"[P]eople acting in a group can accomplish things which no individual acting alone could even hope to bring about." - FDR

News & Analysis | REG•WATCH Blog | Press Room

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Labor Department Risk Rule Officially Unveiled

The Department of Labor has officially proposed a rule which would change the way two agencies, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), calculate on-the-job risks. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao proposed the rule on Friday in spite of widespread opposition from occupational health advocates and some in Congress. (Click here to find more background on the controversy up to this point.)

Like the draft rule leaked to the media in July, the proposal would require OSHA and MSHA to issue an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for each and every occupational health standard they issue. Forcing OSHA and MSHA to give advanced notice of their intent to propose new health standards is completely unnecessary. The requirement would merely add another step to an already lengthy process.

The added delay may be the Bush administration's attempt to secure a legacy of inaction in the field of occupational health. (Bush's OSHA has issued only one on-the-job exposure standard in seven years — and that was done under court order.)

The good news is that Chao's office dropped an entire section that had proposed to require OSHA and MSHA to retool their assumptions on the length of a working life. If OSHA or MSHA determined the average worker only worked in an industry for 20 years, for example, it could use that figure to calculate an exposure threshold. However, since the adverse effects of exposure can compound over time, all the workers on the job for above the average time would receive less protection.

Unfortunately, the proposal still refers to the need to adjust the working life figure, leaving the door open for watered-down standards in the future. The proposed rule states, "Risk assessments shall utilize the best available evidence, and the latest available scientific data in the field, including industry-by-industry evidence relating to working life exposures."

That could mean loads more work for regulators at OSHA and MSHA who would have to compile industry specific data sets for every rulemaking. While future administrations concerned with occupational health could still choose to maximize protection, less compassionate administrations (the current one comes to mind) could use this clause as a pretext to write weaker rules.

Chao's office will only accept public comment on the proposal for 30 days. (The standard comment period lasts 60 days.) Like several other controversial proposals, the Bush administration is clearly trying to ram this rule through before its term expires.