Chamber Criticizes OSHA Ergonomics Rule As Unconstitutional, Unscientific and Unworkable

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce criticized the Occupational Health and Safety Administration's (OSHA) proposed ergonomics rule as unconstitutional, lacking any scientific basis and fatally flawed in regulatory comments filed late yesterday with the Department of Labor.

"OSHA must abandon its ergonomics proposal," said Randel Johnson, Chamber vice president for labor policy. "The rule is unconstitutional, illegal and vague. It will waste billions of dollars and provide little or no benefit to workers."

The Chamber pointed out that OSHA's proposed rule violates the agency's own requirement for setting standards, by requiring employers to identify and eliminate alleged hazards that OSHA itself has not been able to identify or what methods of abatement work, if any. OSHA has not done so and can't do so, Johnson said, because there is no current scientific consensus of what constitutes a risk in the workplace. Moreover, OSHA has not specified either the level of risk that is acceptable or how to eliminate whatever risk may exist.

"The proposed rule fails to give employers any clear standard regarding the workplace circumstances or the conduct required to satisfy OSHA's idea of significant risk and control – violating the OSH Act and an employer's right to due process under the U.S. Constitution," said Johnson. "If OSHA continues to refuse to listen to reason regarding this ill-advised proposal, then we will see them in court."

OSHA's analysis of the science is "flatly wrong," according to the Chamber's comments. The federal agency has inflated the numbers of workers at risk, poorly defined the scope of the risk, and ignored legitimate scientific debate over the causes of repetitive stress injuries that do not support their own, preconceived conclusions.

"The proposed rule is unworkable," said Johnson. "It will leave employers guessing, no matter how many lawyers and experts they hire, as to what they must do to comply with this standard. How this could be seen to advance the cause of workplace safety and health is a complete mystery."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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