This week Congress will vote on a proposed repeal of the new Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) ergonomics standard. Issued last November, the new ergonomics standard would pay workers disabled by on-the-job injuries and require employers to redesign work stations and equipment. The American Public Health Association (APHA), representing over 50,000 public health professionals, strongly opposes any action that would overturn this standard and calls on Congress to put American workers’ health and safety first by voting against the repeal.
“When OSHA’s ergonomics standard was issued, it was a victory for all of America’s workers and a particular feat for all the public health professionals who worked for years to get such workplace protections enacted,” said Mohammad N. Akhter, MD, MPH, executive director of the American Public Health Association. “Any member of Congress who now bows to the pressures of lobbyists and votes to overturn this standard is sabotaging one of the most important advances in health protection for American workers.”
Opponents of the standard will use a special expedited process laid out under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the standard. Under the CRA, if the ergonomics standard is repealed OSHA’s ability to work towards another ergonomics standard to protect workers could be lost forever. Only by special permission from Congress could the agency propose a similar standard.
The scientific evidence behind reducing and eliminating workplace injuries is clear. The Institute of Medicine recently released a report on Musculoskeletal Disorders and the Workplace. The report found a strong link between exposure to ergonomic hazards in the workplace and musculoskeletal disorders. The scientific evidence also showed that the injuries could be prevented.
According to the AFL-CIO there are over 600,000 repetitive stress injuries that result in lost work every year.
The American Public Health Association, the largest and oldest organization of public health professionals, represents more than 50,000 members from over 50 public health occupations.
