Employer company policy

It is useful to delineate the various activities of a chemical engineer, from the conception of a project to its final implementation. Companies will assign a variety of job titles to these activities. In some companies, these activities will be subdivided, but in other companies many activities may be included under one job title, according to company policy. In this discussion, the engineering activity is of more concern than any particular job title assigned by a company. We will use the most frequently employed job title, keeping in mind that any particular company must be consulted for its definition of the job. 

Policy while Bayer s commitment to safety and environmental protection is clearly stated throughout the report, the policy statement is not particularly comprehensive. It states It is company policy to employ the best environmental protection technologies as efficiently as possible. ... 

Recommendations deserve a few comments. First of all, not everyone knows that it s often considered unethical and a breach of company policy to solicit recommendations from people not listed as references by the candidate. Lots of times, reviewing a resume turns up a university or company where the hiring manager has contacts, and naturally he ll want to check with them and see what they think of that candidate. But the candidate may need to give at least verbal permission first before such a recommendation can be requested. Check with HR they ll know the rules. In addition, calling anyone at the candidate s current employer for a recommendation, unless explicitly authorized to by the candidate, is a definite no-no for obvious reasons. 

Given the substantially large percentage of nonunion companies and operations in the United Stales, the majority of anployees woik as at-will employees, often with employment requiranents set forth in an employee handbook or posted policies. Safety professionals should be aware that most employee handbooks or company policies usually contain a provision identifying the at-will status, thus maintaining the employer s ability to terminate any employee at any time for any lawful reason. It is important that safety professionals identify this employment status and become fully knowledgeable with the employee handbook or company policies, especially in the provisions addressing safety, security, and disciplinary actions. 

An employer is not required to return a driver to safety-sensitive functions because he/she met the return-to-duty requirements. This will be based on company policy and other legal requirements. 

If the driver has not demonstrated successful compliance, the SAP must send a written report to the DER. The employer may not return the driver to safety-sensitive functions and may take action based on company policy. 

Layoff and Reduction in Force—Safety professionals should be aware that employees facing a reduction-in-force (RIF) or layoff situation may be more likely to bring a claim of discrimination against the employer if they perceive their selection for the RIF or layoff is done in a discriminatory manner. Safety professionals involved in an RIF or layoff should ensure that their decision-making process is in strict accordance with company policy. (It should be noted that safety professionals should become familiar with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (known as WARN ) as well as the Older Worker Benefit Protection Act (known as OWBPA ) as well as individual state laws when addressing a layoff or RIF situation.)... 

To promote adequate health and safety measures the employer must consult with the employees. An employee who identifies a dangerous situation should initially report to his or her site safety representative, who should then bring the dangerous situation to the notice of the management for action which will remove the danger. This may mean changing company policy or procedures, or making modifications to equipment. All actions which relate to health and... 

Refer the driver to a substance abuse professional (SAP) for evaluation and treatment, even if the driver is an applicant or new employee, and even if you intend to release him/her. Provide a list of SAPs who are readily available to the employee and acceptable to the employer, with names, addresses, and telephone numbers. You may not charge for the list. You are not responsible for making sure the driver reports to an SAP, nor for paying for the SAP s services. At this point, you can terminate the employee if that is what your company policy dictates. 

The act of disqualification is left to the state and federal government. You do not have the authority to officially disqualify a driver, although you can reprimand drivers for acts that the DOT considers disqualifying. Reprimands, such as suspension or termination of employment, would have to be done under the authority of your company policies, not the regulations. 

Names of supervisor(s) not listed — A prospective driver who fails to name specific previous dispatchers or supervisors on an application may he attempting to hide a poor or unsafe work history. As a matter of company policy, you should require applicants to not only list the names of previous employers, hut the names of their direct supervisors as well. 

Compliance of the safety process to laws, regulations, and company policies and procedures is measured effectively by audits. Self-audits can be effective, if done with objective honesty. More than 85 percent of employers in a recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration survey said they conduct voluntary self-audits of safety and health conditions in their workplaces (HE Solutions 1999, 12). With a 60% increase over an 18-year period in the number of organizations indicating they conduct audits, nearly 90 percent of the respondents indicated they had conducted an audit in the past 12 months (HE Solutions 1999,12). Reasons for conducting these audits include the need to reduce accidents, to do what is considered right for worker safety and health, and to ensure OSHA compliance. Additional motivators for organizations to conduct audits include decreases in injury rates, improvement in insurance rates, and mitigating fines from OSHA violations. 

Interview a safety professional in general industry. Ask about this person s familiarity with construction safety practices. Ask if the professional s employer hires construction contractors and what the company policies are regarding these contractors. Are both the company and the safety professional prepared to deal with the multiemployer workplace problem ... 

Emergence-. In addition to the role of the legislator and the employer, public policy may also take on the responsibility of the client in the case of public procurement. Public procurement is often a highly regulated process with a number of preconditions and some of these are clearly CSR issues, which need to be taken into account. In fact, CSR may also often be defined in the legislation. The problems for international companies may be that there are different types of the legislation in several countries which aU need to be included in the company s CSR policy. 

The fact of the drawing up a safety policy document is not sufficient to ensure that the company will be a safe place to work or that the employees will not suffer injury. The successful implementation of the policy depends to a large extent for its success on the degree of the employer s commitment and on his attitude towards safety. Without the commitment and involvement of the employer the policy is not likely to be effective. 

According to Theune, former National Safety Council President and OSHA administrator Jerry Scannell put it well when he observed It is difficult for a company to be healthy and productive if its workers are not. When we reach employees at the deepest level, they feel the value and benefit of working safely, not because they seek to adhere to company policy, not because they seek to avoid citations for their employer, but because they recognize that they are not immune from accidents [9]. 

Dutyholders responsibilities are covered in regulation 3 and require the dutyholder to take appropriate action, but only in respect of matters witiiin his or her control. In practice, employees will be governed by, and need to work within, the framework established by tiie employer. This should be clearly set down in company policy witii tiie organisation and arrangements for implementation, such as work procedures and safety rules. 

OSHA does not require employers to keep a written log of all permit space entries. OSHA does require cancelled entry permits be kept for one year. They are used to review the program and make any necessary revisions. If a log of entries is kept, it would be up to company policy regarding how long to maintain older entries. 

Because daily inspection sheets are not required by OSHA, employers should keep them according to whichever system works best at their company. Also, as part of a forklift program, it is a good idea to write a company policy stating the specified duration for which such records are kept (e.g., We retain forklift inspection sheets for six months. )... 

The standard requires employers to take the presence or absence of facial hair into consideration in selecting respirators as different company policies may affect the range of choices available. Several types of respirators such as loose-fitting hoods or helmets accommodate facial hair. However, respirators with tight-fitting facepieces may not to be worn by employees who have "facial hair that comes between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face or that interferes with valve function. ... 

We have gotten a bit off track with our discussions of workplace violence. Let s get on track and summarize exit physicals. I believe that one should offer all persons leaving your employ an exit physical. Let them know during their initial orientation that an exit physical is company policy. Ensure that the offer for an exit physical is consistent for all workers. K the person refuses to take the exit physical, make sure that you document the fact. Include with your documentation any reasons mentioned for not taking the exit physical. 

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