October 14, 1997

OSHA DELAYS A CONTENTIOUS NEW RULE FOR SMALL BIZ

Edited by Douglas Harbrecht

Small business will get a reprieve later this month. The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration won't issue a controversial new record-keeping rule in late October as planned. Says one OSHA official: "It's been delayed until some time next year."

The proposed rule has caused a hoopla in mom-and-pop circles because it would increase the number of companies required to report safety and illness incidents, as well as expand the types of injuries reported.

The construction industry, especially, would be hit hard by the rule -- because it would require general contractors to keep track of any injuries sustained by employees of subcontractors. In addition, new ailments such as swollen hands and redness would be deemed "incidents" -- a change that contractors say would drive up the number of reports by construction workers. "It's obvious the people who wrote this rule don't understand the construction business," scoffs Craig Brightup, lobbyist for the National Roofing Contractors Assn.

In mid-September hearings on Capitol Hill, OSHA officials argued that the new regs would make their record-keeping more streamlined and cheaper. Only 10% of companies nationwide would be covered by the change, and it would hike the regulatory burden by only $4.7 million a year, they testified.

Gregory R. Watchman, OSHA's acting assistant secretary, says an average company would spend about $40 per year to comply. Not so, argues Representative Jim Talent (R-Mo.), chairman of the House Committee on Small Business. Talent has led the charge to delay the rules. "OSHA has functioned largely as an adversary to the private sector, and has been perceived as such by most small businesses," he claims.

On Oct. 7, the Senate held confirmation hearings for incoming OSHA head Charles N. Jeffress, deputy director for the North Carolina Labor Dept. Jeffress is expected to be confirmed -- but instantly will be confronted by Republican attempts to overhaul OSHA. Even Democrats are nervous about issuing another controversial rule days after Jeffress takes charge. "Everyone wants to make sure he's up and running," says one Labor Dept. official. The bottom line: Some breathing room for small businesses.

By Mary Beth Regan in Washington