Do we have to have an ergonomics program?
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California’s ergonomics regulation (CA Stat. Labor Code Sec. 6357 and 8 CCR Sec. 5110), the first in the nation, requires employers to comply if all of the following circumstances are present:
- At least two employees performing the same task report that they suffer from a repetitive motion injury (RMI).
- The injuries are caused predominantly (50 percent or more) by repetitive job processes or operations of identical work activity such as, but not limited to, word processing, assembling, or loading.
- A licensed physician objectively identifies and diagnoses the RMIs as musculoskeletal injuries.
If these conditions are present, the employer must implement a program designed to minimize RMIs. The program must include:
Worksite evaluations. The employer must evaluate for exposures suspected of causing the reported RMIs.
Controlling exposures. Once the employer decides which exposures caused the RMIs, the employer must promptly correct them, or, if that is not possible, minimize them.
Training. Employers must provide training that covers:
—The employers’ ergonomics program
—The exposures associated with the RMIs
—The symptoms and consequences of RMIs
—Importance of reporting symptoms and injuries to the employer
—Methods the employer uses to minimize RMIs.
Taking the measures listed above will satisfy the employer’s obligation, unless the employer is aware of, but does not take, a measure that is substantially certain to cause greater reduction of injuries and would not impose additional unreasonable costs on the employer.
For further information, visit the DIR website.
— CELA Editors