Pressure from Congressional leaders and business owners nationwide helped persuade the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to withdraw an injury reporting proposal as well as a noise control interpretation, citing the need for more input.
The injury reporting proposal would restore in employer injury and illness logs a column for work-related musculoskeletal injuries. The proposal was withdrawn on Jan. 26 and would have affected small businesses that currently don't track such injuries.
The noise control interpretation was withdrawn on Jan. 19. It sought to clarify the terms "feasible administrative or engineering controls" as used in the agency's noise standard. The interpretation faced congressional pressure from Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., who wrote a joint letter addressing their concerns to the assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health.
OSHA said it plans to gather more input and information from small businesses around the country and will use such information in moving forward with the proposal and interpretation.
