By Kathryn Reed
Because people spend so much time in the workplace, it's imperative that businesses of all sizes create plans for dealing with emergencies. For a company such as the California State Automobile Association (CSAA), with offices up and down the state ranging from a couple employees to thousands, having a plan that works in a variety of scenarios is essential.
First aid kits and emergency hardware such as flashlights are stocked in nearly every office. Some contain food, water and toiletries in case people can't go home or it's necessary for them to work through the disaster. Trauma medical supplies, splints, whistles, hard hats, rescue equipment, leather palm gloves - those are at the larger offices.
"At mission critical facilities, we have backup power at all those locations. It might not be at the small AAA neighborhood office, but at the call centers, where we have tow truck dispatch," explained Terry Gitlin, CSAA's risk manager. "Part of our emergency planning is inward facing and part is outward facing. At the same time, we are dealing with responses to members. We are also trying to address the resource needs of the company and employees."
How to Prepare
Legally, companies must have an Injury and Illness Prevention Plan (IIPP) in place. Jennifer Brown Shaw, a partner with Shaw Valenza LLP in Sacramento, said the IIPP doesn't need to be placed into the employee handbook, but advises that employers give a copy to each employee. However, she does suggest creating one binder that includes the employee handbook, the IIPP, emergency contact information and all other workplace procedures.
The IIPP does not have to be filed with any state agency, but CalOSHA could ask to see it. Most often a company could be cited after a disaster occurs and the IIPP was not in place. "You don't really get a second chance to do the right thing in a workplace emergency," Shaw said. One thing she cautions against is being too specific with planning. For instance, don't mandate: "John must wear the yellow safety vest in case of emergency." Shaw said this approach can bog people down in details that aren't relevant to the emergency at hand. Getting people out of a building safely is more important than them following someone wearing the proper vest. "One of the most important things to have is a phone tree to find out if everyone is OK and where people are," Shaw said.
Other Emergencies
Even though the storms in early January affected countless businesses either through lack of power, phone service or the inability of workers to get to the job site, Shaw said one of the key threats people overlook is workplace violence. "It's not as unusual as people would like to think," Shaw said. Alerting others to danger could be as simple as having a code phrase to say over the intercom or setting up panic buttons throughout the workplace. Shaw said threats at work are more common than natural disasters, and that's why a plan for those types of incidents is a necessity.
Shaw recommends every company have a plan to deal with fire, bomb threats and workplace violence. Disaster drills need to be conducted at a minimum of once a year. The same goes for reviewing the disaster plan and making sure employees know where supplies are. California firms need to plan for earthquakes. After that, it depends on where a business is located. Avalanche or other snow threats in the Sierra, mudslides, wildfires, tsunamis on the North Coast, and flooding are all possible in California.
Hourly employees don't have to be paid when they are sent home early or told not to come in. It's up to the company how to handle that scenario. "A lot of times what is legally appropriate is not always the best thing from an employee morale perspective," Shaw cautions.
Functional Autonomy
For the CSAA, 24 offices either closed early or didn't open during the Jan. 4-5 storms. Office managers have the power to decide what's best for a particular locale. Folks at the San Francisco headquarters don't get in the way. "We have an emergency communication strategy that includes telephones, satellite phones, radio and cell phones. If we can talk to each other, we can make good decisions," Gitlin said. "Communication is quite often the key to your success in a disaster. We can have a conference call to quickly assess the situation and make key decisions."
The chain of command at CSAA during a disaster is different than the normal hierarchy of the company. "It allows for more flexibility because not everyone is always available. We focus on gathering information and making quick decisions," Gitlin said. "It puts the emphasis on sharing information and getting resource to people who need it. It's a different focus than the day-to-day company needs." Even though no law mandates it, Shaw believes everyone should be trained in CPR and basic first aid.
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