Employers with Ergonomic Hazards Will be Contacted by OSHA to Ensure Compliance

Employers that have been inspected for ergonomic hazards and have received an ergonomics hazard alert letter (EHAL) since April 1, 2002, will be contacted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to determine whether they have addressed the hazards identified in their workplaces.

The agency outlined the follow-up procedure in an April 6th compliance directive posted on its Web site. Ergonomic Hazard Alert Letter Follow-up Policy (CPL 02-00-144) is dated April 2 and describes specific procedures the agency will follow when contacting employers that have received an EHAL.

Under the procedure, OSHA first will contact employers by telephone and facsimile one year after an EHAL has been delivered to determine whether identified hazards and deficiencies have been addressed.

Once phone or fax contact is made, the employer will be faxed a copy of the original EHAL and a letter requesting:

• measures taken to address hazards noted in the EHAL;
• copies of injury and illness logs dating to the close of the inspections that prompted the letter; and,
• the estimated number of full-time employees or work hours for exposed employees for the time period corresponding to their injury and illness reports.

Employers will be questioned about all ergonomic injury control measures that have been implemented, including those that were recommended in the original EHAL, OSHA said. Employers will have 20 working days after the phone/fax contact to respond to OSHA, the directive said.

The agency then will categorize employers' responses as:

• No response--the employer did not respond to the EHAL or telephone/fax inquiry.
• Inadequate response--the employer did not establish that it had taken useful steps to reduce the hazard identified in the EHAL.
• On-the-right-track response--the employer has undertaken measures to address the hazards identified in the EHAL, the efforts may have either stalled or have not been sufficient to address the hazards, and injury and/or severity rates are not improving.
• Successful Response--the employer has implemented measures which address the hazards in the EHAL.

The follow-up process also provides for additional contact with employers and for unannounced inspections. According to OSHA enforcement figures, over 400 ergonomics hazard alert letters were sent to employers from April 2002 through May 2006.

Over the years, Congress has tried to and has succeeded in limiting OSHA's ability to issue an ergonomics standard. However, OSHA can conduct inspections for ergonomic hazards and issue citations under the General Duty Clause, as well as issuing ergonomic hazard alert letters where appropriate.

In addition, OSHA has developed industry-specific guidelines as part of its comprehensive approach to ergonomics. Thus far, these industries include nursing homes, retail grocers, poultry, and printing.

The EHAL directive is effective for three years from the date it was signed. It is the first compliance document posted by OSHA in 2007. To review a copy of OSHA's EHAL compliance directive, visit www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=DIRECTIVES&p_id=3511.