Guild Home | Magazine Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 2001, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700