Implement workplace health and safety requirements

[dcwalk]

^{This initial comment is collaborative and open to modification by all.}

Task Summary

🎟️ Re-ticketed from: #123
🗣 Loomio: N/A
📅 Due date: June 30, 2020 🎯 Success criteria: We have met our H&S requirements as employers

Picking up from #123, this issue covers the actual implementation of the requirements as employer.

To Do

• [x] make a checklist of our requirements as employer from resources:
  • duties as employers
  • first aid kits
  • WSPS take on employer responsibilities
  • WHSC description of training requirements
• [x] discuss optional WSIB coverage options (we will proceed with registering once we have a client project that requires it, or we decide to go ahead)
• [ ] implement for our (remote) office!
  • [x] add bulletin board => https://github.com/hyphacoop/handbook/pull/68
  • [x] create policies => DRAFTING https://hackmd.io/B4C39Cw2SmehqEwX7WJeQw
  • [x] define health and safety point person/rep/supervisor role
  • [x] update bulletin board (pc: miro available. zoom)

  • [ ] do mass training

Checklist of employers responsibility:

• ongoing Keep a safe and well-maintained workplace; to take all reasonable precautions to protect your workers from illness and/or injury
  • Keep your workplace health and safety policies, procedures and programs current
  • Know what the hazards are in your workplace; encourage workers to report unsafe conditions or hazards
  • Respond promptly to all health and safety concerns
  • Demonstrate your commitment to health and safety
  • Provide training: "Ontario law now requires awareness training for workers and supervisors"
• ongoing Provide information about the hazards in your workplace, proper safety equipment, training, and competent supervision
• [ ] Display required notices
  • [x] Post the WSIB's "In Case of Injury at Work" poster and to follow proper procedures in case of injury
  • [x] Post the Occupational Health & Safety Act in your workplace
  • [ ] Post a copy of Hypha's occupational health and safety, workplace violence, harassment, policies in the workplace, where workers will be most likely to see it
• [ ] Develop Policy ("in workplaces in which more than five workers are regularly employed, prepare")
  • [ ] a written occupational health and safety policy (5 or more workers)
  • [ ] workplace violence policy (6 or more workers)
  • [ ] workplace harassment policy ??
• [ ] Roles/representatives
  • [x] Have worker representation for health and safety- Workplaces with more than 5, but less than 20 are required to have a health and safety representative
  • [ ] Have a healthy and safety point person "supervisor"
• [ ] Training
  • [ ] ensure that workers complete a basic occupational health and safety awareness training program as soon as reasonably possible;
  • [ ] ensure that supervisors complete a basic occupational health and safety awareness training program within one week of working as a supervisor
  • [ ] ensure untrained or inadequately trained workers complete a Ministry of Labour-approved, working at heights training program before they work at heights and use fall protection equipment and systems.
• [ ] Operations
  • [ ] Review policy at least once a year
  • [ ] set up and maintain a program to implement it
  • [ ] maintain a record of the training completed by workers and supervisors; and
  • [ ] provide a worker or supervisor with written proof of completion of the training, if requested by the worker or supervisor (up to six months after ceasing to work for the employer).

Resources:

• Guide to the Occupational Health and Safety Act: Duties of employers and other persons https://www.ontario.ca/document/guide-occupational-health-and-safety-act/part-iii-duties-employers-and-other-persons#section-0
• Workplace Safety & Prevention Services : OHSA Ontario and Employers Responsibilities https://www.wsps.ca/Information-Resources/Topics/Employers.aspx
• Workers Health & Safety Centre : Workplace Hazards https://www.whsc.on.ca/Resources/Publications/Hazard-Resource-Lines
• Workers Health & Safety Centre : HEALTH AND SAFETY DOCUMENTATION TOOLS https://www.whsc.on.ca/Resources/For-H-S-Reps/H-S-Documentation-Tools
• Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB): First Aid Requirements (Regulation 1101) https://www.wsib.ca/sites/default/files/2019-09/0455_english_2014.pdf
• Occupational Health and Safety Awareness and Training Regulation: Supporting healthy and safe workplaces https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/sawo/pubs/fs_trainingreg.php

[dcwalk]

RE: WSIB optional coverage: "The business activity described for your business falls under Class/Subclass L and NAICS Code 541514, Computer systems design and related services (except video game design and development). The 2020 premium rate is $0.31 per $100 of gross payroll."

Doing some quick and bad math I think we could use a shorthand of ranging from $50.00-$200 per employee Maybe ~$600 annually in our Y2 modelling, growing to over $1000 in Y5.

[patcon]

Question came up from @YurkoWasHere in 2020-03-09 infra meeting https://github.com/hyphacoop/organizing-private/pull/30/, so relaying here:

what is the coverage even like for WSIB? [what does it include]

[dcwalk]

Ergonomic and psychosocial

[LexaMichaelides]

Poster stuff:

Employers must post a range of health and safety information including:

• [x] Occupational Health & Safety Act and any explanatory material prepared by the MOL in English and the main language spoken in the workplace. [Technically this is a readable pdf in the Google Drive folder but just an image on the bulletin board)
• [x] Ministry of Labour’s Health & Safety at Work: Prevention Starts Here poster, and
• [x] WSIB’s In Case of Injury—1234 poster.
• [x] workplace occupational health and safety policy [I don't think we have one]
  • we need our own policy
  • see https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q2rSwT9_fjFA32U5x7JEqwYQIQ8GMtaULTKEBxOGAAY/edit#heading=h.2o5hqa1c1r2j
• [x] workplace violence and harassment policies [I don't think we have one]
• [x] names, work locations and contact information for JHSC members [I don't think we have a JHSC]
  • this can be Lexa or Ben

Additional functional posters we use:

• Employment standards in Ontario
• Ergonomic poster
• Right to refuse unsafe work
• covid safety

Things we need:

• For a workplace with 6 - 19 workers: You are required to have one health and safety representative who is selected by the workers they represent. If a designated substance regulation applies to your workplace, you are required to have a JHSC.
• [x] workplace occupational health and safety policy [I don't think we have one]
• [x] workplace violence and harassment policies [I don't think we have one]

[LexaMichaelides]

Seek templates or standards for OHS policy and violence/harassment policy for remote-first workplaces.

@writerly03 to address the code of conduct and violence/harassment policy.

[writerly03]

What level of detail do we want for our Code of Conduct? The EDGI CoC is great, but quite detailed: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zqFPVjQ__x3tfcSlir-jeO7O-mcCh4oKyNNlJEpJMOU/edit

The RSF project CoC is much simpler, but also covers off the basics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KlvsinjNGPpF25aKxWJpG8jv8aHk7uLguIbmciX16xo/edit#heading=h.xlbievl76h5f

@LexaMichaelides pls add your thoughts on the above

[LexaMichaelides]

I really like the EDGI one. Maybe one pass through to adjust anything that's too detailed or hard to keep track of in our context would make it fit better, and then we can think about changing anything more specific when we have a bit more capacity for that work.