Tuesday March 14 2:16 AM ET

Dialogue on Workplace Safety Opening

By ALICE ANN LOVE, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Clinton administration is inviting the public to suggest improvements to its proposal for new worker protections against repetitive motion injuries.

It already knows, and is unlikely to grant, what business wants: scrap the idea altogether.

``There's nothing here that isn't subject to change depending upon the nature of the comments,'' said Assistant Labor Secretary Charles N. Jeffress. But he added, ``We're on a schedule to have a final rule adopted by the end of this year. That remains our current goal.''

Corporate lawyers turned out in force Monday, as the administration began nine weeks of public hearings, to grill officials from the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which Jeffress heads.

A lobbying coalition including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and hundreds of other business groups and corporations is asking that the proposal be dropped. They contend it is not based on sound science, and its costs are grossly underestimated.

``You're asking businesses to spend billions of dollars while failing to ensure the prevention of these injuries,'' said the coalition spokesman, Al Lundeen.

Republicans in Congress have pushed for delays and won a 30-day extension of the public comment period. But the administration, hedging its bets against the possibility of a GOP takeover of the White House in November, is determined to complete the rules during President Clinton's last months in office.

The proposed regulations, rolled out in November after years of holdups imposed by Congress for scientific research and other scrutiny, would require employers to minimize everyday physical - or ergonomic - stresses of certain jobs.

The rules do not require congressional approval, but business lobbyists note that legislation has been introduced that could derail the regulatory process again. The House passed one such bill last fall. The Senate has not acted on the subject, which could become politically touchy in an election year.

OSHA officials laid out their case in opening testimony Monday. Each year 1.8 million workers have musculoskeletal injuries related to ergonomic working conditions, they say, and 600,000 people miss work because of them.

Injuries to muscles, nerves, ligaments and tendons include such problems as carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain and tendinitis.

Marthe Kent, head of OSHA's regulatory programs, said the agency has devoted a decade of study to the problems and has observed that in the meantime, some companies have come up with effective solutions on their own.

``The science base is strong, the risk is significant, and feasible means of reducing that risk are widely available and understood. The time to act is now,'' Kent said.

The new rules would cover a broad range of workers from nurses to baggage handlers at airports and people who work at computers or on assembly lines.

Unions, also represented at the hearings, want even stronger protections - for example, penalties against companies that intimidate workers from reporting ergonomic injuries.

OSHA estimates businesses would spend $4.2 billion a year to comply but predicts net savings of $9 billion in medical costs and increased productivity.

Businesses claim the government is far underestimating the cost. The corporate-financed Employment Policy Foundation pegs the price of worker education, reconfiguration of workspaces and workers' compensation at $80 billion annually.

Companies also say the rules are overly broad, requiring them to address individual physical problems that may be the result of factors other than working conditions, such as a person's overall health or activities at home.

Ergonomics hearings are scheduled to move to Chicago on April 11, then to Portland, Ore., on April 24 before a wrap-up back in the nation's capital May 8-12.

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