study terms

Question 1

Consider the
NFPA 1851 Standard on selection, care and maintenance of protective ensembles for structural firefighting and proximity firefighting.(http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/all-codes-and-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards/detail?code=1851) which
indicates no longer than a 10-year life cycle

Question 2

Fit for Duty

Answer 2

Purpose Statement
The Town of Caledon (’Town’) is committed to providing a safe, healthy and productive
workplace where Employees, the general public and the community are protected from the
adverse effects of inappropriate use of substances. Employees are expected to report for work fit for duty, to perform their work duties safely, competently and efficiently, without any limitation
arising from substance use or the after-effects of substance use that risks their health or safety
or that of any other person.

This procedure establishes expectations for reasonable behaviour as it relates to the use of
substances that could impact employee or contractor ability to perform their work duties safely, competently and efficiently.

Scope

All individuals working at the Town including, but not limited to, regular, temporary, casual, and
contract employees. This procedure also applies to volunteers, students and contractors.

Requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act
25.(2)h - The employer shall take every precaution reasonable
in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.

Definitions

Alcohol
- means any beverage which contains ethyl alcohol, including beer, wine, liqueurs
and spirits. Very low alcohol products (beer with 0.5% alcohol by volume) are included in
this definition.

At work
- means an employee or non-employee is at work when they are performing job
responsibilities while in the workplace or offsite.

Cannabis
- includes any product containing Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in any form.

EFAP
- means confidential Employee and Family Assistance Program

Fit for duty
- means that an individual is mentally, emotionally and physically able to safely
and competently perform their assigned duties without any limitations attributable but not
limited to illness, injury, fatigue, mental stress or the use and/or after-effects of alcohol, over
the counter, prescription, legal or illegal drugs.

Illegal drugs
- means any drug or substance that is not legally obtainable by the Employee
and whose use, sale, possession, purchase or transfer is restricted or prohibited by
Canadian law (which may include, but is not limited to, cocaine, heroin, opiates, PCP,
hallucinogens, stimulants, inhalants, etc.), and includes prescription drugs that have not
been lawfully prescribed to the Employee. This also includes unauthorized use of medicinal
cannabis.

Impairment
- means functional limitation resulting from the use of alcohol, cannabis or
cannabinoid products, illegal or prescribed drugs which negatively affect the employee’s
ability to carry out the requirements of the job in a safe and efficient manner.

Off-site
- means all locations where Town business is performed away from the normal
workplace. e.g., at a conference, in the community.

Prescription drugs
- means drugs which have been legally obtained by the employee with a
physician’s prescription or authorization.

Safe transportation
- means taxi, ride-share, public transit or designated driver.
Safety-sensitive job means a position that has a key and direct role in an operation where
impaired performance could result in substantial error, incident, or accident affecting the
health or safety of employees, and/or negatively impact the public, property, finances or the environment. This would include the operation of motorized vehicles, trucks, heavy equipment or machinery where inappropriate performance could result in harm, or any other
safety sensitive job as defined by the Town.

Town-sponsored
- events means events which are organized and/or financially supported
by the Town of Caledon and/or take place on Town property. Such events include Service
Recognition Celebration, Christmas party, etc. Employee and non-employee organized
social events not held on Town property outside of work hours are not included in this
definition, provided that they are not financially supported by the Town.

Workplace
- means any land, property, structures, facilities, premises, location, Town
vehicles and equipment owned, leased, operated or otherwise controlled by the Town or any
other place at, upon, from or near which an Employee works in the course of their duty.

