OSHA is adding an extra week to the public hearings on its proposed ergonomics standard.
The extra hearings will take place May 8-12 in Washington, D.C.
According to OSHA, the extra week was added to accommodate the more than 300 requests the agency received from individuals and organizations that want to testify in Washington.
The exact location of the hearings has not been determined, however, OSHA said it will announce it at a later date.
The informal public hearing schedule for the proposed standard is now as follows:
March13-April 7, 2000 Washington, D.C.
Auditorium
Frances Perkins Building
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C.
April 11-21 Chicago, Ill.
Assembly Hall
James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph St.
Chicago, Ill.
April 24-May 3 Portland, Ore.
Courtroom 16
Mark Hatfield Federal Court House
1000 Southwest 3rd Ave.
Portland, Ore.
May 8-12 Washington, D.C.
Location to be announced.
The hearings begin every day at 8:30 a.m., and run approximately until 6 p.m., except the opening day, March 13, in Washington, when the hearing begins at 9:30 a.m.
In January, OSHA extended the comment period on the proposed standard to March 2, 2000 because organizations and individuals criticized the lack of time allotted to them to prepare comments.
The proposed OSHA standard would cover 27 million workers and prevent an average of 300,000 injuries each year, saving the U.S. economy $9 billion annually, according to OSHA.