Subject: Re: Ergo Fact Sheet and Summary
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 14:56:45 -0500

Summary

AFL-CIO SUMMARY
OF
OSHA'S PROPOSED ERGONOMICS
PROGRAM STANDARD
NOVEMBER 1999

Following 8 years of intense resistance by some employer groups and
their allies in Congress, OSHA finally published its proposed ergonomics
program standard in the Federal Register on November 23, 1999. This
action represents the first step in the process of developing a final
rule to control workplace hazards which cause Musculoskeletal Disorders
(MSDs). Written comments to OSHA on the proposed standard must be
postmarked by February 1, 2000. To provide testimony at the scheduled
public hearings, a Notice of Intention to Appear must be submitted to
OSHA and postmarked by January 24, 2000. An informal public hearing is
set to begin February 22, 2000 in Washington, DC. Regional hearings will
be held March 21-31, 2000 in Portland, Oregon and April 11-21, 2000 in
Chicago, Illinois.

The proposed standard is written in plain language focused around six
basic elements of an ergonomics program: Management Leadership and
Employee Participation; Hazard Information and Reporting; Job Hazard
Analysis and Control; Training; MSD Management; and Program Evaluation. 
In the view of the AFL-CIO, the proposal is a positive step forward to
protect workers, but the rule needs to be expanded so all workers are
covered and strengthened to require employers to control hazardous jobs
before injuries and illnesses occur. A summary of the proposed rule
follows:

Scope
The standard covers only general industry and excludes construction,
maritime, and agriculture. Within general industry, the standard covers
workplaces with manufacturing jobs or manual handling jobs. Coverage
applies only to specific jobs and not to the entire workplace.
Manufacturing jobs are production jobs where workers perform the
activities of producing a product and include jobs such as assembly line
work, cutting meat and poultry, and machine loading/unloading. Manual
handling jobs require workers to perform forceful lifting/lowering,
pushing/pulling, or carrying, including such jobs as patient handling,
grocery store stocking, and garbage collecting.

For all other jobs within general industry, coverage under the standard
would only apply to jobs where one or more reported musculoskeletal
disorder (MSD) has occurred. The covered MSD under the standard must be
recordable under the OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping requirements
where the physical work activities are reasonably likely to have caused
or contributed to the type of MSD reported and the activities make up a
significant amount of a worker's worktime. Thus, in many workplaces
there is no action required to prevent ergonomics injuries because the
standard is only triggered after workers are injured. This standard
would also allow employers to apply the ergonomics program to cover some
workers in a workplace and not others, even when ergonomic hazards are
present for everyone.

Basic Obligations Of Employers
For all manufacturing or manual handling jobs, the Management
Leadership and Employee Participation and the Hazard Information and
Reporting elements of an ergonomics program must be set up even if no
MSD has occurred in those jobs. Employers would be required to implement
the other remaining elements of an ergonomics program in those jobs when
a covered MSD is reported (called a "problem job") or when persistent
MSD symptoms are reported where the employer has knowledge that an MSD
hazards exists in the job, the work activities of the job are reasonably
likely to cause or contribute to the type of MSD symptom reported and
those activities make up a significant amount of a workers worktime. 

Problem job fixes are required for the same job in which a covered MSD
is reported. The problem job can include other jobs in the workplace so
long as those jobs involve the same physical work activities and
conditions as the one in which the covered MSD is reported. Jobs that
are similar to the problem job do not have to be fixed under this
proposed standard.

For all other jobs in general industry, employers would be required to
set up all the elements of an ergonomics program only after a covered
MSD is reported. Reports of persistent MSD symptoms on these jobs would
not be enough to require setting up the ergonomics program as it does
with manufacturing or manual handling jobs - only a worker injury is
sufficient. The program would apply to the problem job - jobs with
similar ergonomic hazards would not be required to be fixed.

