A group of six insurance organizations and associations issued a resolution last month supporting OSHA’s plan to reduce ergonomic workplace injuries and illnesses, calling it a “sensible and balanced approach to addressing workplace ergonomic exposures.” The group includes: American Insurance Association; Alliance of American Insurers; Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers; National Association of Independent Insurers; National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies; and UWC-Strategic Services on Unemployment & Workers’ Compensation.
Collectively, these groups state that they representing large segments of the employer, insurer, and insurance agent and broker communities and strongly support efforts to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses. Specifically, the resolution states the groups:
- support the concept of voluntary, industry-specific guidelines for reducing [musculoskeletal disorders], where such guidelines are informed by generally accepted scientific findings and do not interfere with state workers’ compensation programs.
- believe that [musculoskeletal disorders] cannot be adequately addressed by a single, mandatory remedy that imposes rigid standards across industries with widely varying ergonomic exposures, or by a “one size fits all” approach that fails to take into account the physical stature and other unique aspects of individual workers.
- believe that efforts to address [musculoskeletal disorders] must be confined to consideration of workplace occurrences, and must therefore exclude injuries that result from, or are exacerbated by, activities unrelated to employment.
- support a comprehensive plan to reduce [musculoskeletal disorders] that will consist of voluntary industry- and task-specific guidelines, enforcement where applicable, outreach and assistance, and research.
The groups ended the document by offering their continued support in preventing [musculoskeletal disorders] and promoting the approach announced by OSHA.