Congress has been fighting off ergonomics laws for the better part of a decade. Somehow, repetitive-stress injuries just don't exist in its world. Out of sight, out of mind was its motto. Well, they do exist in the world the rest of us work in.
People do suffer injuries from repeating the same process over and over on the job.
Their wrists and their backs ache, all because of work. That number represents 56 percent of all non-fatal occupational ailments. The question is whether a government regulatory square peg can be used to fit into a round hole. Both the Senate and House have agreed to scuttle them, and there is every indication that President Bush will agree. Never during the debate did anyone suggest an alternative set of regulations, or even looser regulations.