The Bush administration found a magic way to make musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), such as carpal tunnel syndrome, disappear from the workplace.

No, it isn't the ergonomics standard long sought by unions to require employers to make design, process and other changes to jobs to prevent MSDs. That standard, issued by the Clinton administration, was repealed by the Republican majority in Congress in 2001.

The Bush Labor Department instead dropped the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirement that employers identify and track MSDs on illness and injury logs, effectively eliminating data on the number and kinds of MSDs experienced by workers.

Charging the Labor Department "turned its back on workers," AFL-CIO Pres. John J. Sweeney said the decision "continues the Bush administration's dangerous 'head in the sand' approach to ergonomic injuries."

"Just because the government is not going to require employers to track these injuries and just because the government is not going to enforce a safety standard doesn't mean that workers will stop becoming ill or permanently disabled on the job. Cutting off all information about MSDs exposes the Bush administration's 'comprehensive approach' as meaningless," Sweeney said.