Strong Opposition Fails to Stall U.S. Ergonomics Rules

E-commerce, e-banking and e-fulfillment all arrived in 1999, but it was another “e”-word that struck terror into the hearts of trucking companies across the land.

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This was the year of the dreaded ergonomics standard, brought on by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Not that trucking hadn’t been aware of ergonomics before — industry had been successful in blocking OSHA’s attempts at publishing a rule since 1992, with the help of its friends in Congress.

This year, however, the bell finally tolled. At a news conference in Washington on Nov. 22, OSHA unveiled its long-awaited and controversial ergonomics program standard, which the agency expects to prevent 300,000 workplace injuries and save $9 billion in workers’ compensation and other costs related to repetitive stress injuries every year.

“We are compelled to act,” said OSHA Administrator Charles N. Jeffress. “Employees are getting hurt. People are suffering.”

For the full story, see the Jan. 10 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.