Risky Business: Impact of the Obama Administration on Worker Safety
Risky Business: Impact of the Obama Administration on Worker Safety
All of us seem to be ready for change, but are employers ready for tougher enforcement of the OSHA Act? Under the Bush Administration, OSHA used special emphasis programs to address specific safety hazards rather than issuing new standards. The emphasis program that affected dental laboratories was control of exposure to silica and beryllium. The greatest random inspection activity that I’ve experienced for dental laboratories occurred in 2004 and 2005 as a result of the emphasis on silica and beryllium.
Democrats took control of Congress in 2006 and since that time the House and the Senate have pressured OSHA to become more aggressive in enforcement activities. Congress has encouraged OSHA to issue more stringent citations and penalties on employers who violate OSHA’s safety rules. From information published about President Obama’s position on worker safety, it looks like this trend during his administration will continue.
Obama also has been quoted as supporting increased funding levels for OSHA to improve the agency’s ability to reduce workplace injuries and fatalities. This may also lead to employers having to increase steps to comply with federal health and safety laws. Speculation is that there could be increases in OSHA penalties, enhanced criminal penalties, increases in workplace inspections by OSHA, and a new ergonomics rule.
On Nov. 14, 2000, OSHA issued its ergonomics program standard and it became effective on Jan. 14, 2001. The intent of this program was to minimize musculoskeletal disorders. After much debate and concern for the substantial costs, which were estimated to cost businesses as much as $100 billion, and compliance challenges it imposed on employers, the standard was repealed on March 20, 2001. At that time, the Republicans controlled Congress, therefore, it is likely that a Democratic Congress will successfully issue a new ergonomics regulation. Remember though that even though there currently is no ergonomics standard, employers are required by OSHA to provide a workplace free of hazards so an employer can be cited under the general duty clause for injuries relating to ergonomic issues.
On OSHA’s Web site www.osha.gov, an employer can access information regarding OSHA”s four-pronged comprehensive strategy for reducing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the workplace. The four segments are:
Industry or task specific guidelines for a number of industries.
- Conduct inspections for enforcement under the general duty clause with issuance of ergonomic hazard alert letters.
- Provide outreach and assistance, particularly for small businesses, to help them proactively address ergonomics issues.
- Charter a national advisory committee to identify gaps in research in the application of ergonomics and ergonomic principles in the workplace.
Be proactive in regard to MSDs. In most cases, these injuries are preventable. In some cases work-related and non-work related conditions can interact with each other and give rise to MSDs. In order to determine if conditions in your workplace might be contributing to these conditions you should:
- Review and analysis injury and illness records to identify any patterns of ergonomic-related injuries in certain jobs or work tasks.
- Analyze the jobs or work tasks to identify potential ergonomic problems before they occur. You can do this by:
- Seek employee input.
- Be aware of common contributing conditions.
After you’ve conducted your analysis, then take action to improve the conditions that are causing the MSDs. OSHA and NIOSH provide information for general solutions to these issues. OSHA Ergonomic eTools are available on their Web site, along with publications and examples of ergonomic programs and success stores submitted by actual companies to explain how they have dealt with ergonomic problems.
There are a wide variety of possible solutions that can be implemented to reduce or eliminate the ergonomic risk associated with jobs or work tasks in the workplace. One OSHA e-Tool for computer workstations is http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/index.html.
NIOSH’s Web site address is http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ergonomics/ and provides extensive information for ergonomic safety.
