Copyright 1999 The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
November 30, 1999, Tuesday, CITY EDITION
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE, Pg. 2B
LENGTH: 477 words
HEADLINE:
OSHA'S PROPOSED NEW RULES
BODY:
In what has become its own form of repetitive motion, the federal
government once again is trying to enforce national standards to prevent
repetitive-strain workplace injuries -- and, once again, has run into strong
business and political opposition.
A word of advice to the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Ignore the
risks, and keep trying. American workers should be able to expect that they
won't be hurt by the jobs they are asked to do over and over again, and there
should be a way to craft workplace regulations that protect workers without
crippling businesses.
A number of major industries, it turns out,
already have launched many of the reforms proposed by the new regulations -- and
are reaping economic benefits from reducing the amount of time and productivity
lost to worker injuries. OSHA estimates the annual cost of the
new rules at $ 4.2 billion, and the savings in workers compensation claims and
other costs at $ 9 billion.
While business groups estimate much higher
costs, the large industries already dealing with ergonomics have found that most
workplace problems can be fixed for less than $ 200. Studies also have found
that firms with programs to combat repetitive stress injuries
have far fewer reported injuries, and less lost work time.
The fight to
institute regulations based on ergonomics -- a relatively new science that tries
to keep tasks within the physical limitations of workers -is now a few years
old. Business-backed Republicans beat it down in 1995, and the proposed new
rules unveiled by OSHA this week are a weakened version of last
year's proposals. The Clinton Administration wants the rules in place by the end
of the president's term, but Congress will have a whole year of hearings to try
to block them.
Business objects most to a requirement that sidelined
workers receive all benefits and 90 percent of their wages for up to six months
-- higher than the 60 percent for worker's comp -- while workers shifted to
light duty receive 100 percent of their normal wages. But the rules also require
that ailments be documented by medical professionals and linked to the direct
tasks of a given job to curtail abuses.
Despite the heated opposition of
business groups and the knee-jerk threats of court action, though, the
government should focus on making these worker-protection laws work. With proper
safeguards to protect smaller businesses and ward off false claims, they can
help reduce the kinds of injuries -- including hernias, carpal tunnel syndrome
and chronic back pain -that Labor Department statistics indicate affect 1.8
million workers a year.
Coming up with reasonable guidelines over the
course of the next year shouldn't be beyond the scope of either bureaucrats or
congressmen. Business should realize that the American work force is an asset
worth protecting.
LOAD-DATE: December 2, 1999
