The Irony of Ergonomic Regulation - analysis - Brief Article

Like many who deal with the business side of labor law and workplace regulations, Lawrence Lorber is wary of the new OSHA ergonomics legislation, which makes employers liable for repetitive motion disorders that may or may not be created or exacerbated by workplace conditions.

"It represents a fairly major diversion from the typical OSHA regulatory process," says Lorber, who served as assistant secretary of labor in the Ford administration.

Lorber, like many of the new standard's critics, feels that OSHA has moved from enforcing measurable workplace conditions, such as the amount of lead in the workplace or employees' exposure to high sound levels, to holding the employer responsible for things which are beyond their control or ability to measure.

"You take two offices that do the same thing," he says. "One has a lot of tennis players. Almost by definition, you have ergonomic problems. The other has sedentary employees. They won't have the same problems. What you have is a condition looking for a federal standard, rather than a standard reacting to the atmosphere. OSHA estimates the cost of these regulations as $4.5 billion; others estimate $120 billion. This is hugely expensive. It's unique in that you really don't know whether all of these problems were caused in the workplace. Most are after-the-fact problems."

Proponents of ergonomic standards point to the rise of carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive-motion disorders in an age in which a growing segment of the workforce is bound to a keyboard. From a certain perspective, however, the new standards--and the arguments against them--are ironic: smart businesses were already instituting them of their own accord, and keyboard, mouse, and monitor manufacturers had already begun making ergonomic strides.

"There have been advances from the shape of the mouse to different chairs and lighting," observes Lorber. "How many new computer monitors are there? There's obviously a greater awareness of ergonomic issues today. In terms of that, the engineering is advancing rapidly, but it's taken six, seven years to get to this point, and they still had a hell of a time defining this problem."

Again by way of comparison, Lorber contrasts the ergonomic standards to OSHA's ruling on acceptable noise levels. "You knew what was an acceptable level of noise," he says. "Once you knew that, employers knew what to do. People may or may not like OSHA, but it was understood and people knew what to do. [Ergonomics] is an amorphous issue."

Lorber points to Home Depot as a company that made great ergonomic strides without government prompting by requiring their employees to wear lifting belts to help alleviate back strain.

"The real question is that you have a regulation enforcement scheme with lots of penalties. Workers' compensation is one of them. Does the science support the regulation? The jury is still out. Not that there's not an ergonomic issue. The question is, where does federal regulation come in, as opposed to good workplace practices?"

Ergonomic Spot Check

Are your employees' workstations up to snuff with the new OSHA regulations? Here's what to look for: The workstation is arranged so it allows the employee's...

* Head and neck to be about upright

* Head, neck, and trunk to face forward (not twisted)

* Trunk to be about perpendicular to floor

* Shoulders and upper arms to be about perpendicular to floor (not stretched forward) and relaxed (not elevated)

* Upper arms and elbows to be close to body

* Forearms, wrists, and hands to be straight and parallel to floor

* Wrists and hands to be straight (not bent up/down or sideways toward little finger)

* Thighs to be about parallel to floor and lower legs to be about perpendicular to floor

* Feet to rest flat on floor or be supported by a stable footrest

The employee's chair...

* Backrest provides support for employee's lower back (lumbar area)

* Seat width and depth accommodate specific employee (seat pan not too big/small)

* Seat front does not press against the back of employee's knees and lower legs (seat pan not too long)

* Seat has cushioning and is rounded/has "waterfall" front (no sharp edge)

* Armrests support both arms and do not interfere with movement

Keyboard area is designed so...

* Platform(s) is stable and large enough to hold keyboard and input device

* Mouse or trackball is located right next to keyboard so it can be operated without reaching

* Input device is easy to activate and shape/size fits hand of specific employee (not too big/small)

* Wrists and hands do not rest on sharp or hard edge

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COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group