OSHA goes full speed ahead with contentious ergonomic proposal

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 3/1/2000

Business groups plan to challenge the government's newly proposed ergonomic standards at public hearings slated for this month and next in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Portland, Ore. But some opponents are already conceding that they may have to go to court to block the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from issuing new work rules governing ergonomic risks in the workplace.

OSHA says that the new standard, which would require employers to monitor and curb repetitive-motion injuries, is needed to reduce the more than 1.8 million work-related musculoskeletal injuries and illnesses that occur in the workplace each year. The federal agency charged with overseeing workplace safety says its proposed ergonomic measures could save businesses some $9 billion annually in workers' compensation and other costs.

But business groups counter that such regulations are based on poor science and would cost business billions of dollars. "We want all the scientific and medical evidence completed before [the agency] moves forward with regulations on repetitive injuries," says Ron Reese, senior director of government relations at the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) in Washington, D.C.

A number of transportation and logistics trade groups, including the American Trucking Associations and the International Warehouse Logistics Association, have joined the National Coalition on Ergonomics to fight adoption of the standard. The proposed rules could usher in sweeping changes in warehousing and distribution, where workers often lift and move packages and products as part of their daily routine. Some in the logistics industry have expressed fears that companies might have to restrict workers' picking activities or limit case sizes in warehouses. "Warehousing and distribution is one of the five industries most affected by this because this rule is targeted toward manual handling," says Patrick O'Connor, a lobbyist who represents the IWLA in the nation's capital.

OSHA released its draft regulations last year, after being stymied by Congress for more than a decade. Indeed, business groups cried foul last fall when OSHA issued its proposed ergonomic standard during a congressional recess.

As part of the federal rulemaking process, OSHA must hold public hearings before issuing a final regulation. But an OSHA spokesman says his agency plans to issue a rule well before the end of the year regardless of industry groups' testimony against the new standard.

Many business groups expect that any new standard will lead to a protracted court battle over the agency's authority to issue such sweeping regulations. "The day OSHA finalizes a regulation, it will face a host of challenges in court," predicts NAW's Reese.

But O'Connor, for one, is skeptical that OSHA can actually complete the job and issue a final rule before the end of this year. "You've got to figure a year to 18 months for an agency to go from a proposed rule to a final rule, and there has never been an issue as contentious as this one," he says. "This administration will do everything it can to get a final rule by December, but in my mind it's doubtful."