House may stymie ergonomics rule

The House Appropriations Committee added an amendment to the bills prohibiting any Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) funds to be used “to promulgate, issue, implement, administer or enforce any proposed, temporary, or final standard on ergonomics protection.” Industry lobbyists had sought congressional intervention to stop OSHA’s proposed comprehensive ergonomics standard, which has the potential to impact every workplace, especially those involved in materials handling. Congress has used the appropriations process to sideline OSHA’s previous attempts to get an ergonomic rule on the books. Industry has complained that OSHA wildly underestimated the economic impact.