Small business owners work hard to train and retain employees by creating a safe and rewarding workplace. Finding qualified employees remains a top challenge. Meanwhile, government mandates and regulations further complicate your ability to fill open positions and once again, some in Congress are trying to make it even harder.

Proponents of the Warehouse Worker Protection Act (HR 8639) claim that they are attempting to rein in the work speed quotas instituted by large warehouse retailers. In reality, the legislation gives the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) additional authorities that will be costly and time consuming for small business.

The Warehouse Worker Protection Act Overview:

Ergonomics
A new ergonomics regulation requiring businesses to mitigate repetitive motion injuries to their employees. Ergonomics inherently does not discriminate between injuries that occur inside the workplace and injuries that occur on an employee’s personal time.

This new authority would be costly to small businesses and allow OSHA easier ability to investigate businesses because an employee blamed an injury on repetitive motions in the workplace.

Hiring and Doctor Referral Requirements
Finding qualified employees remains a top problem for small business owners. The legislation would add to this challenge, requiring small businesses to hire someone certified in first aid and have them on site at all hours of operation.

If a worker is injured, small businesses would be required to refer the person to a board-certified occupational medicine physician. This will be impossible to implement in rural areas and creates extensive travel for injured workers.

Expands Scope of National Labor Relations Act and Implements Employee Productivity Tracking

A de facto ban on nearly all workplace productivity standards would be mandated.

Small businesses would have to track and maintain data on workers while they are employed and for three years after employment ends. At any time, the Department of Labor can request the data without probable cause or a warrant.

Small businesses operate differently than large busineses. You do not have human-resources departments to track the changing standards and rules that affect your workforce and workplace.

Creation of a Quota Task Force

A Quota Task Force would be created and made up of made up of union representatives and worker advocacy organizations. The task force would be partially responsible for enforcing the de facto workplace productivity standard ban.

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