Senate Sidesteps Ergonomics Mandate

Washington

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has declined to adopt language mandating that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration promulgate a new federal rule on ergonomics, a decision that drew cautious praise from the insurance industry.

Instead of a mandate, the committee provided $2 million in discretionary funds that could be used by OSHA if it decides to promulgate a new rule.

“The Senate Appropriations Committees restraint in not mandating a new ergonomics rule was appropriate and reflective of the clear lack of consensus on the need for a new rule,” said John Savercool, vice president of federal affairs for the Washington-based American Insurance Association.

Deborah Sherno, a representative of the Alliance of American Insurers in Downers Grove, Ill., called the committees action “reassuring,” but said the Alliance will remain alert to any possible attempts to mandate a new rule.

The controversy involves S. 2184, approved earlier this year by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The original bill, sponsored by Sen. John Breaux, D-La., would have required OSHA to adopt a new ergonomics rule within two years. Although S. 2184 states that the new OSHA rule may not interfere with actual compensation under state laws, AIA believed that S. 2184 contained ambiguities that could have defeated that goal.

The specific problem, AIA said, involved what is called “work restriction protection.” AIA says that the way this term was defined in S. 2184, it could be interpreted by OSHA to allow it to mandate specific levels of compensation for ergonomic injuries.

AIA had been working with the sponsors of S. 2184 to include a clear prohibition on any rule that conflicts with state workers compensation laws.

“A federal compensation scheme superimposed over the state workers compensation system will create a parallel universe of compensation that will effectively federalize the payment of injury compensation,” AIA said. This, insurer group added, would be the beginning of the end of the state-based systems independence.

The Senate Appropriations Committee was considering incorporating the S. 2184 language into the fiscal year 2003 Labor Department appropriations bill. However, during a committee session, members decided against that approach, opting instead for establishment of the $2 million discretionary fund which allows OSHA to issue a new rule, but does not require one.

The controversy over ergonomics began in December 2000, when the Clinton Administration promulgated a highly controversial ergonomics rule. Congress nullified the rule in early 2001 under a statute called the Congressional Review Act. Since then, OSHA has been under pressure to adopt a new, albeit less extensive, ergonomics rule.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, July 29, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.

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Senate Sidesteps Ergonomics Mandate

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