Baulig: Ergo Rule Would Muddy Workers’ Comp
ST. LOUIS — The proposed federal ergonomics rule puts industry on “the slippery slope to federal workers compensation,” said Laurie T. Baulig in her presentation to the former Safety Management Council on Oct. 3.
Baulig, a partner with the law firm of Scopelitis, Garvin, Light & Hanson in Washington, D.C., said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration “did a credible job of making [the proposed rule] appear” substantial by stretching it out to 1,000 pages. The proposal first appeared in the Federal Register in November 1999.
“Ergonomic risk as an exposure is not measurable, like lead exposure,” said Baulig. Consequently, she added, the government is out of line promulgating some of the provisions of the proposed rule. Additionally, she said she sees conflicts between the standards and workers’ compensation laws that already exist.
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While admitting that ergonomics is “an extremely complex issue,” she said that the proposed rule is fuzzy on details and sometimes conflicts with already-existing laws.
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