A bill that would allow the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) to pursue rules preventing workplace ergonomic injuries like carpal tunnel and other “musculoskeletal” injuries is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate this week. A similar bill was passed out of the House last year but failed to pass the Senate before the end of the 2022 session.

As we wrote for the 2022 version of the bill, in 2000, L&I adopted workplace ergonomics regulations requiring employers to reduce their workers’ exposure to practices that cause or contribute to musculoskeletal disorders. In 2003, Initiative 841 was passed, which repealed those rules and prohibited L&I from adopting similar rules or otherwise regulating workplace practices to prevent musculoskeletal disorders unless required by federal law.

SB 5217 is sponsored by Sen. Manka Dhingra (D–Redmond) and repeals I-841, but still places limits on L&I’s rulemaking abilities. It permits L&I to adopt rules regarding musculoskeletal injuries, up to one set of rules per year per industry or risk class. Rules may only be adopted for industries or risk classes where workers' comp claims are greater than two times the state average for musculoskeletal injuries over a recent five-year period. The bill requires L&I to report to the legislature when it intends to make ergonomic rules and include its criteria for choosing the industry or risk class for which the rules are being proposed. It also prohibits L&I from drafting ergonomics rules regulating in-home offices and permits the agency to provide funding to certain employers for purchasing equipment to comply with any new musculoskeletal injury rules.

In 2022, proponents of repealing I-841 argued that ergonomics have advanced since 2003 and that there are effective ways to prevent musculoskeletal disorders, especially in industries where such injuries make up the majority of the workers’ comp claims. Opponents argued that new ergonomic rules would be costly and burdensome to employers, that previous rules were overly long and complicated, that the science of preventing musculoskeletal injuries is unsettled, and existing laws and rules cover most of these types of practices anyway.

Dates to remember

SB 5217 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee on Tuesday, January 24 at 10:30 am.