Labor Department to Propose Weaker Workplace Injury Rules

The Labor Department will propose rules that deal with workplace repetitive motion injuries today, just days after the House voted to cut the department’s budget for refusing to honor Republican calls for a moratorium on new safety regulations.

The ergonomic regulations proposed by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration are dramatically weaker than those drafted in June, before the Republicans took control of both houses of Congress.

Under intense political pressure, the Labor Department’s rules would now cover 2.6 million businesses instead of 6.1 million. The employees covered would drop to 21 million from 96 million.

Companies would no longer be required to review workers’ compensation and OSHA records to try to identify jobs that cause ergonomic injuries. Employers also would not be required to evaluate their ergonomic programs.