State Employees Workplace Requirements Program for Safety, …

STATE HUMAN RESOURCES MANUAL

Workplace Environment, Health, Wellness & Work/life

Section 8, Page 8 Revised: September 23, 2017

State Employees Workplace Requirements Program for Safety, Health, and Workers' Compensation

Contents:

Program Program Goals Office of State Human Resources Responsibilities State Safety and Health Steering Committee State Agency Responsibilities Agency Safety and Health Committee Responsibilities State Employee Responsibilities

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State Employees Workplace Requirements Program for Safety, Health and Workers' Compensation

Program Pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 143, Article 63 and G.S. 126-4(10), the Office of State Human Resources is charged with ensuring that each department, commission, division, board, or institution within the executive branch of North Carolina State government, the University of North Carolina, and the Office of Administrative Hearings (hereinafter referred to as "State agencies") has an operative State Employees Workplace Requirements Program for Safety, Health and Workers' Compensation (hereinafter referred to as (WRP). The purpose of individual State agency WRPs is to promote workplace safety, prevent work related incidents, injuries and illnesses, and effectively manage workers' compensation claims. The Office of State Human Resources encourages the Legislative and Judicial branches of State Government to establish and maintain WRPs in accordance with these requirements.

Program Goals Each State agency shall adopt a written safety, health, and workers' compensation program referred to as the WRP in adherence to statutory requirements that promotes safe and healthful work conditions for State employees and appropriate handling of workplace incidents/injuries. WRPs shall provide managers, supervisors, and employees with a clear understanding of their role in accomplishing the goals of the program. WRPs shall also convey the State's concerns for: protecting employees from incurring job-related injuries/illnesses and health impairment; preventing accidents and fires; planning for emergencies; identifying and controlling physical, chemical, and biological hazards in the workplace; communicating potential hazards to employees; assuring adequate housekeeping and sanitation; and proper reporting and handling of workers' compensation claims.

Office of State Human Resources Responsibilities: The Office of State Human Resources (OSHR) shall:

1.

Develop and maintain a Model Workplace Requirements Program for Safety, Health,

and Workers' Compensation for use by State agencies. This document shall contain

minimum safety and health requirements to assist agency heads in meeting their safety

and health responsibilities under all applicable occupational safety and health statutes,

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State Employees Workplace Requirements Program for Safety, Health and Workers' Compensation

administrative rules, best business practices, and other generally recognized occupational safety and health principles.

2. Evaluate individual State agency WRP and ensure that they comply with the minimum standards contained in the Model Workplace Requirements Program for Safety, Health, and Workers' Compensation.

3. Provide consultative and technical services including: a. Technical assistance in design and development of written safety and health programs and operations of safety and health committees. b. Assessment of specialized workplace hazards. c. Periodic inspection of state operations to ensure identification and control of hazardous workplace environments and unsafe work practices that could endanger state employees. d. Maintenance of a State Employee Safety and Health Handbook describing responsibilities of employees and outlining basic rules for working safely in state government. e. Investigation of work-related fatalities and major lost workday injuries and illnesses to ensure that agencies have program elements in place to control specific hazards. f. Assist as needed with training/professional growth programs for agency safety and health directors and officers. g. Systematic evaluation of State agencies to ensure compliance with the Model Workplace Requirements Program for Safety, Health, and Workers' Compensation and safety and health committee requirements. h. Technical assistance regarding any workers' compensation related issue, educational resources, and ongoing monitoring of claims.

4. Prepare an annual report assessing State agencies compliance with WRP requirements and safety and health committees' effectiveness, changes to enhance the WRP, and a statistical analysis of work-related injuries, illnesses, and workers' compensation costs.

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5. Direct the State's self-insured workers' compensation program including ongoing monitoring and management of contracted vendors that administer workers' compensation claims and benefits in all State agencies.

6. Forward the Office of State Human Resources annual report to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations.

State Safety and Health Steering Committee To assist the Office of State Human Resources, a State Safety and Health Steering Committee, comprised of twelve (12) safety, health, and workers' compensation staff from State agencies shall be appointed by the OSHR Director. This committee is responsible for assisting in the development and refinement of the State's Model Workplace Requirements Program for Safety, Health, and Workers' Compensation, goal setting, problem solving, funding strategies, and program performance assessment. This committee is responsible for the submission of an annual report to the OSHR Director. Any revisions to relevant NC administrative code provisions regarding workplace safety and health requirements or procedures should occur only after consultation with the State Safety and Health Steering Committee.

State Agency Responsibilities Each agency shall establish a written WRP consistent with the minimum standards contained in the Model Workplace Requirements Program for Safety, Health and Workers' Compensation. Written components of the program shall describe at a minimum: a. How managers, supervisors, and employees are responsible for implementing safety and workers' compensation related requirements. b. How the plan will be communicated to all affected employees so that they are informed of work-related physical, chemical, or biological hazards, and controls necessary to prevent injury or illness. c. How safe work practices and rules will be enforced. d. Methods to identify, analyze, and control new or existing hazards, conditions, and operations. e. Safety and health training programs available to employees.

