01/18/2008
CONTACT: Charles Owens, 517-485-3409 or Jason Brewer, 202-406-4435
LANSING, Mich. -- All or part of the following may be attributed to Charlie Owens, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business/Michigan, in response to new ergonomics rules that are one step closer to being imposed on Michigan's small businesses.
"Today, over the objections of the business community, the MIOSHA Ergonomics Advisory Committee voted to forward a draft statewide mandatory ergonomics rule to the MIOSHA General Industry Safety Standards Commission and the Occupational Health Standards Commission for further action. The move brings Michigan closer to adopting a job-killing mandatory ergonomics standard for all employers and would make Michigan the only state, other than California, to have such a rule.
"At a time when Michigan is shedding jobs by the thousands, we are about to become only the second state in the country to have our own state-specific ergonomics standard replete with fines, penalties and compliance enforcement. Many other states have wisely followed the federal OSHA lead and have taken a voluntary approach to ergonomics programs for employers, but the Granholm administration and the labor unions seem intent on pushing job providers to the brink.
"Now is not the time to saddle small business with a new set of rules, regulations and costs. We need to be making Michigan a better place to do business, not go backwards by put more bureaucracy on the backs of small-business owners."
