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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is moving ahead on its proposed rule to require the establishment of safety and health programs. Hearings on OSHA's proposed Ergonomics rule began in Washington, DC on March 13, 2000.
The hearing schedules are now set for:
Chicago, IL, April 11-21 (Click here for a copy of the agenda)
- Assembly Hall
- James R. Thompson Center
- 100 W. Randolph Street
- Chicago, IL
Portland, OR, April 24-May 3,
Washington DC, on May 8-12.
Management organizations have leveled complaints about the process due to the shortness of the comment period and the lack of advanced lists of participants for each session.
Unions praise the proposal, while management questions the accuracy of OSHA's cost estimates and challenges the scientific basis for the rule. The National Association of Manufacturers has vowed to fight the rule all the way to court.
Once the hearings are complete, OSHA will sort through the comments and publish the rule. The original deadline to publish the rule was early 2001. However, given the controversy, number of comments, and expected opposition from Congress, this process may take a lot longer.
The current proposed Ergonomics rule states:
- The trigger for an employer's obligation would be the reporting of one musculoskeletal disorder (MSD).
- An employer would then be required to implement one or more controls that reduce the MSD hazard.
- If the employee's condition does not improve, or other MSD's occur, the employer would be required to add other controls.
- The employer must continue this 'incremental abatement process" until the employee's condition improves.
- An employee who is not able to work because of an MSD would be guaranteed 90% pay for up to six months.
The final provision of 90% pay is especially worrisome to employers who see MSDs as becoming the temporary disability of choice.
OSHA is also working to finalize its new recordkeeping rule. The rule is still within the agency, but OSHA expects to send it to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the last week in April 2000 for an expedited review. Assuming no other delays, the final recordkeeping rule would be published in July, with an implementation date of January 1, 2001.
OSHA's agenda in 2000 also includes the following safety rule proposals:
- Steel erection
- Tuberculosis
- Personal protective equipment
Future 'issues of the month' will report on these issues as developments occur.
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