Legislation that would require recently introduced voluntary ergonomics standards to become mandatory has cleared a hurdle on Capitol Hill.

The U.S. Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday voted 11-10 to pass such a measure, a year after Congress voted to overturn Clinton administration rules designed to protect workers from repetitive stress injuries.
The measure, co-sponsored by Sen. John Breaux (D-LA), requires the new rules to be adopted within two years, and unlike the Clinton-era rules, would require the Labor Department to detail what injuries are not covered that are unrelated to work.
Breaux voted in favor of repealing the Clinton rules, which had yet to take effect at the time of the repeal, saying at the time they were too complex and that he planned to introduce simipler legislation later on.
Opposition to mandatory ergonomics rules has been widespread among many business groups, including in trucking, as well as in the Bush administration, claiming the cost of implementation will be too much.
Wednesday’s vote echoed that partisan sentiment, with the committee's 10 Democrats and Independent James Jeffords voting in favor of the bill, while all 10 Republicans voted against the plan.
The bill now heads to the full Senate, where it faces an uncertain future.