Senate Vote Stops OSHA's Ergo Regulation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce applauded last night's Senate vote (57-41) to deny funds for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) ergonomics proposal, designed to regulate virtually every job in America.

The Chamber strongly supported Senator Mike Enzi's (R-WY) amendment to the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, which prohibits OSHA from spending money to issue a final rule. The House has already passed the same prohibition.

"OSHA's analysis of the science is flatly wrong and their ergonomics rule is costly and unworkable," said Randel Johnson, Chamber vice president for labor and employee benefits. "Employers could hire a hundred lawyers and they still wouldn't know what they must do to satisfy OSHA's requirements under the proposed rule."

The rule ignores legitimate scientific debate over the causes of so-called musculoskeletal disorders, according to the Chamber, and is so broad and vague that tens of millions of jobs will be covered. Without adequate explanations and standards, OSHA inspectors will have virtually unlimited discretion to impose penalties and costly abatement methods on even the best-intentioned employers. The rule will cost employers billions and billions of dollars without any assurance of benefits to workers.

"OSHA's regulatory juggernaut is a disservice to businesses that are concerned with worker safety and health," said Johnson. "Today's Senate action will prevent OSHA from pursuing a rule that is unworkable, unscientific and unconstitutional. If OSHA refuses to listen to reason and withdraw this ill-advised proposal, we will see them in court."

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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