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Title: Ergonomic Regs Don't Sit Well with Small Biz Author: Mills, Ami Chen Issue: May 1997, Page: 22 Summary: OSHA may be unleashing a host of regulations aimed a companies with 10 employees or more. Who will win? Who will lose? |
Red Tape After nearly a decade of tense incubation, the boondoggle that is California's new ergonomic law is finally threatening to hatch as the California legislature reviews pending regulations. Meanwhile, the federal government's Occupational Safety and Health Administration may be sitting on a much larger nest of possible regulations that, like the California legislation, could affect any company with 10 or more employees. The California regulation concerns repetitive-motion injury (RMI). It has been taking form since ergonomic mandates were first introduced in that state, in 1993. The result of legislative mandates, labor lawsuits, court orders, multi-task-forcing, and a protracted debate involving labor, business, and the medical community, it's a regulation that attempts to please everyone and, of course, pleases no one. It's been called vague and unenforceable, or vague and overly enforceable, by labor and industry. If and when it takes effect, the regulation will affect businesses in which at least two employees within 12 months have been diagnosed with RMI stemming from the same work activity. Employers in question must take steps to evaluate work sites, provide training, and "control exposures" believed to have caused RMI. The American Trucking Association has calculated that it will cost its industry more than $6 billion annually if similar national ergonomic laws pass. That group and the industry-backed National Coalition on Ergonomics are fiercely battling OSHA's efforts. Without a doubt, RMI cases are ballooning; they've increased 13-fold in the past decade. Yet even doctors cannot agree on what causes RMI and how to treat it. "This area may not lend itself well to regulation," says California deputy director of industrial relations Rick Rice, whose department oversees Cal-OSHA. It may be years before a national ergonomic regulation hits the books, but clearly RMI has settled comfortably in the employee lounge. Repetitive-motion injuries account for nearly $20 billion in workers' comp costs annually and an estimated $100 billion in lost productivity and turnover. Some ergonomists predict that last year's nearly $6-million ruling against Digital Equipment Corp. for RMI cases related to DEC keyboards will have more impact on business behavior than future legislation will. Smart businesses aren't waiting for regulations or lawsuits to prompt action. At Woodpro Cabinetry, in Cabool, Mo., for example, an ergonomics program guided by employee "safety teams" has reduced workers' comp costs from $106,000 to $65,000 in the past three years. David Carroll, director of safety at the 97-employee company, says the first years of the program saw workers' comp claims rise as employees began to identify injuries as being work related. But Carroll asserts that it's better to catch the problem "while it's still tendinitis. It may seem counterproductive at first, but full-fledged carpal tunnel is far more expensive." By taking advantage of its insurance carrier's prevention programs and equipment-manufacturer training, Woodpro is keeping its ergonomics-program costs down to about $5,000 a year. Most suggestions offered by employees, such as lowering tables and rotating jobs, have been "simple and straightforward," says Carroll. "The employees know what feels right." | |
The prospect of impending ergonomics laws has business at RMI-related start-ups booming. "We're going to inherit the problems of companies that aren't spending money now to invest in the future," says Steve Marshall, CEO of Ergonomic Sciences Corp., which provides ergonomic equipment and consulting. The California-based Relax the Back franchising company has been growing by 100% annually for the past four years. CEO Dairl Johnson estimates that 15% of his customers are RMI sufferers, and others are "a breath away" from RMI. Johnson just added a new line of RMI-related equipment. "The problem's not going away. And we are directly positioned to serve those needs, regardless of legislation." | |
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