Employers Urge Congress to Reject Costly Ergonomics Rule Adopted by OSHA
Employers across the country are calling on their representatives in the US House and Senate to block a sweeping ergonomics rule adopted by the US Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) in the final weeks of the Clinton Administration.  If both houses approve a resolution of disapproval by mid-April, President Bush will be able to stop the costly regulation from taking effect in October 2001.

The OSHA rule applies to companies in most industries with 11 or more employees. A single repetitive-motion injury may force an employer to establish an entire ergonomics training program if the job causing the problem cannot be restructured through a "quick fix."  Companies must undertake a "hazard analysis" of jobs that trigger worker complaints.  Employers also must provide-at their cost-access to a healthcare professional for employees with complaints, and if necessary arrange for a second or even third opinion from other professionals. The regulations also stipulate that injuries occurring outside work are considered "work-related" if they are aggravated by workplace activities. In fact, an ergonomic "incident" under the rule may be triggered whenever an employee complains of disorders as vague as "pain", "tingling" or "cramps" for seven days.  Industry experts charge that the OSHA rule effectively permits employees to act as their own "compliance officer"-diagnosing their own injuries and feelings, determining the pace of their work and dictating their cure. Under the rule, an employee with an ergonomic injury must be given a temporary light duty job at full pay.  If alternative work is not available, the worker may leave work with pay for up to 90 days while their job or work environment is restructured.  Such workers must be paid 90% of their regular salary, far more than injured workers receive through Workers' Compensation.  This provision gives workers a powerful incentive to portray every ache and pain as an "ergonomic" injury. OSHA estimates the new regulations will cost American employers more than $4 billion, but industry analysts expect the actual compliance figure to be far higher. Businesses across the country object to the fact that this costly ergonomics rule was rushed through in the final months of the Clinton Administration without adequate public input and scrutiny.  In recent years, employers have made significant reductions in workplace injuries and illnesses.  Companies are puzzled by the rush to enact these vague OSHA guidelines. Businesses object strongly to the regulations that force them to somehow detect and correct a category of injuries that physicians themselves struggle to define.  There are still many unanswered questions about the existence, cause and frequency of repeat stress injuries (RSI).  Small firms are particularly concerned about how they are supposed to comply. NJBIA urges concerned members to contact their representatives in the US House and Senate and ask them to support the resolution disapproving the OSHA ergonomics standard.  For a list of congressional representatives' phone numbers, visit Contact Your Legislators on this Web site.

New Jersey Employers Rally to Oppose Paid Family Leave
New Jersey employers of all sizes are urging their state legislators to oppose any efforts to enact a paid leave mandate in the Garden State.  A-3049/S-1923 would make New Jersey the first and only state in the nation to require employers with as few as two employees to provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave for both mothers and fathers of newborn or newly adopted children.  Employees would receive 12 weeks of unemployment benefits under the legislation.

Employers can ill afford this mandate.  Costs will soar and productivity will plummet as employers struggle to find replacement workers in the tightest labor market in 30 years.  These costs could virtually bankrupt a small business, and would seriously disrupt larger companies as well. The state's Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund is at the same level it was ten years ago. With a possible economic slowdown in the near future, we cannot afford to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in UI benefits to employees who already have a job. Present law makes clear that employer tax rates must increase to cover any shortfall in the Trust Fund that inevitably would result from this mandate. While all employers' operations would be severely disrupted, the greatest impact would be felt by small businesses.  The legislation applies to companies with as few as two employees and, because their employees pay into the unemployment insurance (UI) system, they cannot be excluded.  Small employers especially cannot cope with the prolonged absence of employees. Finding substitute workers may be impossible.  Companies are already struggling with the most severe skilled labor shortage in 30 years!  Many companies cannot find the qualified workers they need now, let alone temporary replacements for employees out on paid leave. Paid leave would put New Jersey out of step with employment policies nationwide.  A-3049/S-1923 reinforces New Jersey's reputation as a state that fails to reconcile its laws with practices in other states.  We cannot compete for jobs while imposing costs that neighboring states do not.  New Jersey should not become the only place in the country where paid family leave is law. Join the fight against paid leave! Send a letter to your legislator.

