Michigan’s Mandatory
Ergonomic Standard: Where Does it Stand?
With musculoskeletal disorders costing
workplaces and the economy billions of
dollars annually, it may seem that
implementation of a mandatory ergonomics
standard would be welcomed. However, in
its 5-year effort to implement an
ergonomic rule, the State of Michigan is
finding that legislators and business
leaders have very different views.
Michigan’s proposal for a mandatory
ergonomics standard took a step forward
early this year. On January 14, 2009, at
a joint meeting of the General Industry
Safety Standards Commission and the
Occupational Health Standards
Commission,
changes were made to the proposed
standard resulting in a unanimous vote
by both commissions. This vote enabled
the amended
Ergonomic Proposed Standard to
move to the next step in the approval
process.
Just two weeks later however, on January
27, 2009, a group of 21 Michigan
Senators introduced a bill (Senate Bill
No. 93) to prohibit the state from
establishing a standard regarding
workplace ergonomics. The business
community strongly objects to the
creation of a mandatory ergonomics
standard with business representatives
reporting that the voluntary
national ergonomics safety guideline,
implemented in 2002, is working well.
They argue there is no need for a
standard and that implementation and
compliance would be costly, especially
at a time when the state is in crisis
with high job loss and unemployment
rates.
California is currently the only state
with a
mandatory ergonomic standard. Will
Michigan ultimately join California and
be the second state to introduce a
mandatory ergonomic rule to address
musculoskeletal disorders in the
workplace? Only time will tell.
References:
http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/t000713b.html
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dleg/WSH_SpotLightArticleJan09_263682_7.pdf
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dleg/WSH_Ergo_Draft_17_1-14-2009_263258_7.pdf
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2009/01/13/opinion/doc496c68c6db392027136082.txt
http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=2309
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/ergonomics/
http://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/5110.html |
