Section 2-4: Health and Safety Committee

It  is  understood  by  the  parties  that  the  benefits  granted  by  this  Article  shall  not  be interpreted  or  applied  as  requiring  the  employer  to  count  as  time  worked,  any  hours  or fractions of  hours spent outside the employee’s work  shift in pursuit  of benefits  provided by this Article.  The employer shall count as time worked any  hours or fractions  of hours spent  within  the  employee’s  regular  work  shift  in  pursuit  of  benefits  provided  by  this Article.

The  City  will  continue to  undertake  all reasonable efforts to  provide  for employee health and  safety  in  accordance  with  the  State’s  Occupational  Safety  and  Health  law. Supervisors and employees are committed to working together to ensure a healthy and safe work environment.

A Unit employee may  file,  without  fear  of  discipline,  retaliation  or  discrimination,  a grievance when in his best judgment; the City has failed to comply with specific safety and health  standards  promulgated  by  local,  state  and  federal  regulations.    The  City  will continue  its  practice  of  providing  personal  protective  safety  equipment  to  employees  to protect them from recognized safety and health hazards.

In order  to facilitate this  policy,  a joint  committee entitled, “Health and Safety Committee” shall  be  established.  This  Committee  shall  be  com posed  of  two  (2)  unit  members appointed  by  the  Union  and  two  (2)  City  representatives  as  designated  by  the  City Manager.  The chairpersons shall rotate among the members.

The  Committee  shall  meet  quarterly  at  mutually  scheduled  times  to  consider on-the-job safety  matters  referred  to  it  by  the  existing  departmental  safety  comm ittees  and  safety officers, or otherwise coming to its attention, and shall advise Department Heads and the City Manager concerning on-the-job safety and health matters.

All written recommendations of the Committee shall be submitted to the Department Head concerned and to the City Manager.

In  the  discharge  of  its  function,  the  Committee  shall  be  guided  by  the  applicable regulations  of  the  State’s  OSHA  agency,  and  the  City’s  existing  practices  and  rules relating to safety and health, and formulate suggested changes.

The  Union  may  review  and  suggest  improvements  to  existing  City  building  evacuation plans and the City Safety Program.

Employee members of the Committee shall not lose pay or benefits for meetings mutually scheduled  during  their  duty  time  up  to  a  maximum  of  four  (4)  hours  per  employee  per meeting.

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