The final ergonomics standard issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which went into effect Jan.16, has been overturned by the Bush administration. After the House and the Senate voted to express their disapproval of the standard earlier this month, President Bush's signature on March 20 provided the last nail in the coffin.

If you had already started implementing OSHA's rules, which had taken a decade to draw up, Bush's actions might leave you peeved - or relieved. One thing's for sure, you may have to wait at least a couple of years until a new federal ergonomics rule is released.

OSHA spokeswoman Susan Fleming said she cannot comment on when a new federal ergonomics standard might be expected, saying that decision rested with the Bush administration.

While both Bush and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao have allowed for the possibility of new rulemaking, they have provided no details.

A statement by Bush released after the repeal simply said his administration would pursue "a comprehensive approach to ergonomics that addresses the concerns surrounding the ergonomics rule repealed today."

Bush's statement further said, "There needs to be a balance between and an understanding of the costs and benefits associated with Federal regulations. In this instance, though, in exchange for uncertain benefits, the ergonomics rule would have cost both large and small employers billions of dollars and presented employers with overwhelming compliance challenges. Also, the rule would have applied a bureaucratic one-size-fits-all solution to a broad range of employers and workers - not good government at work."

OSHA had estimated that implementing its final standards would cost U.S. businesses $4.5 billion, while saving about $9.1 billion in reduced workers' compensation costs, absenteeism, and increased productivity. But small business advocacy groups had lobbied hard to have OSHA's rules overturned, arguing that they were almost impossible to implement and would cost small businesses far more than OSHA's estimates.

"We are delighted at the repeal," said Mary Leon, spokeswoman for the National Federation of Independent Business, the largest advocacy group for small businesses. "We would like OSHA to provide assistance to small businesses looking to create safer workplaces, but not to impose a mandate on them."

Businesses had been given until October to comply with the final OSHA standard. Click here to read our article for an explanation of what OSHA's standard had required.