Available Now!
NJ's Best Guide to Wages & Salaries
The 2000-2001 NJBIA Compensation Report, a comprehensive industry-wide guide to salaries and wages paid by New Jersey companies, is now available from the New Jersey Business & Industry Association.

Published every two years, the report is compiled from detailed surveys of hundreds of New Jersey companies reporting data for more than 25,000 employees.  It provides detailed salary, wage, and payroll information for more than 200 job classifications in 12 job families.  The report is available for $95 plus New Jersey sales tax for NJBIA members and $200 plus tax for nonmembers. For more information, contact Dawn Miller at 609-393-7707, ext. 224.

THE LAW AT WORK
Cyberspace Harassment: What You Need to Know
By Thomas Lewis and Angela Deitch

Employers face new challenges attempting to prevent harassment and discrimination in the workplace.  Access to the Internet has become commonplace, giving employees access to explicit and harassing cyberspace material. Employee use of the Internet and other means of electronic communication has expanded the potential exposure of employers to charges of workplace harassment and discrimination.  An employee may be subjected to unwelcome advances and/or other forms of discrimination through the exchange of messages on the Internet or via e-mail.  Electronic communication through the Internet and e-mail is often informal and colloquial.  An employee will boldly prepare an e-mail that would never survive written formal correspondence.  Furthermore, employees mistakenly believe that a deleted e-mail or Internet message is destroyed forever.   The New Jersey courts have begun to address the role of e-mail and Internet use in connection with harassment and discrimination claims.  The NJ Supreme Court recently held that an employer who has noticed that employees are engaged in a pattern of retaliatory harassment using a work-related on-line forum has a duty to remedy that harassment. If the employer does not remedy the online harassment, the employer can be held liable for discrimination and/or harassment.  If employers exercise reasonable care to prevent and correct harassing and discriminating behavior, they can raise various affirmative defenses. Employers should develop a formal electronic communications policy regulating employee Internet and e-mail use.  Any policy implemented by the employer should reference the employer's sexual harassment and discrimination policies.  Employers should alert employees that any form of Internet or e-mail harassment or discrimination will not be tolerated and will be grounds for corrective action, up to and including termination of employment. If an employer properly utilizes preventive measures, and employees are generally aware of what is expected of them, the employer's potential liability from cyberspace should be controlled. Practical Applications of the Law-All employers need to be concerned about harassment by means of any electronic equipment. What an employee might hesitate to say (or show) to a coworker might easily and quickly be transmitted electronically to a much larger audience inside or outside the company. When I review a company's harassment policy, rarely do I find reference to this relatively new area of concern.  Employers need to provide information on what is and isn't allowed in the workplace.  An employer should include the def-inition of harassment, both sexual and other forms, and state that workplace discrimination is illegal and will not be tolerated. (Harassment is a form of discrimination.)  Several examples of prohibited behavior would help employees recognize and avoid it.  Examples of sexual harassment might include a supervisor linking an employee submission to sexual activity as a term or condition of employment, a coworker's unwelcome pressure for dates, a vendor's or customer's off-color jokes or offensive gender-based remarks. Other forms of harassment might include racial or ethnic slurs, or derogatory comments about someone's age or disability. The standards for determining hostile environment sexual harassment are being applied by the courts to other forms of workplace harassment.  Therefore, electronic transmission can be seen as a faster, quicker means to deliver the unwelcome comments. Misuse of electronic media, via the Internet or e-mail, extends to other forms of communication—telephone and voice mail, fax, or photocopier.  Each can be a channel for an offensive message.  Messages, cartoons, jokes, or stories, which routinely circulate inside some companies and get forwarded to friends and acquaintances outside, are often inappropriate use of company equipment.  They can be offensive to coworkers and a potential legal nightmare for the employer. Managers and supervisors are the first line of defense against discrimination, but need to be supported by a company policy and procedure that clearly addresses prohibited behavior.  Thomas Lewis is a partner in the Lawrenceville-based law firm of Stark & Stark where he leads the Employment Law Group specializing in the defense of companies involved in employment disputes.
Angela Deitch is the president of Angela Deitch Consulting, a management consulting firm in West Trenton.  Reprinted with permission of the PRINCETON BUSINESS JOURNAL

NJ ECONOMY-2001 FORECAST
Slowdown, Yes. Recession, No.
In his twice yearly report to Congress earlier this month, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan offered reassuring words to anyone worried that the nation is on the brink of a recession.

