Johnson County Kansas: Human Resource Department

Workplace Safety Assignments: Roles, Duties, and Expectations

Executives and Key Managers

All County Department Directors, Agency Heads, and Elected Officials, as well as other key positions, need to ensure they can be contacted at any time (24/7). A back-up designee who has the authority to act on the behalf of the executive in his/her absence needs to be identified for each Department, Agency or Elected office. Office, home, cell, and/or pager numbers for executives, key managers, and their designated back-ups should be current and on file at all times in the County Manager’s Office. The County Manager’s Office will is responsible for maintaining this list and will ensure current information is provided routinely to Emergency Communications and the Sheriff’s watch commander. Designated department directors and key managers may be required to carry a pager 24/7; these individuals will be identified and notified of this requirement by the County Manager’s Office.

Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Designated Representative

The Department of Emergency Management designates and notifies County departments and agencies if their specific department or agency needs to assign EOC Designated Representatives. The EOC Designated Representatives work in conjunction with the County’s Emergency Operations Center, and may be called to the EOC in times of crisis. The duties of these representatives are detailed in plans through the Department of Emergency Management. The Department of Emergency management is also responsible for Continuity of Government (i.e., business continuity) planning, which includes numerous aspects of keeping County departments and agencies running, in addition to the issue of workplace safety. Since employees assigned to serve as the EOC Designated Representatives need to report to the EOC to perform their duties, the same individual should not be assigned to serve as Workplace Safety Coordinator. Departments may wish to identify a pair or team of individuals who are cross-trained in both roles.

Workplace Safety Coordinators

All County departments and agencies are required to assign at least one Workplace Safety Coordinator. A back-up Coordinator should also be identified for each Department, Agency or Elected office. The Workplace Safety Coordinators work in conjunction with Risk Management to ensure that all departments and agencies develop and understand emergency procedures and maintain current procedures for their respective areas. The Risk Manager is responsible for maintaining this list and will ensure information is provided routinely to the County Manager’s Office, Emergency Communications, and the Sheriff’s watch commander. The Risk Manager is also responsible for conducting regular training programs for the Workplace Safety Coordinators.

Workplace Safety Coordinators have the following responsibilities:

Serve as the key contact within the department/agency to distribute information from the organization (e.g., Sheriff, Risk Management, Facilities, County Manager’s Office, HR, etc.) to employees and others within the department/agency, such as alerts, notices, after-hours contact, etc.
Serve as the key contact within the department/agency to communicate questions or unique issues back to the organization
Maintain current department/agency emergency plans and procedures for normal business hours and off-hours operations
Develop and maintain three calling trees with current and accurate information:
- Executive (provide information to County Manager’s Office)
- Building-specific (for buildings in which multiple departments/agencies reside)
- Department/Agency (maintain a current list of emergency contacts for all staff, including non-County employees, within the department/agency)
Designate and train a calling tree contact for the department/agency who can:
- Be available and accessible to receive phone calls in emergency situations
- Know who the Calling Tree Contact is expected to call next in the tree
- Know who to contact when reporting information back up through the tree
Attend training and meetings relating to general issues and specific duties
Coordinate training of department/agency staff on emergency and safety plans and procedures
Have a designated back-up to ensure departmental continuity

Since employees assigned to serve as Workplace Safety Coordinators need to remain within the department and EOC Designated Representatives need to report to the EOC to perform their duties, the same individual should not be assigned to both roles. Departments may wish to identify a pair or team of individuals who are cross-trained in both roles.

For additional information on Workplace Safety Assignments, contact the Department of Human Resources at 913-715-1400.

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This page last updated: July 20, 2006