Perhaps bowing to pressure from President Obama and his initiative to review all federal regulations to see if they're business friendly or not, OSHA has withdrawn from review by the OMB its proposal to require musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) reporting on the yearly Log 300 injury and illness report.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must review all proposed regulations for their fiscal impact, and the MSD proposal had been submitted for review early in 2010 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Yesterday, OSHA drew back the proposal and now intends to seek additional public commentary.

As part of the proposal, OSHA also originally intended to eliminate previous reporting language that excluded "minor musculoskeletal discomfort."

OSHA now says it "will do so [develop an MSD reporting standard] through outreach in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy."

OSHA regulates MSDs under the OSH Act's General Duty Clause, so regardless of the fate of this reporting proposal, employers across the land are required to provide safe and health workplaces that prevent and/lor limit musculoskeletal disorders.

Regardless of the outcome of this proposed regulation, employers should ensure their workforces are protected from ergonomic-related injuries. Get your copy of Personnel Concepts Ergonomics Safety Program today and get in compliance.