Procedures

1. Managers and supervisors will identify and handle all situations promptly where there
   are concerns about suspected impairment or an individual’s ability to perform their job
   safely.
2. Human Resources will work with the immediate supervisor to determine appropriate
   action, if necessary.
3. Any employee suspected of being impaired while at work will be sent home immediately.
   The employee will not be permitted to operate a motor vehicle (i.e. drive their own
   vehicle home) and appropriate, safe transportation will be arranged by the Employer.
4. The supervisor will be responsible for documenting any concerns brought forward and/or
   incidence of suspected impairment.
5. Employees shall inform their supervisor or designate about any situation that may
   compromise their safety or the safety of others, or impair their performance, including
   voluntary disclosure of impairment. This includes reporting where they have sufficient
   grounds to suspect the impairment of another employee.
6. The Town will use “fit to work” procedures, and provide accommodations (where
   appropriate). The Town honours that disabilities are protected through human rights
   legislation and will make support available through access to confidential assessment,
   counselling, treatment, and after-care services with our EFAP provider. All voluntary
   referrals to the Employee and Family Assistance Program are kept confidential.

Guidelines

1. The Town reserves the right to declare certain
   jobs to be safety-sensitive.
2. The presence, possession, use, distribution and/or sale of illicit or illegal drugs,
   recreational drugs, alcohol and/or any drug paraphernalia on Town property is
   prohibited.
3. Employees shall not, while dressed in Town uniform or driving a Town vehicle, purchase
   alcohol, illegal or recreational drugs.
4. Employees will not attend bars, restaurants or non-Town events and consume alcohol or
   drugs, while wearing Town logoed apparel.
5. Any individual failing to adhere to this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, up to
   and including dismissal.

Question 3

Harassment , Sexua l Harassmen t and/o r Discriminatio n in th e Workplac e

Answer 3

Purpos e Statement:
The Corporation of the Town of Caledon (the “Town”) is committed to maintaining a healthy, safe
and supportive workplace for all employees that is free from harassment, sexual harassment, and
discrimination, pursuant to the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC). This procedure is designed to ‘
inform and communicate procedures for resolving complaints and disputes in a manner that is
respectful and maintains an employee’ s dignity.
Scop e
This procedure applies to all Town employees, including but not limited to, full-time, part-time,
casual, students, volunteers, temporary staff, interns, union and non-union, Councillors,
contractors, consultants, their workers and every person accessin
g Town property, services,
events and programs.

Definitions

Complainant :
A person who makes a complaint under this procedure.

Discrimination:
Includes but is not limited to unequal treatment based on one or more of the prohibited
grounds under the OHRC, except where conduct is permitted under the law.
Discrimination can be intentional or unintentional, direct or indirect with the result being
an adverse impact on the employee based on the following prohibited grounds:
* Age
* Ancestry
* Colour
* Race
* Creed
* Citizenship
* Ethnic origin
* Place of origin
* Gender identity
* Gender expression
* Disability
* Family status Marital status (including single status
* Record of offences Sex (including pregnancy and breastfeeding)
* Sexual orientation

Poisoned Work
Environment:
An infringement of every person’s right to equal treatment with respect to employment
which refers to comments, behaviour or a work environment that ridicules, belittles or
degrades people or groups identified by one or more prohibited grounds of this
procedure and in accordance with the OHRC

A poisoned work environment could result from a pattern of events, serious and single
event, remark, or action and need not be directed at a particular individual.

Respondent:
The person against whom a complaint has been filed.

Workplace:
Town workplaces include all locations where business or social activities of the
Corporation are conducted. The workplace is not restricted to the offices, buildings,
facilities and physical work sites of the organization. It also includes vehicles and any
other locations where the organization’s business is conducted (site visits, meetings, conferences, ETC.)

Any allegation of harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination that occurs outside
of the workplace but has repercussions in the workplace, by adversely affecting
workplace relationships, is also covered by this procedure.