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f. How managers, supervisors, and employees will receive training regarding avoiding job related injuries and health impairment.

g. How continued participation of management and employees will be established, measured, and maintained.

h. How employees may be referred for necessary medical treatment following a work-related injury or illness.

i. How workplace accidents will be reported and investigated and how corrective actions will be implemented.

j. The role of managers, supervisors, and employees in controlling workers' compensation related expenditures.

k. How employees may make complaints concerning safety and health problems without fear of retaliation.

Each agency shall establish a Safety and Health Committee in compliance with 13 NCAC 07A.0605 composed of management and non-management personnel to address safety and health issues through their input and with the most efficient use of resources and expertise.

a. A state agency with field staff must ensure field operations staff safety and health issues are represented on the committee by a member(s) of that group.

b. To ensure implementation and maintenance of the required agency safety program, each agency shall have a safety and health director or safety and health officer consistent with the Model Workplace Requirements Program for Safety, Health and Workers' Compensation. Agency heads shall advise the Director of the Office of State Human Resources of these designees and any changes made to the agency's safety and health leader or in the agency's safety and health program.

c. The agency Safety and Health Director or their designee shall serve as ex-officio member with voting rights on the committee.

d. The agency shall establish a procedure by which Employee Safety and Health Representatives may be selected or appointed to serve on the committee.

e. The Chairperson of the committee may be appointed by the agency head or university chancellor or elected by the members. Clerical and technical

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support services are to be provided to the Chairperson to carry out his or her duties by a member of the committee. f. The agency shall permit members of the committee to take the time from work reasonably necessary to exercise the rights of the committee without suffering any loss of pay or benefits for time spent on duties of the committee. If necessary, the agency may need to modify employee's normal work assignments to allow sufficient time for the employee to serve as a committee member.

Each agency shall verbally notify the Office of State Human Resources, Safety, Health and Workers' Compensation Division (OSHR SH&WC) and the NC Department of Labor (OSH Division) within (8) eight hours for fatalities involving state, contract or temporary employees from a work-related accident. An accident investigation report shall be filed within three (3) days of knowledge of the death and submitted to the OSHR SH&WC Division. For amputation, loss of eye(s) or hospitalization involving one or more state, contract or temporary employees, OSHR SH&WC and OSH Division must be contacted within (24) twenty-four hours.

Agency Safety and Health Committee Responsibilities The agency Safety and Health Director or their designee shall serve as an ex-officio member with voting rights on the Agency Safety and Health Committee(s). The Agency Safety and Health Committee(s) shall ensure that the following functions included in the State Employees Workplace Requirements Program for Safety, Health and Workers' Compensation are performed: a. That an agency review of its safety and health policies and procedures occur at least annually or as needed following any regulatory changes. b. That a review by the agency of incidents involving work-related fatalities, injuries, illnesses or near-misses is conducted promptly after each occurrence. c. That a mechanism is developed by the agency to ensure that corrective actions and timely abatement dates are included in incident investigation processes and reports. d. That a system is developed for the timely review of employee complaints/ suggestions regarding safety and health hazards. e. That the agency analyzes its work injury and illness statistical

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State Employees Workplace Requirements Program for Safety, Health and Workers' Compensation

records and share the results and outcome with agency management and employees. f. That safety and health inspections of worksites are conducted and documented at least annually or more frequently as required by regulatory codes or standards. g. That the agency ensures its response to complaints regarding safety and/or health hazards are provided promptly along with the process for corrective action developed by the agency in response to the complaint. h. That interviews with employees are conducted in conjunction with inspections of the workplace. i. That the agency's training records are reviewed at least annually to ensure compliance with regulatory training requirements. j. That meetings are conducted at least once every three months and that written minutes of such meetings are taken and copied to each committee member and posted to ensure availability to all employees in the workplace. k. That Employee Safety and Health Representative(s) are designated to accompany representatives from regulatory agencies (i.e. NC Department of Agriculture, Department of Health and Human Services, NC Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Division, NC Department of Insurance, NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, etc.) during environmental, safety and health inspections of the workplace. l. That written recommendations (Example: for elimination of hazards and improvement in occupational safety and health) are made by the agency committee to the agency head.

State Employee Responsibilities Each supervisor shall provide safe working conditions for each supervised employee, know and follow safety and health guidelines, provide for employee's safety and health training, provide personal protective equipment, report and investigate accidents, advise management of any unsafe work environment(s) or condition(s) and effect corrective actions and interim controls for hazardous work environments under their control. Each employee shall be familiar with their agency safety and health guidelines and

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conduct his or her own work in a safe manner to protect him or herself, fellow employees and the public, make recommendations to improve safety and health in the workplace, and notify their supervisor of any incident involving injury, illness, damage to property, or near-miss to him or herself or others.

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