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Health Issues in Business

is to transfer the worker to another position within the grams. These include industrial hygienists, certified safety
company. professionals, federal and state OSHA programs, and
The second act is the Family and Medical Leave Act NIOSH.
(FMLA), which was enacted in August 1993 and applies
to employers with fifty or more employees. Employees Ergonomics. Ergonomics also plays a significant role in
who have worked for employers in this category for longer the prevention of workplace injuries and illness.
than one year are entitled to take up to twelve weeks of Ergonomics is the science of designing and arranging tools
unpaid leave annually for certain medical or family situa- and equipment to fit workers. The overall goal is to pre-
tions, including suffering from a serious health condition vent workplace illness and injuries that result from poor
themselves. The FMLA requires employers to guarantee workstation design or improperly designed equipment.
employees who take a leave the right to return to an equiv- Workstation evaluations are an example of an
alent job—that is, the pay, benefits, and other terms and ergonomic program that many large companies employ.
conditions of employment must be equivalent. This pro- During this evaluation, a health and safety professional
vides employees who are temporarily disabled with job evaluates workers performing daily tasks at their worksta-
security. tions. The health and safety professional observes the
workers in order to evaluate the “fit” of the workspace,
furniture, and equipment to the workers.
THE ROLE OF WORKERS’
COMPENSATION LAWS In the case of a worker who spends the majority of
the day at a computer, the professional would look at sev-
The original purpose of workers’ compensation laws was
eral factors to determine the degree to which the worksta-
to protect employers as well as employees in cases of occu-
tion fits. These factors include the height and position of
pational injury or illness. Employers were protected from
the computer screen and keyboard in reference to the
lawsuits initiated by employees seeking restitution for
worker’s body posture, the height and position of the
workplace illness or injury, and employees were compen-
sated for the cost of medical care in addition to lost wages. worker’s chair, and the types of movements the worker
makes while performing tasks. From this evaluation,
Currently, most private employers are required to have
changes may be made to alleviate discomfort and prevent
workers’ compensation insurance, with the exception of
harmful injuries. These changes may include the reposi-
employers in New Jersey, South Carolina, and Texas.
tioning of furniture, or in some cases, the purchase of
Workers’ compensation insurance is no-fault. In more appropriate equipment and furniture. For example,
other words, regardless of who is at fault (the worker, a worker may be using a chair that does not provide the
employer, or neither), the employer is responsible for type of support the worker needs for sitting at the com-
compensating the worker for health care and lost wages. puter most of the day. “Standing” workstations are some-
The employee’s responsibility is to notify the employer as times provided for workers who cannot sit comfortably all
soon as an injury or illness occurs. Workers’ compensation day, but are able to stand without discomfort.
issues have become extremely complex because what is Adding a screen shield is another example of a simple
considered a compensable illness or injury (warranting change that could drastically cut down on the amount of
restitution by the employer) varies considerably from state eye strain due to glare that a worker experiences at the
to state. The most liberal state is California, where any dis- computer. In addition to the evaluation, the health and
ease alleged to be aggravated by work-related stress could safety professional gives the worker advice on how to sit,
be compensable. This approach can distort statistical data how to position hands on the keyboard, and how often to
and it also makes it extremely difficult to control the costs take breaks.
of workers’ compensation insurance.
Early intervention is the key to preventing repetitive
motion disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal
PREVENTION tunnel syndrome is a condition that affects the median
Employers play a vital role in the prevention of workplace nerve in the wrist. Left unchecked it can cause pain,
injuries and illnesses. They are responsible for evaluating numbness, and tingling in the hand and wrist. Carpal
workplace injuries to discover possible causes and for tunnel syndrome accounts for 10 to 17 percent of repeti-
developing prevention strategies for those injuries. Other tive motion injuries.
employer responsibilities include safety and hazard train- There are no comprehensive ergonomic standards in
ing, drug testing, workstation evaluations, and enforce- force in the United States as of 2006. In February 1999,
ment of the use of protective equipment. Employers have OSHA proposed its first draft of ergonomics standards.
an array of resources from which to draw when analyzing Proponents believe it will help control the large numbers
workplace hazards and developing health and safety pro- of musculoskeletal disorders (disorders involving both

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION 365