Workplace Harassment:
The Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O, Ontario (OHSA) defines
workplace harassment as:
(a) engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a
workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome, or
(b) workplace sexual harassment (see extended definition below)

Workplace Harassment examples include, but are not limited to:

• Unwelcome remarks jokes, innuendos or taunting about a person’s racial, ethnic or
  religious background, colour, place of birth, citizenship, ancestry, or any other
  prohibited grounds;
• The display of racist, sexually suggestive or other offensive pictures or material;
• Refusing to converse or work with an employee because of his/her racial or ethnic
  background or any other prohibited grounds;
• Unnecessary physical contact; an unwelcome sexual solicitation or advance; or

-Reprisal or threat of reprisal for the rejection of a sexual solicitation or advance.

workplace Harassment does not include:

• Legitimate, reasonable management actions that are part of the normal work
  function that may include, but is not limited to appropriate direction, delegation,
  performance management or discipline administered by a member of management
  or a management designate;
• Stressful events encountered in the performance of legitimate job duties; or
• Occasional disagreements or pers

The OHSA defines workplace sexual harassment as:

(a) engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a
workplace because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression,
where the course of comment or conduct is known or ought reasonably to be known
to be unwelcome, or

(b) making a sexual solicitation or advance where the person making the solicitation or
advance is in a position to confer, grant or deny a benefit or advancement to the worker and the person knows or ought reasonably to know that the solicitation or advance is unwelcome.

Workplace Sexual Harassment examples include, but are not limited to:
- Unnecessary or unwanted physical contact (touching, physical assault, etc)
- Unwelcome remarks, jokes, innuendoes or taunting about a person’s physical
appearance, attire, sex or sexual orientation;
- The display of sexually suggestive or other offensive pictures or material;
- Practical jokes of a sexual nature, which cause awkwardness or embarrassment; or
- Demands for sexual favors or requests, particularly where privilege is implied.

Question 4

Harassment , Sexual Harassment and/o r Discrimination in the Workplace (Continued)

Answer 4

Responsibilities

Since all Employees have the right to work in an environment free from harassment, sexual
harassment and discrimination, it is the responsibility of every Town employee to assist and
operate in making the workplace as safe and secure as possible.

Any Town employee being harassed and/or discriminated against by a Town employee or non-
Town employee must respond to that person and report to their Supervisor.

If the harasser is the employee’ s Supervisor, the employee must report the action to the Director of Human Resources or designate.

The Town, as an Employer, is committed to:
- developing and maintaining a written program in consultation with the Joint Health
and Safety Committee(s) to implement the procedures with respect to workplace
harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination as required under OHS A and
OHRC ;
- taking reasonable preventative measures to protect employees and others in Town
workplaces from harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination;
- ensuring that every employee receives information and instruction about
harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace (online and
during orientation);
- ensuring that this procedure is posted in a conspicuous place in the workplace and
on Town of Caledon websites, as applicable;
- ensuring that this procedure is communicated to other persons who attend Town
workplaces;
- providing a process to report incidents of harassment, sexual harassment and
discrimination;
- conducting investigations fairly, within a timely basis and in a professional manner
that respects the dignity of all involved; and
- protecting complainants from acts of any retaliation to best of their ability.

2. Managers and Supervisors will:

• provide a workplace free of harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination and
  will intervene when such problems occur;
• ensure harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination is not tolerated, ignored
  or condoned and will be dealt with in a confidential manner;
  encourage employees to report incidents in writing and provide support required
  through the process; and
• respond promptly to all complaints in a professional manner appropriate for the
  circumstances of the complaint or incident.

3. Employees will:

• act in a respectful manner and not engage in any acts of harassment, sexual
  harassment and discrimination in the workplace;
• know and comply with this procedure at all times to protect themselves and others
  from harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace;
• report any action or practice which results in harassment, sexual harassment or
  discrimination and will complete the Harassment or Discrimination Report Form as
  outlined in this procedure; - participate in all training and annual acknowledgements required by this procedure;
• fully cooperate in any investigation;
• maintain employee confidentiality as reasonably as possible; and
• not engage in any acts of retaliation.

4 . Contractors and consultants who do business with the Town shall be informed about this
procedure, during initial communications (bids, tenders, meetings, Town website, etc,) and
shall be expected to adhere to this procedure.

