Fresno Newspaper Ordered to Make Changes in VDTs

In one of the few government rulings in the nation requiring specific protection for workers who use video display terminals, Cal/OSHA has ordered the Fresno Bee to provide adjustable furniture, training and hourly breaks from typing to lessen the risk of repetitive-strain injuries.

The state workplace safety agency said the newspaper--whose reporters and copy editors have complained for two years of widespread health problems related to intense VDT use--must begin making some of the changes as early as next month.

Bee executives said they plan to appeal the Cal/OSHA order because it duplicates planned equipment purchases and other measures already in effect. Representatives of the Northern California Newspaper Guild, whose complaint last spring led to the investigation, said they believe the paper would not have initiated those improvements as quickly without Cal/OSHA intervention.

The state called for the changes in a “special order” made public late Wednesday after a final conference with newspaper officials. The order--applicable only to the Bee--was issued because the state has yet to develop regulations governing safe use of VDTs.