Labor Hearings to Address Repetitive Stress Injuries

Buffeted by criticism of inaction, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said Thursday she will hold three hearings on work-related injuries, a first step toward pursuing a Bush administration policy to protect workers through employer cooperation.

The hearings will be July 16 in Washington, July 20 in Chicago and July 24 in Los Angeles, with a goal of developing a universal definition of injuries caused by repetitive motion and stress.

Chao will decide by September whether she will pursue another government regulation or a voluntary policy.

Ergonomics is the science of adapting working conditions to suit individual employees. Critics have complained that there is insufficient scientific evidence to justify employer regulations that were issued late in the Clinton administration but repealed in March by the Republican-controlled Congress. Since then, Chao has been under pressure to say how she will address workplace injuries.

The hearings are intended to develop a consensus on how the injuries occur and establish the federal government’s role in identifying such injuries.

The hearings will also help fulfill Chao’s pledge to conduct a “comprehensive review” of the issue. She promised that it was a priority, but until now she had declined to set a timetable or discuss how she would proceed.

Her reluctance to answer such questions has earned her tough criticism at several congressional hearings, especially from Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who said he voted to repeal the regulations with the understanding that the administration would address the issue.

In Congress, bills have been introduced that would require the agency’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a final rule within two years--over the objections of the White House and the Labor Department.