The standard's trigger of reported injuries places a very heavy burden
on workers. While the proposed rule includes prohibitions on policies
and practices that discourage worker reports of injuries or symptoms, in
many workplaces workers may be afraid to report injuries for fear of
losing their jobs.

The proposed standard also includes a clause which allows those
employers who have existing ergonomics programs to keep them if the
employer's existing program "satisfies" all of the basic obligation of
the each program element of the standard; complies with the rule's
recordkeeping requirements; has implemented and evaluated the program
before the effective date of the final rule; and where the evaluation
indicates that the program elements are working and that appropriate
control measures are in place. As proposed, this grandfathering
provision raises concerns about employers using existing programs to
provide less stringent rights for workers to participate and less
protective measures than are otherwise provided in the language of the
standard itself.


Quick Fix
The proposal allows for the "Quick Fix" of a problem job in which an
employer would not have to set up the full ergonomics program where MSD
hazards can be eliminated quickly and completely. To satisfy the Quick
Fix requirements of the standard, employers would have to promptly
provide MSD management to injured workers; work with workers to
eliminate the MSD hazard within 90 days; check within 30 days to confirm
that the controls worked; keep a record of the controls used; and
provide workers with the hazard information required by the rule. A full
ergonomics program would have to be put into place if the Quick Fix does
not eliminate the MSD hazard within 120 days or another covered MSD is
reported in that job within 36 months.

Management Leadership And Employee Participation
Management is required to provide leadership to their ergonomics
program, including making sure that their policies and practices do not
discourage reporting of problems by workers. The proposal also requires
management to hold all of its employees, including workers, accountable
for meeting their responsibilities under the program. As written
however, this provision has the potential to be used by employers to
discipline workers and to shift the employers responsibility for
providing a safe workplace to their workers.

Workers and their designated representatives must be allowed to
participate in the ergonomics program, including reporting MSD signs and
symptoms, getting prompt responses to their reports, have access to the
OSHA standard and information about the ergonomics program, and be
involved in developing, implementing, and evaluating each element of the
program. 

Hazard Information And Reporting
Employers would be required to set up a means for workers to report MSD
signs and symptoms and to give prompt responses to those reports.
Employers would also be required to evaluate worker reports to determine
whether a covered MSD has occurred. Employers would be required to
"periodically" provide information to current and new workers that
explains how to identify and report MSD signs and symptoms, common MSD
hazards, and a summary of the requirements of the OSHA ergonomics
standard. However, "periodically" is not defined under the proposed
rule. Unfortunately however, for jobs outside of manufacturing or
manual handling, employers would not be required to implement an
ergonomics program based on signs and symptoms alone as a preventive
approach but could wait to respond only after a recordable injury
occurred.

Job Hazard Analysis And Control
Employers are required to analyze problem jobs to identify the
ergonomic risk factors that result in MSD hazards. If there are MSD
hazards associated with those jobs, steps must be undertaken to
eliminate MSD hazards, reduce the hazards to the extent feasible or
reduce the hazards using the incremental abatement approach provided for
in the proposed rule. As part of the analysis, workers performing these
jobs must be asked questions about the problems and hazards associated
with the job and employers are required to observe workers performing
the job to identify the ergonomic risk factors present. When hazards
have been identified, employers are required to ask workers in the
problem job for recommendations about eliminating or reducing the MSD
hazards and to implement feasible control measures to eliminate or
reduce the hazards. The employer must also track the progress in
controlling the hazards and consult with workers in problem jobs about
whether the implemented controls have eliminated or reduced the hazards.
Employers would also have to identify and evaluate MSD hazards when they
change, design, or purchase equipment in problem jobs.

The proposed standard permits employers to use any combination of
engineering, administrative, and/or work practice controls to eliminate
or reduce MSD hazards. The rule indicates that engineering controls are
the preferred method for controlling MSD hazards and that personal
protective equipment, payed for by the employer, can be used to
supplement engineering, work practice and administrative controls but
can only be used alone where other controls are not feasible. The
proposal also states that back belts/braces and wrist braces/splints are
not considered PPE for the purpose of this standard. 

