U.S. labour department seeks greater input from small business
The United States Department of Labour's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) announced it has temporarily withdrawn from review its proposal to restore a column for work-related musculoskeletal disorders on employer injury and illness logs.
The agency has taken this action to seek greater input from small businesses on the impact of the proposal.
"Work-related musculoskeletal disorders remain the leading cause of workplace injury and illness in this country, and this proposal is an effort to assist employers and OSHA in better identifying problems in workplaces," said David Michaels, assistant secretary of labour for occupational health and safety. "However, it is clear that the proposal has raised concern among small businesses, so OSHA is facilitating an active dialogue between the agency and the small business community."
MSDs accounted for 28 percent of all reported workplace injuries and illnesses requiring time away from work in 2009, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics in the U.S.
The proposed rule would not change existing requirements about when and under what circumstances employers must record MSDs on their injury and illness logs. While many employers are currently required to keep a record of workplace injuries and illnesses, including work-related MSDs, on the OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses), the vast majority of small businesses are not required to keep such records. The proposed rule would require those employers already mandated to keep injury and illness records, and to record MSDs, to place a check mark in the new column for all MSDs.
Prior to 2001, OSHA's injury and illness logs contained a column for repetitive trauma disorders that included noise and many kinds of MSDs. In 2001, OSHA separated noise and MSDs into two columns, but the MSD column was deleted in 2003 before the provision became effective. This proposal would restore the MSD column to the Form 300.
