Occupational Health and Safety Paper Help

Assume that the questions are based on Saskatchewan businesses, and the Saskatchewan Employment Act applies to all questions, unless otherwise requested or specified.

PART I

(Total – 40 Marks)

You are a Safety and HR consultant in the province of Saskatchewan and have recently seen a huge upswing in your work. Please provide advice to the following consulting clients.

• You have been approached by Fred Flintstone, who runs a gravel pit just outside of Craik, Saskatchewan. Fred has two questions for you. First, Fred has been approached by one of his employees, Bam Bam, who has a “use as needed” _authorization for medicinal cannabis. Bam Bam has given Fred a doctor’s note that says that Bam Bam can continue to work in any job, with the authorization, even in a gravel pit. Fred says he doesn’t know what condition is being treated by the cannabis, but he wants to know whether he must let Bam Bam on site. Provide Fred with his options for Bam Bam, and whether he can be accommodated on site.

Fred also mentions that the site has had twelve incidents, or near misses, related to the way that one of the loaders is working with one of the delivery trucks. The loader has tipped into, and damaged, three delivery trucks, and there are issues with the shovel (which carries the gravel), releasing the gravel without anyone touching the controls. Advise Fred on how you would recommend reviewing, and dealing with, the safety issues regarding the loader.

2. Your client Marvel Inc is starting a business in Dilke, Saskatchewan. Black Widow and Shang-Chi will be responsible for a farming operation, farming several genetically modified crops. For the farming operation, Black Widow and Shang-Chi have three questions for you.

• First, they ask you about a worker who was injured on the job. The worker, Bucky, broke his arm while operating a piece of farm machinery. They want to know how workplace injuries are dealt with, and what steps they need to take in Saskatchewan.
• Second, Black Widow approaches you, and tells you that one worker, Black Panther, has refused to perform the work that Bucky was doing when he got injured, because Black Panther believes that the work is unusually dangerous. Assume that the work was repair work on a combine, which had been performed by both Bucky and Black Panther before. Advise your client on how to deal with a refusal, and what you think the outcome will be.
• Finally, Shang-Chi has noticed that one of the employees, Loki, doesn’t appear to be himself. First, he seems to be limping slightly, and a number of co-workers, including Loki’s brother Thor, have come to Shang-Chi expressing concerns that Loki may have suffered an injury, and may also be suffering from some mental health issues. Shang-Chi is wondering whether there is anything you need to do about Loki, given that he hasn’t come to you at all to raise any issues.

4. Mario and Luigi have returned to Saskatchewan. Instead of a plumbing business, they have decided to get into another industry – _they are opening a restaurant in Leader, Saskatchewan.
   1. Mario and Luigi have come to you for advice on a couple of items: a. Mario is into “experimental” _cooking, which involves the use of chemicals to change the way food looks, or the texture of the food. Mario tells you that he gets the chemicals on the dark net, and he is not exactly sure of the make-up of the chemicals. They are delivered in unlabeled containers. Mario says that he has tested all the food made using the chemicals, and there haven’t been any negative effects. However, he wants to know whether there are any issues with the use of the chemicals in the restaurant once it opens. Advise Mario on what he should (and shouldn’t) be doing about the chemicals.
   2. Luigi has come to you and asked about his planned hiring practices. The restaurant will have a restaurant area, and a lounge/bar area. Luigi’s plan is to hire only females in the bar/lounge, and only males in the restaurant (and in the kitchen). Are there any issues with Luigi’s plans for hiring?
5. Boba Fett has approached you for some advice on his animal training business. First, he has an employee, Jar Jar Binks, who he has just hired as an animal trainer. Jar Jar has advised Boba that he is allergic to animals and is requesting an accommodation. Advise Boba on Jar Jar’s request.

• Boba tells you that he’s also dealing with a harassment complaint. One of his employees, Darth Maul, has filed a complaint stating that three other employees – Din Djarin, Grogu, and Ashoka, have been harassing him. First, he says that Grogu is using the force to move him around, and even dangle him as a “toy” in front of the animals, which he considers bullying. Grogu claims that he only moves Maul when he has asked Maul to move, and Maul has refused. Maul claims that Din Djarin and Ahsoka have been picking on him because of the colour of his skin (red and black), as well as his horns. He says that he has resorted to wearing a hood at work, because they wouldn’t even stop the comments after he told them that he was offended. Ahsoka says that she also has different coloured skin, so she cannot be accused of harassment. Din Djarin says he always wears a helmet, so he can’t see how he should know that wearing a hood is a problem. Advise Boba on the harassment issues in the workplace, and any other issues you see from the facts, and provide recommendations.

