Printers Helped to Kill The Ergonomics Rule

Congress has voted to rescind the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation regarding ergonomics, and legislators are describing the printing industry as being instrumental in getting the rule overturned. Many printers called up their legislative representatives asking them to withdraw the regulation, and Jeff Wainscott, president of Weadon Printing Service, a 35-employee shop located Alexandria, Va., spoke at a U.S. Capitol press conference urging House members to overturn the regulation. Wainscott represented the Printing Industries of America (PIA), Alexandria, Va.

The action marks the first time that Congress has used the Congressional Review Act to kill a federal regulation. The law allows for expedited repeal of a new regulation with just 10 hours of debate and without allowing amendments or filibuster. The vote, largely along partisan lines, was 223 to 206 in the House and 56 to 44 in the Senate. President Bush is expected to approve the measure.

The ergonomics regulation had become a major source of contention between the agency and the business community. The discord was not based on the intent of the rule—to reduce musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in the workplace—but on the measures underlying its foundation.

PIA and other industry groups opposed the rule because members contend that it was not supported by strong scientific studies. Those against the measure argued that the standard made a sweeping generalization that all strains, sprains, and soft tissue trauma were caused solely by the work environment, and did not take into account other important factors, such as a worker's physical condition, outside work activities, and age.

"I was particularly concerned about the huge workers' compensation costs that my business could incur. Under the standard, anyone with a weekend sports injury could claim it was aggravated by work," explains Wainscott.

Joining Wainscott in support of the canceling of the regulation were the following U.S. representatives: Bob Barr (R-GA), Henry Bonilla (R-TX), Greg Gankse (R-IA), Anne Northup (R-KY), and Ric Keller (R-FL). All maintained that passage of the ergonomics rule was premature, and that it was not based on sound science.