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House Vote To Block New Ergonomics Rules Supports Small Business, Says NADA

9 June 2000

House Vote To Block New Ergonomics Rules Supports Small Business, Says NADA

    WASHINGTON - The National Automobile Dealers Association today praised the 
U.S. House of Representatives for voting to prevent the Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration from imposing a new group of expensive and highly 
restrictive workplace ergonomic standards.

    The House, by a vote of 220 to 203, rejected an amendment to an
appropriations bill that would have allowed funding for OSHA's new proposed
ergonomics standards. The final House vote on the bill is expected next week.

    "This vote is another important step towards protecting America's auto and
truck dealerships and other small businesses from these unreasonable and
overly burdensome regulations," said Harold B.Wells, NADA Chairman and a new-
car dealer from Whiteville, N.C.  "It would be difficult, if not impossible
for dealers to comply with the rules as proposed.  NADA will continue to work
to ensure that such damaging regulations are not unjustly imposed on our
members."

    Despite opposition from the Clinton Administration, the provision
preventing OSHA from going forward with the new regulations was added to a
funding bill for the Labor, Education and Health and Human Services
Departments.

    NADA has filed comments with the Federal Government and testified at
hearings to decry serious flaws in proposed regulations, stating that the
proposed rule inappropriately assumes too much knowledge and expertise on the
part of small businesses and focuses too much on identifying injuries instead
of eliminating hazards.

    Under the ergonomics proposal, employers would be required to identify
work-related ergonomic hazards and establish complex corrective programs.  The
rule covers all employees who perform manual handling tasks, including
dealership service and body shop technicians.  The requirement also would be
extended to all other job categories -- such as dealership sales staff and
office personnel -- once a single employee in that position develops a work-
related musculoskeletal disorder.

    The regulation would cause workers' compensation costs to increase
significantly, as employers would be required to provide 90 percent of after-
tax earnings and 100 percent of benefits for up to six months to employees
unable to work due to ergonomic-related injuries.  For employees put on light
duty due to injuries, employers would have to provide 100 percent of after-tax
earnings and benefits.

    The National Automobile Dealers Association represents more than 19,500
franchised new-car and -truck dealers holding nearly 40,000 separate
franchises, domestic and import.  Together they employ more than 1 million
people, yet more than 80 percent are small businesses as defined by the Small
Business Administration.