5. Following an investigation into your client – Divider-Market’s – workplace, an Occupational Health Officer has issued a Notice of Compliance to Divider Market, requiring that they fix three hazards. Please provide general advice on how you would deal with workplace hazards for Divider Market, as well as the specific analysis of how you would deal with each of the three hazards, and why you chose that method. The three hazards are as follows: a.
6. People in the bakery appear to be breathing moistly on some of the baked goods as they prepare them. You see this as a potential issue, given the recent issues you experienced with a global pandemic. You also see this as a generally problematic workplace issue. Advise your head baker, Anakin, on how to deal with this issue.
7. In the produce department, you have learned that one of your employees, Asaaj Ventress, has been changing the “best before” dates on some produce, so that they are purchased after the original best before date. How would you deal with the product, and with the employee?
8. Your supervisor of sporting goods, Mace Windu, has recently had two employees replace light bulbs, 16 feet in the air, on a rickety ladder. They are up on the ladder by themselves, without anyone else assisting, and without any tie-offs. The law in Saskatchewan for working at heights requires protections when you’re more that 4 feet off the ground. In fact, one worker, Maz, is injured when she falls from a ladder. How would you advise that Mace’s situation be dealt with? What are the risks, and for whom?

Part II – _Choose Two of Three

3. Choose a local (Saskatchewan) business and provide a ten-point occupational health and safety audit. By 10-point, I mean that you would choose ten items from the workplace and provide an audit and occupational health and safety plan for those ten items, including recommendations. Provide some background information on the business that you’ve chosen, as part of your answer, including the name of the business, the industry, the type of work, and the information you focused on to do your audit and planning.
4. You are the safety manager at a construction site in Estevan, Saskatchewan. The project has been going along fine, until yesterday. Two incidents occurred yesterday, which your company, Blame Canada Inc, has asked you to investigate.
5. The first incident is that one of your workers, Stan, has reported that he is being harassed by his supervisor, Mr. Garrison. Stan works in maintenance – _his job is generally to supply water to the site, and to remove waste and sewage from the site. Stan is complaining that Mr. Garrison is making him do undesirable work – _cleaning out the portable washrooms. He also says that he was disciplined for refusing to wear his hardhat (but it wouldn’t fit over his toque). Finally, he says that Mr. Garrison has referred to him, and other workers, as minions. Advise your boss, Mrs. Cartman, about how you would perform the investigation, and what steps you need to take. Let her know what additional information you might need. Provide an initial analysis of whether the behavior complained of is harassment. Finally, provide her with any recommendations that you may have for the situation or the site.
6. the second incident was a fatality. One of your crane operators, Kyle, who was being supervised by Chef, was lowering a beam into place using a crane. It appears that a worker – _Kenny – _was in the path of the beam. An emergency stop was called, but it turned out that the emergency stop button was not functioning properly, and the beam was dropped on Kenny. You talk to Kyle, and Chef, and they both tell you that Kenny was not supposed to be in that area, and they try to place the blame on him. After replying that they killed Kenny, you ask a few questions, and review some records. It turns out that Chef has not been doing the regular inspections for the crane, and, even when Kyle raised the issue, Chef told Kyle to ignore it and just do his work. Once again, Mrs. Cartman comes to you for advice on who is going to be accountable and liable for the accident. Provide her with advice on who is accountable, and on any penalties that could occur. Provide recommendations on any continuing safety issues on site.
7. You are an occupational health and safety officer and have been assigned to deal with a case filed by Homer J. Simpson, with respect to his complaint of discriminatory action, filed against his employer, Monty Burns, based on Homer’s work at a nuclear power plant in Rosetown, SK. Homer says that he raised a concern regarding the failure of Mr. Burns to properly label, and dispose of, nuclear waste. Homer says he was fired from his job, because he raised a safety issue with Lenny and Carl, who are members of the Occupational Health and Safety Committee.

When Mr. Burnes learned of the complaint, he instructed his HR and Safety Manager, Smithers, to investigate the complaint. He then told Smithers that Homer was a bad employee, who had a history of absenteeism. He also mentioned that a piece of equipment had to be repaired, at significant cost, after Homer tried to hide his donut stash in the gears of the equipment. Smithers mentions that Homer has already been disciplined for those incidents, but Mr. Burns says that Homer needs to be fired, and the plant can use his past discipline to show that he was a bad worker who should be fired, especially now that he has filed the safety complaint.

Smithers fires Homer. He then investigates and learns that Mr. Burns was not following proper procedure for labelling and disposing of waste. He makes several recommendations, which are implemented. There are no further issues with labelling of waste at the plant.

• Write a decision, as the Occupational Health Officer, for this matter. Provide recommendations and remedies as part of your decision, regardless of whether you find for Mr. Burns or Homer.