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U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational
Safety & Health Administration
New Proposals for Preventing and Treating Repetitive Strain
and other
Work Related Injuries
The
Labor Department
proposed new rules today (Nov.
22, 1999) that would mandate employers
to correct injury-causing workplace conditions that entail repetitive
motion, overexertion or awkward postures. This is of relevance to the
many fibromyalgia patients who struggle to remain employed, despite a
work aggravated aggravation of their pain.
Each year, 1.8 million workers have
musculoskeletal injuries related to ergonomic factors and 600,000 people
miss some work because of them, according to the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OHSA). Some of
these injuries eventually lead to the development of fibromyalgia.
Labor Secretary Alexis Herman commented:
"Work-related musculoskeletal disorders...are the most prevalent,
most expensive and most preventable workplace injuries in the country
and it is time we do something about it."
However the proposed rules, published in
the Federal Register, will not become final until next year at the
earliest, after a series of public hearings in Washington and other
cities. It is anticipated that there will be a strong opposition from
business groups and some lawmakers who are concerned about the cost.
OSHA estimates that employers who have to correct problems will spend
about $150 a year for each work station that is modified. The total cost
was estimated at $4.2 billion a year. This figure has to be compared to
the estimated cost of these injuries which is $15 billion to $20 billion
annually for workers' compensation and $30 billion to $40 billion in
other expenses such as medical care.
Under the proposed rules, a worker who
has an ergonomic injury diagnosed by a doctor would be entitled to have
the work environment modified to correct the inciting problem. Other
proposals include:
1. A worker who must be assigned to
lighter duty during recovery from ergonomic injury would be guaranteed
normal pay and benefits.
2. A worker who must leave the job
altogether would be guaranteed 90 percent pay and full benefits during
recovery.
3. Employers operating workplaces with
numerous incidents of ergonomic injury, would have to provide
medical help and safety retraining for workers in addition to correcting
physical problems.
4. All manufacturers and companies with
workers doing manual heavy lifting would be required to provide
preventive training.
See
occupational injury recording and reporting requirements |
