OSHA Plan to Regulate Teleworkers Criticized

(January 6, 2000) OSHA's advisory opinion asserting that OSHA workplace safety regulations apply to the homes of teleworkers encountered immediate and intense opposition from Republicans in the House of Representatives, as well as teleworkers, their employers, high tech companies, and advocates for reducing traffic congestion.

House Republicans mobilized quickly to oppose the Occupational Safety and Health Administration advisory opinion. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), who represents a district in northern Virginia which has severe traffic congestion problems, and high tech and other companies which allow many of their workers to "tele-commute", led the effort.

Rep. Wolf wrote a letter to President Clinton on January 5 stating that "the recent OSHA advisory is an outdated and overly regulatory approach to the realities of the modern-day workplace. The advisory will have a chilling effect on millions of employees across the nation who now telework and many more who want to telework."

Rep. Wolf noted that Bureau of Labor Statistics studies show that about 21 million Americans work out of their homes.

"I call on you to use your executive authority to act immediately to rescind this ill-advised interpretation by OSHA of the modern-day home worksite," Rep. Wolf asked Clinton.

Rep. Wolf also helped organize a large and long press conference on January 5 in which affected parties complained about the affects of the advisory opinion. Congress is in recess until January 24. Hence, many Representatives were not present, but issued statements instead.

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA)

Rep. Wolf is Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee's Transportation Subcommittee.

Rep. Wolf stated at Wednesday morning's event that "I am prepared to offer an amendment through the appropriations process to effectively eliminate this interpretation, in consultation with Chairman Goodling, Chairman Hoekstra, and Rep. Roy Blunt, who have been diligently monitoring this issue through committee hearings."

"We have also been in contact with Chairman Young and he has expressed 100 percent support for including a provision in the an appropriations measure to eliminate the OSHA interpretation."

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young issued a statement. In it he said that "OSHA has no right to invade the privacy of people in their homes. I doubt that Congress will allow any public funds to be used to carry out this unprecedented government intrusion into the private lives of American people."

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI)

Rep. Wolf was joined at the press conference by Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), who is Chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee’s Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee, which oversees OSHA.

"Putting home workers in the position of having to comply with thousands of pages of OSHA regulations and making employers responsible for making sure that they do so is simply foolish. It flies in the face of efforts to encourage people to work from home so that they can be close to their families and reduce pollution by cutting down on driving," said Rep. Hoekstra.

Rep. Hoekstra added at the press event that Rep. Goodling and "the rest of the Republicans on the Committee are in full support  of Chairman Wolf's efforts." He emphasized that "the authorizers and the appropriators are in full agreement."

Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) also attended the event. "Sometimes you just have to shake your head," he said. "People at OSHA have too much time on their hands."

Rep. Bill Goodling (R-PA), Chairman of the Education and Workforce Commitee, was not present, but he released a statement criticizing the advisory opinion.

In addition, House Majority Leader Dick Armey issued a statement, in which he said that "Parents working at home already have the greatest possible incentive for making their homes healthy and safe: the welfare of their own children. Its an insult to working Americans to assert that only the federal government can ensure that their homes are safe for themselves and their families."

OSHA regulations are often a divisive partisan issue in Congress. However, House Democrats were notably silent on the matter, neither joining with Republicans in attacking OSHA, nor coming to its defense.

A large and diverse group of critics of the OSHA advisory opinion gathered for the press conference in a House Appropriations Committee hearing room on the morning of January 5.

It included working mothers who work at home some or part of the time, companies who employ teleworkers, high tech companies who use teleworkers to compensate for local high tech worker shortages, and advocates of using telecommuting to reduce traffic congestion.