CAL OSHA Ergonomics Standard:
Technically Sound or Politically Correct?
April 18, 1997: Stuart Silverstein, writing in the Business section of the Los Angeles Times, reports passage of the Cal OSHA Ergonomics Standard.
- “The Republican-dominated California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board approved the terse, 1 1/2-page plan by a 4-2 vote. The action came amid speculation that the program still lacks the detail to satisfy the Office of Administrative Law, an independent regulatory review agency.”
- “Passage of a standard was required by workers’ compensation reform legislation adopted in 1993. It was envisioned as a way to reduce such painful disorders as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis and muscle sprains.”
- “The ergonomics standard is triggered when at least two workers are diagnosed by a licensed physician with injuries from performing identical tasks during the same 12-month period.”