Page 12 - NY Cooperator April 2020

12 THE COOPERATOR — APRIL 2020 COOPERATOR.COM MANAGEMENT Staff Safety 101 Protecting Employees in Your Building BY DARCEY GERSTEIN With few exceptions, most multifamily employer’s responsibility to ensure the work- buildings or communities have at least one or ers are trained on the hazards to which they are two staff members (and sometimes many exposed. OSHA offers free, confidential onsite more) who maintain the safety, security, clean- liness, mechanical operations, and day-to-day information is available at www.osha.gov. functions that residents and visitors rely on. But who ensures the safety and security of the ensure that OSHA standards are followed and staff themselves? What systems and protocols maintained; it is the responsibility of the em- are in place to address how employees can keep ployee to call out serious hazards and to inform themselves—and each other—safe on the job? OSHA when they believe an employer is not The Cooperator went behind the acronyms to compliant. OSHA compliance officers perform find out. OSHA Workplaces throughout the United States or if a worker or worker representative files a and its territories are subject to the Occupation- al Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), overseen by the U.S. Department of Labor. Ac- cording to the OSHA website, “OSHA creates Kate Ferranti of SEIU Local 32BJ, the Service and enforces regulatory standards that require Employees International Union, which repre- certain precautions to be taken in order to en- sure the safety and health of workers.” OSHA regulations are the primary worker a history of accidents there, or if an employee safety statutes in the U.S., says Matthew Per- sanis, a partner with Elefante & Persanis, LLP, a hazardous condition exists.” a labor, employment, and real estate law firm in Scarsdale, who is also labor counsel to a number of employer associations. “If a build- ing complies with OSHA regulations, they are ing Fund, the union has more than 175,000 complying with what they need to.” Part of keeping employees safe is mak- ing sure they’re properly trained for the tasks sand of those members work in the New York expected of them. According to an OSHA metropolitan area—and the number swells to spokesperson, “Property staff must have train- ing appropriate for the types of jobs and tasks Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virgin- they are performing. If they work on electrical ia, and Washington, D.C. Union members in- equipment, they need to be qualified. If they clude cleaners, doormen, porters, maintenance work with chemicals, they need to be trained workers, window cleaners, security guards, su- in the safe use of those chemicals. If they are perintendents, and theater and stadium work- performing servicing and maintenance on ers. equipment, it is possible they will need training in the control of hazardous energy. It is their tirement planning, wage negotiations, and safety and health consultation services.” More It is the responsibility of the employer to drop-in inspections only when there is an im- minent or obvious hazard, an injury or fatality, complaint. “OSHA’s role is to enforce the rules that ap- ply to any work being performed on-site,” says sents building workers throughout the Mid- Atlantic. “They can inspect a condo if there is files a complaint regarding lack of training or if 32BJ According to James Barry, Senior Manager of Program Development for the 32BJ Train- members, making it the largest property work- ers’ union in the United States. Eighty thou- more than 100,000 if you count New Jersey, In addition to the healthcare benefits, re-