Greenspan observed that the economy slowed, "perhaps even to the point of...stalling" at the end of 2000, but is expected to regain momentum in the second half, with the Gross Domestic Product growing at a 2 to 21/2 percent rate for the full year. He said the slowdown- attributable to a sudden drop in demand for durable goods and capital equipment-should ease as businesses react quickly to reduce stores of excess inventories. Greenspan said new economic data provides solid evidence that the economy remains on sound footing. Productivity growth remained exceptionally strong in the fourth quarter, despite the economic slowdown, and was up 4.3 percent for all of 2000, the best gain since 1983. Retail sales also rebounded sharply in January, after falling off in December, showing that all-important consumer spending isn't dead yet. What's good for the nation is, of course, good for New Jersey. We, too, should expect a slowdown, but not a recession. That is the firm conclusion of the region's economic forecasters, including the Governor's Council of Economic Advisors. Says Joseph J. Seneca, chairman of the Governor's Council of Economic Advisors, "The New Jersey economy has been so good for so long that any slowing may feel like a shock, but our economy is fundamentally sound." Seneca and other regional economists note that New Jersey is particularly well positioned to weather a slowdown. Notable reasons are the diversity of our industries, a diminishing reliance on manufacturing, and an exceedingly robust service sector. We also benefit from a high rate of job creation in high performance industry clusters that include information technology, research & development, pharmaceuticals, finance/insurance, logistics, and entertainment. We possess the nation's second highest per capita income, and we are likely to enjoy continued healthy income growth, which should underpin modest gains in retail sales. The construction industry, while slowing from its frenetic pace in 2000, is supported by a strong spillover of demand for housing and commercial properties. Falling mortgage rates should help to keep demand buoyant. New Jersey will also continue to benefit from robust economic activity in neighboring New York City, which since 1998 has experienced its fastest job growth in a half century. In its 2001 forecast, the Council of Economic Advisors, predicts that New Jersey—after creating more than 60,000 new jobs in 2000—will create an average of 45,000 new jobs this year and next, a respectable rate of job creation. The average rate of unemployment in 2001 will rise slightly to 4 percent, up from a record low of 3.8 percent last year. Retail sales should rise a modest 3.7 percent this year, down from an unsustainable 9 percent in each of the last two years. Contributing to the retail slowdown will be a 5 percent drop off in new-car sales, which rose a blistering 16 percent last year, an all-time record. The purchase of 675,000 vehicles last year put the equivalent of one new car in front of every five homes. The issuance of residential building permits is expected to slide this year to 27,500, down from a peak of nearly 32,000 in 1999. Housing demand will continue to outpace supply, creating one of the tightest housing markets in the country and driving up prices. (The price of single-family homes rose 13 percent in New Jersey last year.) Spending on nonresidential construction, which reached a high of $5.25 billion last year, should remain level, bolstered by continued strong demand for corporate office space and low vacancy rates. New Jersey's multibillion-dollar transportation and school-construction projects also will help to keep construction spending at healthy levels. Although it may be too early to say that we are completely out of the woods, the weight of evidence suggests that the state and national economies retain plenty of vigor and should remain recession-free in the year ahead.

NJ Economy - 2001 Forecast
2001Forecast
Gross State Product (billions) $372.7
Personal Income (billions) $324.4
Retail Sales (billions) $106.0
New car registrations (thous.) 641.9
Consumer Price Index
Total Employment (thous.) 3,970.0
Changes From 2000
Gross State Product (billions) 4.8%
Personal Income (billions) 5.2%
Retail Sales (billions) 3.7
New car registrations (thous.) -5.0%
Consumer Price Index 2.5%
Total Employment (thous.) 1.1% Source: NJ Council of Economic Advisors