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After crippling strong ergonomics rules last year, the Bush Administration announced plans to "encourage" employers to prevent repetitive motion injuries.

The largely toothless blueprint for guidelines was released by the U.S. Labor Department on Friday. It is expected they will be out by the end of the year.

"After over a year of delay, the administration has announced a meaningless measure that yet again delays actions and provides workers no protection against ergonomics hazards," said John Sweeney, AFL-CIO president.

Labor unions and many public health advocates said federal regulations are necessary because not all corporations can be trusted to protect workers. If businesses were doing all that they should, supporters of strong regulations say, then 500,000 Americans would not be suffering the injuries each year.

But voluntary compliance is the theme of the new Bush guidelines, which are designed to cost companies far less than the Clinton rules to implement. "We know one size does not fit all," said Occupational Safety and Health Administration Director John Henshaw. "This approach provides the flexibility needed to reduce these injuries."

The Labor Department under the new guidelines will target its enforcement of compliance with company-developed ergonomics programs. And OSHA will offer training to address workplace injuries. However, President Bushs budget for next year proposes to shave the OSHA budget by reducing 83 jobs.

The Clinton rules, which were the result of a painstaking 10-year process initiated by former Labor Secretary Elizabeth Dole, required workers to be examined by a health-care provider if they had signs of suffering from a repetitive motion ergonomic injury. They also required a company to implement a program if two employees reported such injuries within 18 months. Business groups balked at the laws, and successfully fought their repeal two months after Bush took office last year.

Many job-related repetitive motion injuries could be prevented if strong safety standards were in place, labor unions say.

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