Commentary - January 2001

OSHA’s Ergo Rule:

Unscientific, Unworkable, Unnecessary!

by Lyle Brennan

In November, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued new federal standards for its ergonomics program, which will affect 1.9 million employers and 27.3 million employees starting this month. Ergonomics-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), such as back injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome, are the most prevalent, most expensive and most preventable workplace injuries in the country, according to OSHA, which claims the standards will prevent 300,000 injuries each year.

Leading business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Administration (SBA)’s Office of Advocacy and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), have united to protest the mammoth ergonomics rule, calling it "incomprehensible," "unconstitutional," "vague and confusing," and "based on unproven science." According to a lawsuit filed by the Chamber’s National Chamber Litigation Center and supported by NFIB, the key terms of the ergonomics rule are vague and subject to varying interpretations. Says an NFIB press release, "Not only will the ergonomics mandate likely be the costliest regulation ever imposed on the backs of small business, it is also based on unproven science and hard for even experts to explain how small businesses can make certain they are in compliance."

If an employee complains of pain, the employer is expected to determine whether it is caused by work-related activities, and, if so, how to make workplace changes to fix the problem. What if the employee moves a computer mouse all day and then goes home and ties fishing flies for several hours each night? If his wrist starts to hurt, who should take the blame and foot the medical bills? As the owner of a small business, should I go out and buy ergonomically-correct chairs and work stations for all my employees? If so, whose standards do I use? Can I take the manufacturer’s word that this equipment will pass OSHA standards? Maybe I should hire an expert to completely redesign my place of business. There’s no guarantee that OSHA won’t call in another expert to decide my ergonomic plan wasn’t sufficient.

Are business groups opposing the OSHA proposal because they’re stingy, uncaring Scrooges who don’t care about their employees? Of course not! As one small business owner testified during hearings on the proposed standards, "Our employees are not numbers on a page or interesting statistics to us. We work side by side with them every day. We go to their weddings and their children’s birthday parties." Another entrepreneur said, "Not only do I know these people and treat them as family, many of them are family members. I am out on my shop floor every day, exposing myself to the same conditions as all [of my] employees."

While OSHA estimates the standards will cost U.S. employers some $4 billion, an SBA study puts compliance costs for small businesses alone at a minimum of $12 billion, and possibly as much as $40 billion. One of the expenses underestimated by OSHA is the administrative cost of ensuring compliance. One study projected that the regulatory cost per employee to small firms would be 50 percent more than the cost to large firms. Small businesses don’t have a full-time safety and heath officer already on staff; most of them don’t even have a full-time human resources specialist. The owners are more likely to perform all the administrative functions themselves, from hiring to bookkeeping to emptying the wastebaskets.

OSHA Administrator Charles Jeffress has been quoted as disagreeing that the rule will be costly and time-consuming to read and understand, claiming that the pertinent parts of the rule are actually "only" 50 pages in length. He asserts that the other 260 pages in the Federal Register are merely for clarification and assistance. Needing 260 pages of explanation for a 50-page rule seems to be clear confirmation that small businesses will not only have to spend time understanding the rule, but will need outside (paid) assistance to do so.

OSHA admits there has been a recent improvement in the occurrence of work-related injuries without additional government regulations. Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate there has been a 24 percent decrease in the number of MSD injuries over the last four years, the lowest since it began tracking these figures in 1970. This steady decline in the number of MSD injuries is partially the result of efforts by OSHA to educate employers about workplace safety. We believe OSHA should continue its education efforts, but keep its nose out of small business, which is already overburdened with federal regulations.

The OSHA bureaucracy seems to operate without much concern about getting a mandate from the American people before making decisions and sending us the bill for carrying them out. It has already shoved these new rules halfway down the throats of this country’s business owners. If you agree with me, contact your representatives in Congress and ask their help in stopping this costly injustice.

Who to contact:

Sen. John Ensign: 702-880-1000

Sen. Harry Reid 775-686-5750 or 702-388-5020

Rep. Shelley Berkley 877-409-2488.

Rep. Jim Gibbons 775-686-5760 or 702-255-1651

Lyle Brennan Publisher
COMMENTS? email: lyle@nbj.com