Labor Agencies Beefing up Budgets, Enforcement

IndustryWeek (Cable) - Some in the manufacturing community worry that an attempt to issue an OSHA ergonomics standard is on the way. Speaking at a U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy roundtable on Jan. 22, new OSHA chief David Michaels declared: "Under this administration, OSHA is returning to the original intent of the OSH Act. We're a regulatory and enforcement agency and we're going to act like it." "We're moving from reaction to prevention, beefing up enforcement and moving the regulatory agenda forward," Michaels added.

Prelude to an Ergonomics Standard?
Among manufacturers' biggest concerns with Labor Department policy is the aforementioned proposal to restore the column for musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) on the OSHA 300 Log, [Keith Smith, NAM] says. The proposed rule, titled "Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements," would require employers to check the MSD column if a workplace injury meets the definition of an MSD, according to OSHA...