Bush Administration Ergonomics Plan Fails to Protect Workers From Crippling Injuries

[Excerpt] On March 20, 2001, President Bush--in his first major legislative action--signed legislation repealing OSHA’s ergonomics standard. This important worker safeguard, issued in November 2000, was ten years in the making and would have prevented hundreds of thousands of workplace injuries a year. But, bowing to Big Business groups who opposed any ergonomics regulation, after the 2000 election, the Republican controlled Congress and the Bush Administration joined together to kill this worker protection measure. Last March, as Congress contemplated the repeal of OSHA’s ergonomics standard, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao stated, “Repetitive stress injuries in the workplace are an important problem.” She promised that if the standard was repealed, the Department would “pursue a comprehensive approach to ergonomics, which may include new rulemaking…This approach will provide employers with achievable measures that protect employees before injuries occur.