Ergonomics rule called 'scary'

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- As expected, right to work tops the agenda of the State Chamber of Commerce for the 2001 Oklahoma Legislature.

But at a briefing Tuesday, newly implemented federal "ergonomics rules" were cited as the most pressing issue facing Oklahoma businesses.

Ergonomics? It has to do with musculoskeletal disorders, such things as carpal tunnel syndrome or back pain and similar ailments caused by repetitive motion or stress.

Mike Seney, Chamber vice president, said a federal rule that took effect Jan. 16 could cost Oklahoma employers $1 billion.

"It's scary," Seney said of new rules of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that could require an employer to pay 90 percent of the salary of a worker with a qualifying ailment.

"It's going to be a backbreaker" for Oklahoma businesses, he said.

Seney said he plans to ask Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson to file a lawsuit on the grounds the OSHA rules encroach on the state's workers compensation system.

In addition, Chamber officials said they are supporting efforts of national business groups to overturn the rules.

In the area of right to work, Richard P. Rush, Chamber president, expressed confidence a referendum would pass if referred to the people by the Legislature.

He said Oklahoma could compete better in a global economy if the state passed a law prohibiting union membership from being used as a criteria for employment.

The Chamber's agenda called for various tax cuts, incentives to increase movie production in Oklahoma, a streamlining of government regulations and more funding for transportation needs.

Rush listed clarification of state ethics rules on "things of value" as another important legislative goal.

He said the change need not affect the Ethics Commission's financial reporting requirements for elected officials.

"We support reporting of expenses as long as this public documentation does not jeopardize prospects looking at locating or expanding in Oklahoma," he said.

At a meeting last week, the Ethics Commission discussed a proposal to add lodging to the items excluded from a rule prohibiting public officials from accepting "anything of value"

in excess $300.

Critics of the proposed rule, which is still pending, said it would lead to officials going on junkets that had little to do with recruiting jobs.

Last year, an ethics complaint was filed by a Democratic official against Republican Gov. Frank Keating, who went on an Alaskan fishing trip valued at more than $6,000 and paid for by a company that has lobbyists at the Capitol.