OPINION-EDITORIAL

July 17, 2003

Ergonomic regs threaten jobs

Carl Gipson | Evergreen Freedom Foundation
Printed in Columbian
This session our state Legislature took important steps to make our state's business climate a bit more friendly. It was imperative, given our high job loss rate. But there's still progress to be made. Several areas were left unresolved, and one of the biggest, ergonomics, threatens the state's ability to retain and expand its work force.

If allowed to go into effect, the business community says, our state's ergonomic regulations will cost businesses $725 million to implement in the first year (in part through new education programs and hiring ergonomic experts). These costs will have to be passed on to consumers in the form of higher priced goods and services, and ultimately fewer jobs. In addition to the high cost, the new regulations are the most stringent and expensive in the United States. No other state besides California has regulations remotely similar.

Originally, ergonomics regulations were designed to protect workers from repetitive-motion injuries sustained while performing tasks such as "squatting, twisting or pinching." However, the new state regulations attempt to micromanage every industry by applying a one-size-fits-all solution to the problem. The state Department of Labor and Industries wants companies to reduce ergonomic hazards to the point "technologically and economically feasible," but gives no guidelines on how to accomplish that.

Some of the new rules will limit certain physical activity to less than four hours a day, others even less. The rules will certainly lead to numerous lawsuits, and judges will have the final say on what constitutes good ergonomics.

Every company in Washington state is already governed by adequate federal regulations, and many go above and beyond the minimum to ensure their workers remain safe and productive. Gov. Gary Locke all but admitted that the rules were too onerous when he exempted Wal-Mart and Safeway from having to comply with the new ergonomic standards in return for expanding in Washington. Apparently, the governor didn't want to disappoint the labor unions by eliminating the ergonomic regulations altogether, but he knew the state was in desperate need of more jobs and that these rules were in the way.

Locke proposed that the new rules be phased in over a period of time so businesses could adjust. But if he realizes the adjustment will be hard, does he really think the business community will better handle them two or three years from now?

The U.S. Congress struck down similar proposed federal ergonomic regulations in 2001 because the regulations were too onerous, unscientific and costly to employers. Current federal regulations under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration already govern ergonomics and worker health throughout the nation. Enacting tougher ones for Washington state is duplicative and will continue to harm smaller, labor-intensive businesses.

Brian Wells owns a construction firm in Vancouver. His TEAM Construction can't be compared to Boeing, Weyerhaeuser or Microsoft. But small businesses like his employ hundreds of thousands of our state's workers.

"The proposed ergonomic regulations will be devastating to my business and others like me," Wells says.

"These crippling rules disrupt the flow of a project, making it more expensive for me to operate the business. They raise the cost of my final product to the consumer."

Wells thinks there is a disconnect between agency bureaucrats and reality. "What most of the ergonomic proponents don't understand is injured employees cost employers time and money, and as a business owner, I'm not interested in losing either. So it makes sense for me to already have a system that encourages employee safety."

Wells believes the new rules will harm employees as much as employers. With limited hours for given tasks, he believes productivity and worker morale will suffer.

"If I had to do it all over again, there's no way I would start my business in Washington state," Wells added. Unfortunately, many other business owners share his sentiment but not his patience.

Legislators took encouraging steps to revamp Washington's anti-business climate. But unless they want to add to the 100,000 jobs lost since December 2000, they need to finish the job and provide relief to all employers by repealing the costly, onerous ergonomic regulations.

Carl Gipson is the Deputy Communications Director for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, an Olympia-based public policy research organization.

Carl Gipson | Deputy Communications Director | (360) 956-3482

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org