OSHA's Proposed Rule in Ergonomics (California version)

On November 22, 1999, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its controversial proposed rule on ergonomics applicable to general industry. The rule, which would only become final sometime next year, after the conclusion of a comment period, could affect nearly every employer in the country whose employees undertake manual handling, manufacturing, or repetitive-motion work.

The proposed rule will only apply to certain types of jobs rather than employers. Jobs covered by the rule include manufacturing, manual handling, and jobs in which a worker reports a single OSHA-recordable musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) related to that employee’s work. OSHA has identified six components of an ergonomics program. For the first two categories of jobs, manufacturing and manual handling, employers need only implement an ergonomics program consisting of the first two components: (1) Management Leadership and Employee Participation and (2) Hazard Information and Reporting. For any job in which an employee reports a single OSHA-recordable MSD, or for manufacturing or manual handling jobs in which a known MSD hazard exists that has prompted the reporting of persistent MSD symptoms, the employer must complete a full six-part ergonomics program, consisting of the two above-mentioned components, along with (3) Job Hazard Analysis and Control; (4) Training; (5) “MSD Management;” and (6) Program Evaluation.

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