Employee Health and Safety

1Employee Health and SafetyChapter 102Learning ObjectivesExplain the roles of the two most important federal agencies responsible for ensuring employees are safe and secure at work.Explain the advantages enjoyed by employers who provide healthy worksites for their employees.Describe the differences and similarities between employee assistance programs and employee wellness programs.3Learning ObjectivesDescribe the legal and moral responsibilities employers have to ensure a safe and secure worksite for their employees.List and describe specific steps employers can take to help prevent workplace violence.4Legal Aspects of Employee ProtectionOccupation Safety and Health ActOSHA: Short for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the agency responsible for enforcing the Occupational Safety and Health Act.This act established, for the first time, a nationwide, federal program to protect almost the entire work force from job-related death, injury and illness.5Legal Aspects of Employee ProtectionMost managers agree that they have a moral obligation to ensure their workplaces are free from unnecessary hazards and that conditions in the workplace are safe for employees’ physical and mental health.All managers must recognize their legal responsibilities to maintain a healthy workplace.6Legal Aspects of Employee ProtectionOccupation Safety and Health ActOSHA’s current role is to ensure the safety and health of America’s workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health. 7Legal Aspects of Employee ProtectionMajor areas of OSHA mandated recordkeeping related to the hospitality industry include: Log and summary of all recordable injuries and illnesses Personal protective equipment (assessment & training)8Legal Aspects of Employee ProtectionMajor areas of OSHA mandated recordkeeping related to the hospitality industry include: (cont.) Control of Hazardous EnergyHazard Communication StandardsEmergency Action Plans and Fire Prevention Plans9Legal Aspects of Employee ProtectionOccupation Safety and Health ActThe Hazard Communication Standard adopted by OSHA requires that MSDS labels be provided for all hazardous chemicals used by a business. The labels must show health, fire, and reactive hazards associated with each chemical, as well as what protective equipment must be used to handle the chemical. 10Legal Aspects of Employee ProtectionOccupation Safety and Health ActInformation about hazardous chemicals must be provided to employees, based on the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) provided by manufacturers that provide detailed information about the specific chemical, its use, and any potential danger. 11Legal Aspects of Employee ProtectionOccupation Safety and Health ActOSHA’s "Right-To-Know" law includes three major areas: Locating, Inventorying, and Tracking Potentially Hazardous Chemicals.Identifying, Labeling and Providing Information About Potentially Hazardous ChemicalsTraining/Educating Employees12Legal Aspects of Employee ProtectionHarassment per the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Employees can face a variety of harassment: BullyingPsychological harassmentRacial harassment13Legal Aspects of Employee ProtectionHarassment per the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Employees can face a variety of harassment: (cont.)Religious harassmentStalking14Legal Aspects of Employee ProtectionHarassment per the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Employees can face a variety of harassment: (cont.)Sexual harassmentZero tolerance: A policy that permits no amount of leniency regarding harassing behavior.15Employee HealthWorksite HealthHR managers should:Provide sufficient quantities of fresh airKeep air ducts clean and dryMaintain effective equipment inspection programs16Employee HealthWorksite HealthHR managers should: (cont.) Monitor Repetitive Movement InjuriesCarpal tunnel syndrome - Nerve damage resulting in a burning, tingling, or itching numbness in the palm of the hand and the fingers, especially the thumb and the index and middle fingers17Employee HealthWorksite HealthHR managers should: (cont.) Monitor stress levels Provide first aid trainingPay attention to worker complaints18 Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)An EAP can relate to a variety of employer-initiated efforts to assist their employees with family concerns, legal issues, financial matters, and health maintenance.The identifiable goal of EAPs is to benefit both employee and employer, because they are aimed at getting employees back to work, in a productive manner, as quickly as possible.19Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)Employee Wellness Program (EWP)Wellness programs (employee): An employer-sponsored initiative designed to promote the good health of employees.20Employee Safety and SecuritySafety: Freedom from the conditions that cause personal harm.Security: Freedom from fear and anxiety related to personal harm.Crises: Situations that have the potential to negatively affect the health, safety, or security of employees.21Employee Safety and SecurityEmployee Safety Programs22Employee Safety and SecurityCrisis Management ProgramsPrecrisis PlanningEmergency plan: The specific actions to be taken by managers and staff in response to a crisis. Evacuation plan: The specific actions to be taken by managers and staff when vacating a building in response to a crisis.23Employee Safety and SecurityCrisis Management ProgramsEmergency Plan PracticePost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): A severe reaction to an event that caused a threat to an individual’s physical or emotional health.24Employee Security Programs Zero Tolerance Harassment ProgramsHostile work environment (sexual harassment): A workplace infused with intimidation, ridicule, and insult that is severe or pervasive enough to create a seriously uncomfortable or abusive working environment with conduct severe enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would find intimidating.25Employee Safety and SecurityZero Tolerance Harassment ProgramsQuid pro quo (sexual harassment): Literally means “something for something”. Harassment that occurs when a supervisor behaves in a way or demands actions from an employee that forces the employee to decide between giving in to sexual demands or losing their job, losing job benefits or promotion, or otherwise suffering negative consequences.26Employee Safety and SecurityZero Tolerance Harassment ProgramsTo help prevent harassment, HR managers should understand: What is, and isn't, a hostile work environmentThe company policyThe impact on unions27Employee Safety and SecurityZero Tolerance Harassment ProgramsTo help prevent harassment, HR managers should understand: (cont.) The effect of speechProper investigationsPersonal Liability28Employee Safety and SecurityZero Tolerance Harassment Programs“When, exactly, does the language used or action displayed constitute harassment?”Reasonable person (standard): The typical, or average person (and their behavior and beliefs) placed in a specific environmental setting.29Employee Safety and SecurityPreventing Workplace ViolenceWhile harassment is most often considered verbal abuse at work, HR managers must increasingly concern themselves with workplace violence, a concept that includes harassment, physical assault, and even homicide.Workplace violence: Any act in which a person is abused, threatened, intimidated or assaulted in his or her place of employment.30Employee Safety and SecurityPreventing Workplace ViolenceWorkplace violence includes:Threatening BehaviorVerbal ThreatsImplicit Threat: A threatening act that is implied rather than expressly stated.Explicit Threat: A threatening act that is fully and clearly expressed or demonstrated; leaving nothing merely implied.31Employee Safety and SecurityPreventing Workplace ViolenceWorkplace violence includes:Written ThreatsHarassing activitiesVerbal abusePhysical attacks 32Employee Safety and SecurityPreventing Workplace ViolenceSteps managers can take to protect workers from violence:Install bulletproof glass and limited access barriers.Install video surveillance, alarm systems, and door detectors.Increase lighting.Trim back bushes and shrubs that provide hiding places.33Employee Safety and SecurityPreventing Workplace ViolenceSteps managers can take to protect workers from violence: (cont.)Locate drive-thru windows within the same building as the restaurant, rather than in the parking lot by itself.Implement effective alcohol server training programs.34Employee Safety and SecurityPreventing Workplace ViolenceSteps managers can take to protect workers from violence: (cont.)Train room attendants to keep guest room doors open when cleaning.Minimize the amount of cash available to cashiers.35Employee Safety and SecurityPreventing Workplace ViolenceAn effective workplace violence policy will detail:What specific behaviors management considers inappropriate and unacceptable in the workplace What employees should do when incidents covered by the policy occur36Employee Safety and SecurityPreventing Workplace ViolenceAn effective workplace violence policy will detail: (cont.)Who should be contacted when reporting workplace violence incidentsThat threats or assaults that require immediate attention should be reported to the property’s security department or directly to the police at 911.