To control hazards, employers can implement controls that eliminate
hazards or reduce hazards to the extent feasible and then periodically
look to see whether additional controls are now feasible and if so,
implement those new feasible controls. Employers may also reduce MSD
hazards using an "incremental abatement process", which permits putting
controls in place in increments until an injured worker's condition
improves and no additional covered MSD occurs in the job.

Training
Employees in problem jobs, the supervisors of workers in problem jobs,
and staff responsible for the ergonomics program must receive training.
Training must include recognizing MSD hazards, control methods, the
ergonomics program, and the requirements of the OSHA standard. Training
and information for workers must be provided in the language that
workers understand and worker must have the opportunity to ask questions
and receive answers. The training is to be given, at no cost to the
workers, when a problem job is identified, when a worker is initially
assigned to a problem job, periodically as needed, and at least every
three years. Periodic training would be given where there are changes
made to a problem job or where new hazards are identified in the
problem job. As proposed, the standard does not provide for workers -
those who have the most knowledge about their jobs - to be trained on
how to identify and analyze MSD hazards or how such hazards can be
controlled.

MSD Management
Employers must make MSD management available promptly to workers
whenever a covered MSD occurs. The MSD management must be provided at no
cost to the worker. For injured workers, employers must respond promptly
to prevent a worker's condition from getting worse and determine whether
temporary work restrictions are necessary. Workers with MSDs are to have
access to a health care professional (HCP) for evaluation, management
and follow-up. Following the evaluation, the HCP is required to prepare
a written opinion on the medical condition related to the MSD hazard in
the workers job and any recommended temporary work restrictions and
follow-up for the worker. The employer is required to adhere to the work
restrictions and provide work restriction protection (WRP) during the
recovery period. The WRP will consist of 100% pay and benefits for
workers put on light duty and 90% pay and 100% benefits for employees
who must be removed from work. The WRP benefits last until the worker
can return to work or the MSD hazards are fixed or 6 months have passed
- whichever comes first. 

Program Evaluation
Employers would be required to evaluate the ergonomics program
periodically and at least every 3 years to make sure it is in compliance
with the standard. The evaluation must include consulting with workers
in problem jobs to get their views on the effectiveness of the program
and to identify any problems with the program. The employer must
evaluate all the elements of the program to make sure they are
functioning properly and to determine if the program is eliminating or
reducing MSD hazards. If the evaluation finds deficiencies in the
program, employers must take prompt action to correct the deficiencies.
The proposal does not identify any measures or indicators of activity
and outcome that employers can select for use in conducting the
evaluation and no minimum set of required indicators is provided so that
the effectiveness of different programs can be measured on a consistent
basis at different worksites.

Recordkeeping
Employers with 10 or more workers (including part-time workers and
workers provided through personnel services) would have to keep written
records on the program. Such records would generally have to be kept for
three years except that medical management records would have to be kept
for the duration of a workers employment plus three years. Employers
would still be required to comply with OSHA's Access to Employee
Exposure and Medical Records (1910.1020).

Compliance Dates
A set of compliance start-up deadlines for implementing the
requirements of the ergonomics standard is included in the proposal. The
standard would become effective 60 days after the publication of the
final rule. For the most part, the time frames are much too long after
the effective date before the requirements ought to be in place. For
example, OSHA is proposing to give employers 1 year for establishing the
Management Leadership and Employee Participation and the Hazard
Information and Reporting elements of an ergonomics program and up to 3
years in which to have certain other elements such as feasible permanent
controls in place. Injured workers and those workers exposed to hazards
that may lead to injury ought to be entitled to more swift response by
their employers than OSHA is proposing. 


Prepared by: AFL-CIO Department of Occupational Safety and Health,
November, 1999.