The Bush Administration?s proposed voluntary ergonomics standards came under intense criticism from Democratic committee members yesterday, at a public hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today (see WIT for April 5, 2002). Bush Labor Secretary Elaine Chao?s attempts to counter concerns about the voluntary standards by promising that her department would use lawsuits against uncooperative employers, backfired when Democrats cited an article by current Labor Department Eugene Scalia condemning such lawsuits. Democrats on the Committee also pointed to the standards? restriction to the nursing home industry, and cuts in occupational health and safety training and enforcement, in further condemning the Bush Administration on its approach to both repetitive stress injuries and workplace hazards in general.
See "Democrats Question Bush Policies on Workplace Injuries", STEVEN GREENHOUSE, The New York Times, April 18, 2002