The Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) opposes an ergonomics bill that the state Legislature’s labor committee recently approved, saying it “would give employees in Connecticut the responsibility to write company ergonomics policies, investigate complaints, and make judgments on complex medical questions.”
The association says the legislation “assigns a highly technical task to employees who most often lack the appropriate training.” Getting that training, the group maintains, would be costly and distracting to most state workplaces.
House Bill 5740 would authorize a company’s safety and health committee to review and analyze injury and illness records and develop written ergonomics policies and procedures.
According to CBIA, most Connecticut employers say their current safety and health committees would be overwhelmed by the new responsibilities outlined in the proposed measure.
The association says Connecticut employers prefer to rely on the recommendations of the National Advisory Committee on Ergonomics for guidance; NACE was among organizations strongly opposed to a proposed federal ergonomics standard.
CBIA also points to the considerable cost involved in hiring outside vendors to train employees to properly comply with the proposed measure.
Sources: Business and Legal Reports; Connecticut Business and Industry Association – www.cbia.com