The following are suggested actions open to managers or supervisors which can help prevent or
resolve problem situations:
- Approach the employee if something is suspected. Most employees are
embarrassed and reluctant to complain. If symptoms like reduced productivity,
changed behaviour, increased sick leave or sudden changes in performance
standards are noted with an employee, he or she may be more willing to discuss the
problem.
- Seek advice. If the employee’ s problem is complex, or not clearly related to
harassment, discuss the matter with the Director of Human Resources or designate.
- Managers and supervisors will keep a record of all discussions.

Exceptions

This procedure is not intended to unduly inhibit free speech or interfere with normal social
relationships among employees. All parties affected by this procedure should ensure that they
conduct themselves in an acceptable manner at all times and actively work to discourage any
offensive, harassing or discriminatory behaviour by others.

Investigations

Once a written complaint has been received, the Town will commenc e a formal investigation within
five (5) days. Harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination will not be ignored, as silence
can often be interpreted as acceptance. Employees will not be demoted, dismissed, disciplined, or
denied a promotion, advancement, or employment opportunities because they rejected sexual
advances or because they lodged a complaint when they honestly believed they were being
harassed or discriminated against.
A n investigation must be completed within 90 calendar days or less unless there are extenuating
circumstances warranting a longer investigation (e.g. more than five witnesses, key witness
unavailable due to illness).

The Town will commit to maintaining confidentiality of information obtained during the course of an
investigation and will not be disclosed, unless the disclosure is necessary for the purposes of
investigating or taking corrective action, or is otherwise required by law.

Reporting

If an employee feels they are being harassed or discriminated against, the following procedure
must be followed.
- Deal directly with the harassment. Whenever possible or appropriate, employees should
inform the person(s) responsible for the behaviour that it is offensive and contrary to the Town’ s procedure, and that it should stop. In many instances, the offensive behaviour will
be corrected by this approach.

o If not comfortable advising the person responsible for the behaviour(s) to stop, tell a
manager or supervisor. A n action plan can then be agreed upon, and a follow-up meeting scheduled.

o If the manager or supervisor is the person responsible for the behaviour(s), the
employee should tell the Director of Human Resources or designate.

o If a Senior Executive level person is responsible for the behavior, the Executive
Director of Huma n Resources or designate must be notified and an external person
may be retained to conduct a workplace harassment investigation.

• Keep an accurate, detailed record of the offensive behaviour(s).
• When in doubt, seek advice from the Director of Human Resources or designate.
• All complaints must be in writing using the Harassment/Discrimination Reporting Form and
  contain an account of the offensive behaviour(s), when it occurred, the person(s) involved
  and the names of any witnesses. The complaint should ideally be reported within thirty (30)
  days of an incident.
• All complaints will be investigated by Human Resources or an independent third party.

Procedure
The Investigation Procedure is as follows:

1.The complainant will be interviewed by the Director of Human Resources or designate to
obtain information and clarify details.

2. Other appropriate parties, such as witnesses and/or co-workers with personal knowledge of
   the behaviour(s) will be interviewed.
3. The alleged respondent will be provided with a copy of the complaint, detailing the
   complainant’ s allegations. The respondent will be interviewed and provided an opportunity
   to respond in writing to the allegations. The reply will be made known to the complainant
   before the investigation proceeds further.

a. In circumstances where the initial investigative findings allow for an early
settlement of the complaint without further investigation or blame, a
Summary Report should be written and signed by all parties.

b. Whe n an early settlement is not possible, a report summarizing the findings
and recommendations will be prepared by Human Resources.
Conclusions about whether or not harassment, sexual harassment or
discrimination took place will be based upon the balance of probabilities. All
information, evidence and circumstances will be carefully considered in the
spirit of fairness.

c. The Summary Report will be submitted, along with any recommendations for
corrective action to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and a consensual
course of action agreed upon, in co-operation with the Director of Human
Resources.

d. If investigative findings do not support the complaint, no corrective action will
be recommended and the file will be closed.

e. Upon completion of the investigation, the Town will inform both the
complainant and respondent in writing within ten calendar days of the
findings of the investigation and any corrective action that has been will be
taken as a result of the investigation.

