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Do workers want OSHA’s ergonomics regulations?

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OSHA’s proposed Ergonomics Rule will clearly impose serious costs on firms across many industries, but industries where MSD risk is highest will face much greater costs. OSHA recognizes this by excluding some high-risk industries. For the higher risk indus-tries that are covered by the proposal, OSHA suggests that benefits to firms and employ-ees will outweigh these costs. We argue that OSHA has ignored the importance of differences in individual preferences for accepting risk and that compensating wage differentials allow different individuals to maximize their utility by making trade-offs between safety and wages.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mercatus Center, George Mason University, 22201, Arlington, VA

    Joseph M. Johnson & Wendy L. Gramm

  2. Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, MA

    W. Kip Viscusi

Authors
  1. Joseph M. Johnson
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  2. Wendy L. Gramm
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  3. W. Kip Viscusi
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Johnson, J.M., Gramm, W.L. & Viscusi, W.K. Do workers want OSHA’s ergonomics regulations?. J Labor Res 22, 137–143 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12122-001-1008-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12122-001-1008-9

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