STATE GOVERNMENT
House votes to restore state’s ability to protect workers
Please TAKE ACTION to support Rep. Bronoske’s HB 1837, which would end prohibition on addressing musculoskeletal injuries at work
OLYMPIA (Feb. 16, 2022) — A bill to restore Washington state’s ability to address work-related musculoskeletal injuries and protect workers passed the House of Representatives on a 50-48 vote early Tuesday morning after a marathon 9-hour all-night attempt by Republicans to filibuster and kill the bill.
TAKE A STAND — Please take a couple of minutes today to do two things:
Thank the state representatives who stood strong all night long against Republicans’ procedural tactics, and voted “yes” on HB 1837. *** IMPORTANT! — If you enter your address and get the message, “Sorry no recipients were found,” that means none of your Representatives voted “yes” on HB 1837. So skip this action and proceed to…
Urge your state senator to take action on HB 1837 and to stand strong with working families (as the House did) and vote “yes.”
Musculoskeletal disorders, sometimes called ergonomic injuries, occur when the body uses muscles, tendons, and ligaments to perform tasks, often in awkward positions or in frequent, repetitive activities, that can create pain and injury over time such as pulled muscles, rotator-cuff syndrome, and carpal-tunnel syndrome, among others.
While many of these injuries can be prevented, under current law, workers in Washington do not have protections related to repetitive motion injuries.
In 2000, the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) adopted workplace ergonomics regulations requiring employers to put in place working practices to prevent incidences of musculoskeletal disorders. These measures were thrown out by Initiative 841 in 2003.
Over the past two decades, there’s been extensive research into musculoskeletal disorders associated with workplace injury and the findings show that 40 percent of Washington’s compensable workers’ comp claims are for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD). These injuries are expensive: between 2006-2015 direct costs for WMSD claims totaled $3.8 billion, or an average of $378 million a year.
The types of injuries sustained by these essential workers are costing them directly through lost wages and lower earning potential after recovery, and indirectly through lost quality of life and increased familial stress.
Employment Security Department data on claimants of carpal tunnel syndrome found that after five years, the median covered earnings were only 82 percent of their pre-injury earnings.
According to L&I’s Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention Program (SHARP), workers of color are disproportionately impacted as they are more likely to perform hazardous work, experience higher rates of work-related injury illness, and have worse disability outcomes.
If passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, HB 1837 would restore the state’s ability to address work-related musculoskeletal injuries by allowing L&I to reduce these types of injuries with the use of ergonomics. This legislation would protect workers, make workplaces safer and save businesses and workers money.
With this measure, Washington would join Oregon, California, and New Hampshire, which already regulate workplace ergonomics to prevent injuries.