08/25/2008
CONTACT: Charles Owens, 517-485-3409 or 517-282-2052 (cell)
LANSING, Mich. -- Charles Owens, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business/Michigan, told state regulators today to go back and "do over" a proposal to develop a Michigan-specific ergonomics standard that would be imposed upon Michigan's employers. Owens' comments came during testimony before a joint meeting of the Michigan Occupational Health and Safety Administration (MIOSHA) General Industry Safety Standards Commission (GISS) and the Occupational Health Standards Commission (OHSC). The standard, as proposed, would make Michigan the only state besides California with an ergonomics standard, with Michigan's version being the most stringent.
"It defies logic for Michigan to develop rules and regulations that would make our state even less friendly to business at a time when our unemployment rate leads the nation," Owens said.
Owens criticized commissioners for delaying public input on the proposed new regulations, arguing that no policy should have even been considered without first gathering input from business and labor.
"The fact is that public hearings and input from business and labor should have been sought before regulators acted to charge the ergonomics advisory committee to develop a rule back in 2002," Owens said.
According to Owens, MIOSHA has been wasting taxpayer money developing the rule for the last five years because the two MIOSHA standards commissions that embarked on this process back in 2002 did so with almost no public process or notice to the business community.
Owens also noted that regulators have not met the requirement under Michigan law to demonstrate a "clear and convincing need" for the promulgation of rules more stringent than federal requirements.
"In addition to the absence of public input before deciding to develop a rule, data from the Bureau of Labor statistics shows that Michigan's incidence of ergonomics injuries has decreased by 38.8 percent between 1998 and 2004 without any mandated standard," Owens said. "Given these statistics, where is the 'clear and convincing need' required in the MIOSHA Act to develop this rule?"
Owens also pointed out that all of the big business representatives on the ergonomics advisory committee saw fit to exempt themselves from the standard while requiring the smallest Michigan business to comply with the proposed rule.
Given the process thus far, Owens urged commissioners to go back to the drawing board.
Owens said, "Before entangling Michigan's struggling small employers with a fresh roll of red tape, the General Industry Safety Standards Commission and the Occupational Health Standards Commission should send this entire process back to square one to determine if a new mandatory rule is even needed in the first place."
