Course Description
Are your exit routes away from work areas in compliance with OSHA requirements? If not, OSHA watchdogs could be biting at your heels. OSHA has directed field inspectors to pay close attention to exit routes in workplaces across the country; the memo came after a fire and explosion in a China-based poultry processing plant in June 2013 claimed the lives of an estimated 119 workers. Doors to the facility were blocked or locked, leaving survivors gasping for air as they searched for a way to get out.
OSHA′s directive to take a closer look at exit door and exit route compliance is just one crucial issue of concern for employers. Natural catastrophes, incidents of workplace violence, accidental explosions, and other potentially devastating events like the one that took place overseas underscore the important of making sure that safety managers and HR professionals are prepared to handle emergencies, in whatever form they may take.
Don′t wait for disaster to strike. Have a crisis management and business continuity plan in place to keep your employees safe and your core operations intact before, during, and after a crisis.
Learning Objectives
- The implications of OSHA′s recent exit door/route directive
- How to design and communicate effective emergency management procedures
- The components of an effective emergency response plan, and who should be included in your emergency response team
- Special considerations for evacuating disabled employees
- Practical tips for tracking employees′ whereabouts and maintaining communications in the event of a crisis
- Emergency response policies you MUST have in your employee handbook
- Dos and don′ts for smart drills...and much, much more...
FULL AGENDA:
All Times Eastern
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.: Emergency Management: HR Policies and Preparedness (Tex McIver)
- An overview of the types of catastrophes that safety and HR professionals, as well as company management, may face
- Evaluating your risks and determining the legal and regulatory players, as well as the role of unions, vendors and contractors, especially on a multiemployer site
- HR and related policies you should review and revise now, before a workplace crisis arises
- How to design and communicate effective emergency management and related procedures to the workforce
- Strategies to manage workplace disruption on a short- or long-term basis
- Your obligations regarding employees′ pay, benefits and security during a business disruption
- Crucial checklists to follow when pandemics or similar large scale events occur
12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.: Designing an Effective Emergency Plan: People and Resources That Must Be Included to Assure Full Compliance with OSHA′s Exit Door/Route Enforcement Directive (Don Dressler)
- How to establish a planning team and assign emergency responsibilities
- The best method for identifying potential emergencies and assessing risk
- Strategies to assess your organization′s emergency response capabilities
- The components of an effective emergency response plan, and who should be included in your emergency response team
- Disaster management best practices, including how to account for employees after a disaster situation
- Getting essential personnel into work when disaster strikes
- What you should know about OSHA′s recent enforcement exit door/route Directive
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1:00 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: Break
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1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.: Dealing with the Media Before, During, and After an Event (Don Rountree and Ted Boehm)
- Elements of an effective "media guide" that sets the tone for addressing the press
- Specific ways to prepare for a media onslaught before it ever occurs
- What you should say - and not say - in the immediate aftermath of an incident
- How to develop an ongoing, positive relationship with local media outlets
- What to do so you don′t inadvertently waive privilege
- Legal parameters of public communication, including privilege and criminal exposure concerns, labor scenarios, and coordination with other parties responding to and investigating events
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2:30 p.m.-2:45 p.m.: Break
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2:45 p.m.-3:45 p.m.: Getting Prepared: Exercises and Drills (Ted Boehm)
- The exercises you should consider at your organization, and who the major players are
- Dos and don′ts for smart drills
- How to improve your employees′ performance for "the real thing" after a practice exercise or drill
- Special considerations for evacuating disabled employees
- Being prepared for when the government comes knocking to inspect the situation - and who within the organization should be assigned to which roles and why
3:45 p.m.-4:45 p.m.: How to Keep Your Employees Informed and Calm in the Event of Crisis (Michael Elkon)
- The emergency response policies you need in your employee handbook
- How to make sure employees know what they need to do in the event of an emergency
- Practical tips for tracking employees′ whereabouts and maintaining communications in the event of a crisis
- What your employees should be instructed to say in response to media inquiries
- How employee assistance programs and other resources can help employees pick up the pieces after a crisis, and why these are so crucial
About Your Presenters
Don Dressler of Don Dressler Consulting based in Irvine, California, has been working with safety recordkeeping for more than 15 years as the head of an agricultural trade association′s safety and loss control staff and since 2003 as a safety and human resources consultant and attorney. Mr. Dressler focuses on safety, employment and human resources issues, accident investigations, OSHA compliance, and workers′ compensation. He is the author of "California Office Safety and Your Company′s IIPP: How and Why You Write an Injury and Illness Prevention Plan."
Attorney Michael P. Elkon is Of Counsel in the Atlanta office of Fisher &Phillips LLP. He represents management in all areas of employment law in state and federal courts, as well as before state and federal agencies. He specializes in matters concerning employee defection and recruitment, including litigating injunction and damages actions relating to covenants not to compete, non-solicitation and non-disclosure provisions, unfair competition, employee raiding, trade secrets, the duty of loyalty, the Computer Fraud &Abuse Act, and state computer protection statues.
Mr. Elkon has litigated dozens of employee defection and recruitment matters in numerous state and federal courts. In addition to litigating, Michael drafts restrictive covenants for numerous types of agreements and counsels clients on protecting their confidential information and customer relationships, as well as recruiting talent. Mr. Elkon was selected for inclusion in 2010 and 2011 Georgia Super Lawyers - Rising Stars. He also worked with the Georgia Legislature and appeared before its Judiciary Committee regarding the new Georgia non-compete sta