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The Death of OSHA’s Ergonomics Standard—
Now What?

Now that Congress has used the Congressional Review Act to kill OSHA’s ergonomics standard, what should a risk manager do next? For many employers, Congress’s action has changed grief to relief, because a costly regulatory burden has been lifted. But if your employees are subject to cumulative trauma disorders or musculoskeletal disorders (CTD/MSD) because of their work, you still have a problem.

CTD/MSD injuries, caused by the stress and frequency of certain repetitive tasks, are compensable under workers’ compensation in most jurisdictions. For example, Virginia still has some exceptions, notably back injuries caused by repetitive stress. Also, in Virginia the burden of proof for carpal tunnel syndrome is on the employee. The Maryland and D. C. statutes are much more liberal.

Workers’ compensation claims that can lead to increased cost of insurance are only one cost factor to consider. Employers also must deal with lost productivity from absent employees, and the cost of recruiting and training replacements. Together, these insured and uninsured costs can range from $24,000 to $150,000 per case, according to the National Institute For Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Consider this: If an organization incurs $100,000 a year in direct and indirect costs attributable to ergonomics disorders, and has a 4% profit margin, it will need an additional $2.5 million in sales to make up for the loss.

That’s enough to demand an examination of the risk in each workplace, and an action plan to reduce that risk. Many employers have established early return-to-work programs that allow injured employees to work full-time but with restrictions, or even alternative temporary assignments, designed to allow the injuries to heal. Those programs often reduce the duration of a workers’ compensation claim dramatically. However, you might find greater benefit in preventative programs, focusing on the identification of CTD/MSD risk, and application of appropriate strategy to remove or reduce the risk.

Mapping

There is a great deal of research under way now to determine what combinations of factors create risk of CTD/MSD. Employers can address the problem through a strategy that includes screening for potential problems, educating employees, exercise, and modification of the workplace and/or the job itself. In this approach, the emphasis is on prevention.

Dr. Mark Melhorn, a Wichita-based orthopedic specialist who publishes and lectures frequently on the subject, has developed a program called CtdMAP™. The MAP, or Monitoring Assessment Program, includes 79 questions for employees to answer to determine a variety of work, health and lifestyle characteristics. The answers are cross-referenced to a growing database of medical literature, to flag any existing or potential CTD/MSD. When a match is found, the inquiry then turns to the individual employee’s tasks, work environment, equipment, training and other job aspects to determine how to prevent the potential injury.

Dr. Melhorn explains, “If effective management can be provided through ergonomics, workplace procedures, and administrative policies, progression (of the CTD/MSD) may not occur.” In a very high percentage of cases, he adds, the at-risk employee is able to perform his or her job without restrictions, following a temporary program of education and exercise. “The employer gets the most bang for the buck in education and exercise.”

How much bang depends on a number of factors, but in Dr. Melhorn’s experience “mapping” some 20,000 employees in a variety of industries, the return on investment averages about $100 in loss costs avoided, for every dollar the employer spends.

Because the cost of training, work area modifications, etc. usually is confined only to those employees identified as being at risk, preventive measures are more affordable than if the employer tries to apply an ergonomics program across the board.

Also, if an employee has a CTD/MSD injury and claims that it is work-related, it is important to go ahead and complete the “Employer’s First Report of Injury” for the insurance carrier. If you question whether or not the injury is entirely work-related, indicate so on a separate page. Also, remember that the Americans With Disabilities Act requires “reasonable accommodation” for employees with CTD/MSD’s, as well as other disabilities.

Recent Revisions in OSHA Recordkeeping Requirements

OSHA published another final rule just before the end of the Clinton Administration. This one, effective January 1, 2002, revises the requirements for recording and posting information on work-related illnesses and injuries. As before, employers with 10 or fewer employees generally are exempt, as are employers in certain specified low-hazard industries.

Forms 101 and 200 are replaced by new Forms 300, 301 and 301A. Other changes “clarify” the requirements for recording restricted-work or light-duty cases, require the recording of injuries by needlestick or other sharp objects, and institute certain privacy protections while allowing access to certain information by union representatives. The rule also attempts to narrow the requirement for recording aggravation of preexisting injuries.

Details are at www.osha-slc.gov/recordkeeping/index.html. 

This story was published originally in The CIMA Letter, the client publication of The CIMA Companies, Inc., an insurance and risk management firm with offices in Alexandria, VA, Baltimore and Atlanta.

riskVue | The webzine for risk management professionals
May 2001