From The Iowa County magazine December 2021 issue

Elected Officials Role in Employee Safety

Creating a safety culture: The elected officials’ role in employee safety

Elected officials are leaders in their community and in managing the county. They are visible and active in the process of setting the vision and goals for the county, including safety and health. With all their duties, it’s easy to sometimes overlook the goal of providing a safe work environment and the role these leaders play in safety.

Setting safety goals and paying attention to safety helps provide a safe community for citizens and a safe workplace for employees, so everyone has the opportunity to go home safely at the end of the day. Happier constituents, improved productivity and employee morale, and a positive impact on the financial bottom line may all be byproducts of a sound safety culture. Experience shows that elected officials that are active in safety have better safety and health programs, which equates to lower workers’ compensation premiums and fewer injured employees.

The first important component to a sound safety culture is developing and enforcing policy. Personnel policies are a key part of this, and performance reviews should include a safety component. Although the person performing the review will vary from county-to-county, department heads should ensure each review includes a discussion of how the employee follows safety rules and procedures. Making safety a major component of a job performance review sends a message to everyone working at the county that safety is important.

The elected officials should also pass and enforce work rules and safety procedures that protect employees from known safety hazards. If the county department has blood borne exposure under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) definition, then it is the responsibility of the county to ensure there are safety rules and procedures in place to address these exposures adequately. Once policies and procedures are adopted, the county must also ensure, either directly or through departmental supervisors, that the rules are followed.

As policies are established, a sound safety culture continues to develop by paying attention to the hiring process. Creating current and accurate job descriptions prior to advertising an opening and interviewing potential candidates are the first steps. Once a job offer is ready to be made, it should always be contingent upon the candidate completing a pre-placement physical. To ensure the pre-placement physical process works, consider implementing a pre-placement physical policy, and use a designated health care provider to conduct the physical. Hiring someone physically incapable of doing the job can lead to injuries to the employee. Investing in the right process can save money and time and ensure the county hires the right person for the right job.

Once the right person is hired, properly training them to do the job is critical. It’s also important to ensure that everyone in the workforce knows and understands the applicable OSHA standards with which the county must comply. Encourage staff to attend safety and compliance workshops, since it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure compliance. The board of supervisors should receive a report from the safety committee regarding efforts to comply with safety regulations on a regular basis.

As alluded to earlier, OSHA plays a key role in outlining and monitoring employee safety and health procedures. Iowa is a state plan state, which means Iowa develops and operates its own safety and health programs that are overseen by the Federal OSHA. Municipalities in states without a state OSHA plan are often exempt from OSHA regulations. However, in Iowa private employers as well as state and local governments, including counties, are covered by Iowa Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) regulations. These rules state that the employer is responsible for providing employees, including volunteer emergency medical technicians and reserve peace officers, with a safe and compliant workplace. Failure to provide a safe work environment may lead to fines for counties and potential penalties that can be leveled at individual elected officials that are deemed willful violations or criminally negligent.

Budgeting for training, equipment and other expenses required for safety, such as physicals, vaccinations, and hearing tests, is another way elected officials can take a proactive role in creating a culture of safety in their county. For example, if a county has employees working in the right-of-way, then traffic control devices, high visibility clothing and proper procedures must be provided and used. If a county can’t afford to do the job safely, it must find alternative methods, such as contracting. Some smaller local governments have worked together to develop safety equipment sharing programs.

Many counties of all sizes appoint board members to committees for various functions of the county. There are road, watershed, and solid waste committees. Typically, the board of supervisor members on these committees work with the employees in the affected department, attend meetings, and generally become the board “expert” on that function. A natural extension is to appoint a safety committee for the county, and to appoint a board member to serve on the committee. The committee members can be responsible for a safety manual, communicating with employees on safety item budget needs, and, of course, attending the county safety committee meetings. There are also opportunities for board members and other elected officials to attend safety workshops. The Iowa Municipalities Workers’ Compensation Association (IMWCA) holds presentations on different safety aspects each year free of charge to members.

As visible and active leaders in the community and in setting the vision for the county, elected officials have a unique and important role in encouraging safe work practices in their county. Their leadership can ensure that every county employee goes home safe at the end of each work day.

The Iowa Municipalities Workers’ Compensation Association (IMWCA) may be reached at 515.244.7282 or imwcainfo@iowaleague.org.

Created in 1981 in response to the increasing cost and unavailability of workers’ compensation coverage for municipal employees, this self-funded risk pooling program is administered by the League and owned and controlled by and for the benefit of Iowa’s cities, counties and their respective 28E entities. IMWCA is a program endorsed by ISAC.