| SECTION 1. The NWS recognizes its responsibility to provide safe and healthy work places and conditions, and to follow operating practices that will safeguard all employees and result in safe working conditions and efficient operation. NWSEO will encourage employees to comply with all safety rules and regulations as established by Management.
SECTION 2. Each employee shall comply with safety standards, rules and orders issued by the Agency. Employees are responsible for advising Management when an unsafe condition has arisen within their work area which they believe is hazardous. Form CD-351, Report of Safety Hazards will be available to an employee who wishes to report a health or safety problem at their facility. There shall be no restraint or reprisal, to any employee, as a result of reporting an unsafe practice or condition. Management shall investigate and determine whether unsafe working conditions exist. If necessary, Management shall take steps to correct any such unsafe working conditions.
SECTION 3. In accordance with Engineering Handbook 15, section 30, Management will conduct safety and health inspections of each facility at least annually. The Steward or designee will be given the opportunity to participate in the inspection on official time. Upon request, Management agrees to furnish the Steward with any monitoring data collected concerning occupational safety and health.
SECTION 4. The Article 8 process should be used to identify the need for protective clothing and safety devices to address environmental or equipment hazards. The consensus decision of the team/council shall be the basis for the acquisition and distribution of such equipment and clothing to accomplish the work of the agency, provided that nothing shall preclude Management from buying safety equipment and ordering an employee to use the safety equipment. It is the employee's responsibility to properly and consistently use safety equipment, personal protective equipment, and other devices and procedures provided or directed by the Agency, and necessary for their protection.
SECTION 5. Management should provide controlled access, as appropriate, to the working area for employees working alone or outside the normal business hours.
SECTION 6. When the Agency orders an employee to undergo a fitness for duty examination, the employee will be in a duty status while undergoing the examination. The NWS will be responsible for all costs related to the examination, if the NWS selects the doctor. If the employee selects the doctor, the NWS will be responsible, only for the cost of the examination.
SECTION 7. Management shall keep a well-stocked first-aid kit and booklet, as recommended by the American Red Cross, in facilities where there is no co-located health unit. A first-aid kit shall be provided, upon request, when employees are working in a location remote from the facility.
SECTION 8. Employees are required to immediately report to their supervisor any accident or injury, major or minor, which occurs on the job. When an employee becomes ill or is injured in the performance of his/her duty, the employee must advise the supervisor as soon as possible. In cases where the employee is medically unable to contact his/her supervisor, an employee's family member or other representative may provide the required notification. Management shall refer the employee to the appropriate Personnel Division or if necessary, arrange for the Personnel Division to counsel the employee as to his/her rights to file for compensation benefits and required time frames. If requested by the employee, the Personnel Division will assist the employee in the completion of the appropriate forms. The affected employee will be supplied with a copy of the completed forms. The parties recognize that the Office of Workers Compensation Programs (OWCP) (Dept of Labor) approves or disapproves compensation claims and the amounts to be paid, and that Management has no control over the OWCP. Regulations covering traumatic injury or occupational illness are defined in the DAO 202-810. An employee who sustains a traumatic injury may select, within thirty (30) days, the continuation of regular pay (COP) for a period not to exceed forty-five (45) days in lieu of sick or annual leave.
SECTION 9. Management and NWSEO will jointly, through local meetings at the operating level, develop, maintain and post an up-to-date list of telephone numbers of appropriate doctors, ambulance, rescue squad, police and fire departments, and hospitals for use in cases of medical emergencies. If requested, Management may assist in arranging transportation for an employee being sent home due to illness or accident on the job.
SECTION 10. An employee recuperating from a non-job-related illness or injury and temporarily unable to perform the duties of his/her assigned position may submit a written request to his/her supervisor for temporary assignment to productive duties commensurate with the disability and the employee's qualifications. The employee shall provide a medical certificate signed by a licensed/registered physician, or other practitioner, attesting to the illness or injury and the probable length of the employee's disability. Management shall give proper consideration to the employee's request. Such assignments, if granted, shall not be for more than thirty (30) days in duration. Request for longer periods must be approved by the appropriate Regional Director whose decision is final and non-grievable in accordance with federal regulations and law.
SECTION 11. The NWS agrees that it is not intended for an employee to be exposed to unsafe working conditions beyond requirements imposed by the job. Such conditions shall be regulated by applicable laws, regulations and agency publications. General schedule employees who believe that an unusual physical hardship or hazard was not taken into consideration in the grading of his/her position may appeal through the classification appeals procedures.
SECTION 12. Employees are encouraged to make recommendations through NWSEO to Management for Article 8 meetings that will:
A. promote safety and health education
B. emphasize safety precautions
C. identify areas which should receive increased emphasis, such as field safety concerns of electronics technicians, field engineering personnel and cooperative program managers.
SECTION 13. Employees who are concerned that an adverse health effect is caused by a malfunction of VDTs, CRTs, or other electronic equipment may make a report of the alleged unhealthy conditions to the NWS. Management will follow Federal rules, regulations, and guidelines for exposure to electromagnetic fields, when and if established. In the case of VDTs and CRTs, Management agrees to utilize available corrective measures to reduce the effects of the adverse factors. Generally-accepted industry standards for radiation levels, ergonomics, and work space lighting should be specified by Management during the procurement process for new equipment, devices, or systems.
SECTION 14. Management agrees to provide personal feminine hygiene supplies in all facility remodeling or new facility construction in the interest of good health and hygiene.
SECTION 15. The National Weather Service and NWSEO encourage employees to take advantage of specialized health and safety expertise offered by professional groups, such as the American Red Cross, Fire Departments, Rescue Squads and other local community groups. When requested by the employees, Management shall make a reasonable effort to provide formal, locally-administered, first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) courses.
SECTION 16. In the event of construction or remodeling within a facility, Management will ensure that proper safeguards are maintained to prevent injury to employees. If Management has control over, and advance knowledge, of any use of chemicals or pesticides at the facility, the NWSEO Steward will be notified in advance of the nature and the purpose of their use.
SECTION 17. Fire evacuation plans will be developed at each facility where one has not been established. The plan should be reviewed annually at each facility. Fire evacuation plans shall be conspicuously displayed. Management shall provide for an annual review of fire evacuation procedures by all personnel, and provide training in the operation of fire extinguishers and other related equipment at each facility.
SECTION 18. Employees who perform duty involving exposure to hazardous conditions or physical hardships shall be paid hazardous pay differentials, as appropriate, under applicable law and regulations.
SECTION 19. To ensure the safety and health of handicapped employees, Management will make facilities accessible to the handicapped in accordance with applicable Federal laws, rules, and regulations.
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