NEWS BRIEF
Safety Reporter
Canadian
www.safetyreporter.com
October 2015
Regular > pg. 10
PROTECTING HEALTH-CARE WORKERS
The provinces of B.C., Ontario and P.E.I.
are stepping up initiatives when it comes to
protecting health-care workers, who frequently
face assault in the workplace. pg. 2
ALLEVIATING ANXIETY pg. 3
Workplace anxiety is said to be on the
rise, as employers and workers face
increased pressures. But relationships
with colleagues and supervisors can help
alleviate some of the pain, says a study.
WORKING ALONE
What are an employer's responsibilities
when it comes to protecting employees
who are in occupations where they're
often working alone? Legislation
varies among the provinces pg. 9
INSIDE
When an employee crosses the line
How can you know if a disgruntled worker is a risk to the workplace?
BYLIZ BERNIER
IT'S THE ONE headline no
workplace wants to be a part of:
"Two shot and killed by disgrun-
tled former employee."
But that was the tragic cir-
cumstance at a television station
in Virginia when two journalists
were shot and killed this August,
during a live broadcast.
The two were shot by a former
colleague at the station, Vester
Lee Flanagan II, who broadcast
under the name Bryce Williams,
according to the Guardian. He
took his own life shortly after the
shooting.
Flanagan had a history of of-
fice disputes and complaints of
racism and mistreatment — his
employment at the station was
terminated in 2013.
Every workplace has some de-
gree of conflict. The challenge
for employers is determining
ACTIVISTS PUSH FOR
CONDOMS-IN-PORN VOTE
(Reuters) — A campaign to require
condom use in pornographic film
productions in California has
submitted enough signatures
(557,138) to election officials to
put a ballot measure before state
voters in 2016, organizers said.
"Unlike most politicians, vot-
ers are not squeamish about this
issue, seeing it as a means to
protect the health and safety of
performers," said Michael Wein-
stein, president of AIDS Health-
care Foundation (AHF). "It's only
fair that adult film performers be
afforded the same safeguards as
other Californians in their work-
places."
In 2012, the foundation suc-
cessfully backed a voter-approved
measure in Los Angeles County to
force the use of condoms in local
porn productions. Porn producers
fought that measure in U.S. District
Court, arguing it went against their
clients' right to freedom of expres-
sion. But in December, a regional
U.S. federal appeals court upheld
the requirement.
The new proposal, if approved
by voters next year, would man-
date that state and municipal offi-
cials ensure condoms are used on
pornographic film sets statewide.
Many employees
unsure about
workplace protection
Do your workers feel safe at work?
BY LIZ FOSTER
DO YOU FEEL safe at work?
It's a question CareerBuilder.ca
asked hundreds of employees
across Canada recently.
And while the vast majority of
employees — 95 per cent — re-
ported they feel their workplace
is safe, only 62 per cent said they
would know how to protect
themselves if there was an emer-
gency in their workplace that
posed a physical threat.
Credit:
REUTERS/Chris
Keane
You > pg. 8
A picture of slain journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward is seen at a memorial near the offices of WDBJ7 in Roanoke, Virg., in August.