If the complainant decides not to lay a formal complaint, the Director of Human Resources or
designate may decide that a formal complaint is required (based on the investigation of the
incident) and will file such documents with the respondent.

If it is determined that harassment, sexual harassment or discrimination has occurred, appropriate
disciplinary measures will be taken as soon as possible.

Seeking Immediate Assistance

Canada’ s Criminal Code addresses violent acts, threats, and behaviours, such as stalking. The
police should be contacted immediately when an act of violence has occurred in the workplace or
when someone in the workplace is threatened with violence. If an employee feels threatened by a co-worker, volunteer, contractor, student, vendor, visitor, client, or customer, an immediate call to 9-1-1 is required.

Th e Right to Refus e Unsafe Work

• The right to refuse unsafe work is a legal right of every worker under the OHSA.
  The Town is committed to ensuring a healthy and safe workplace for all.
  If you wish to pursue this right, please refer to the Town’ s Health and Safety Policy
  HS 1-01-09 The Right to Refuse Unsafe Work.

Special Circumstances

Should an employee have a legal court order (e.g., a restraining order, or “no-contact” order)
against another individual, the employee is encouraged to notify his or her supervisor, and to
supply a copy of that order to the Director of Human Resources or designate. This will be required
in instances where the employee strongly feels that the aggressor may attempt to contact that
employee at the workplace, in direct violation of the court order, so that the Town may take all
reasonable actions to protect the employee and their co-workers. Such information shall be kept
confidential and protected in accordance with all applicable legislation.

If any visitor to a Town workplace is seen with a weapon (or is known to possess one), or makes a
verbal threat or assault against an employee or another individual, employee witnesses are
required to immediately call 9-1-1 , their immediate supervisor, and the Human Resources
Department.

In cases where criminal proceedings are forthcoming, the Town will assist police agencies,
lawyers, insurance companies, and courts to the fullest extent.

Fraudulent or Malicious Complaints

This harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination procedure must never be used to make
fraudulent or malicious complaints. It is important to realize that unfounded or frivolous allegations
of harassment, sexual harassment or discrimination may cause both the respondent and the Town
significant damage.

If investigation findings support that an employee has knowingly made false statements regarding
an allegation of harassment, sexual harassment or discrimination, immediate disciplinary action will
be taken. Disciplinary letters will be kept in the Human Resources Department for a period of five
(5) years, subject to the terms of various collective agreements.

Disciplinary Measures

If investigation findings support that an employee has been involved in harassment, sexual
harassment or discrimination, immediate disciplinary action will be taken. Such disciplinary action
may involve counselling, a formal warning, suspension and/or dismissal.

Disciplinary letters will be kept in the Human Resources Department for a period of five (5) years,
subject to the terms of various collective agreements.

Confidentiality and Record s Management

The Town will commit to ensuring that complainants and respondents are treated fairly and
respectfully.

The Town will protect the confidentiality of information obtained during the course of an
investigation and will not disclose information, unless the disclosure is necessary for the purposes
of enforcement of this procedure, investigation of an incident, taking corrective action, or is
otherwise required by law. Information collected and retained shall subject to the OHSA, OHR C
and the rules governing court proceedings, where applicable.

The Town will also provide appropriate assistance to any employee who is the victim of
harassment, sexual harassment or discrimination.

No record of a complaint will be placed in the employee file of the employee who files a complaint
or in the files of any witnesses, except when disciplinary action is taken as part of the corrective
action. Investigation records will be consolidated and held in the Human Resources Department in
a secure, confidential manner.

Procedure Review

As required by the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Town will review this procedure as
often as necessary, but at least annually, to ensure that it adequately implements the policy with
respect to workplace harassment, as required.