Employee Relations Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is involved in any labor dispute nor, to the knowledge of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, is any such dispute threatened. None of the Company's or its subsidiaries' employees is a member of a union and the Company and its subsidiaries believe that their relations with their employees are good.
Labor and Employee Relations As of the date hereof, except as disclosed in Section 4.11(a) of the PSNC Disclosure Schedule hereto or in the PSNC SEC Reports, (i) neither PSNC nor any of the PSNC Subsidiaries is a party to any collective bargaining agreement or other labor agreement with any union or labor organization and (ii) to the best knowledge of PSNC, there is no current union representation question involving employees of PSNC or any of the PSNC Subsidiaries, nor does PSNC know of any activity or proceeding of any labor organization (or representative thereof) or employee group to organize any such employees. PSNC has delivered or otherwise made available to SCANA true, correct and complete copies of the collective bargaining agreements listed in Section 4.11(a) of the PSNC Disclosure Schedule, together with all amendments, modifications or supplements thereto. Except as disclosed in Section 4.11(b) of the PSNC Disclosure Schedule hereto or in the PSNC SEC Reports filed prior to the date hereof or except to the extent such could not reasonably be expected to have a PSNC Material Adverse Effect, (a) there is no unfair labor practice, employment discrimination or other written grievance, arbitration, claim, suit, action or proceeding against PSNC or any of the PSNC Subsidiaries pending, or to the best knowledge of PSNC, threatened before any court, governmental department, commission agency, instrumentality or authority or any arbitrator, (b) there is no strike, lockout or material dispute, slowdown or work stoppage pending or, to the best knowledge of PSNC, threatened against or involving PSNC, and (c) there is no proceeding, claim, suit, action or governmental investigation pending or, to the best knowledge of PSNC, threatened in respect of which any director, officer, employee or agent of PSNC or any of the PSNC Subsidiaries is or may be entitled to claim indemnification from PSNC or such PSNC Subsidiary pursuant to their respective charters or by-laws or as provided in the indemnification agreements listed in Section 4.11(c) of the PSNC Disclosure Schedule. Except as set forth in Section 4.11(d) of the PSNC Disclosure Schedule, to the knowledge of PSNC, PSNC and the PSNC Subsidiaries are in material compliance with all federal, state and local laws with respect to employment practices, labor relations, safety and health regulations and mass layoffs and plant closings.
Supervisory Employees For the purposes of this Article, the parties agree that Supervisory positions are those that are not excluded under Article 2.0 above and that satisfy the following criteria:
a) Employees on Salary Schedule 01 who under Plan A "Nature of Supervision" have either Degree 3 (or higher) or its equivalent;
b) Employees on Schedules 02 or 03 on condition they normally supervise other employees.
Employee Grievance If an employee considers there has been a significant change to the job content of the position held, the employee may initiate a grievance by using Step 1 of the Grievance Procedure. If the issue is not resolved at this step, the Job Classification Review Procedure of Article 22.02(B) above shall be utilized.
Contractor Employee Conduct The Contractor’s employees shall adhere to the standards of conduct prescribed in the Customer’s personnel policy and procedure guidelines, particularly rules of conduct, security procedures, and any other applicable rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the Customer. The Contractor shall ensure that the Contractor’s employees wear attire suitable for the position, either a standard uniform or business casual dress.
New Employee Orientation The Union will provide each agency personnel director with the names and addresses of up to two (2) authorized Union representatives per agency to receive notice of each formal orientation meeting held by the Department. The notice will be sent as soon as such meetings are scheduled (but not less than ten (10) days in advance) and will include date, time and location. Due to operational exigencies, agencies may schedule an orientation which will provide the Union with less than the requisite ten (10) days' notice; however the Union shall be notified as soon as possible after the scheduling of the orientation and the Union representative shall be released from duty. Agencies shall routinely schedule orientations in a manner that will allow for the ten (10) day advance notice to the Union. During the formal orientation, the Union will be permitted to give a twenty (20) minute presentation which may include an enrollment in supplemental Union benefits. The parties shall encourage employee attendance, although attendance shall not be mandatory if an employee objects to attending the presentation. In the event a formal orientation meeting is not held, or the Union is unable to attend the formal orientation because the designated Union representatives cannot be released under Article 4, the Employer shall allow the Union representative and the employee(s) to meet during duty hours at a mutually agreed upon time and location for twenty (20) minutes Employee participation in these meetings shall be encouraged although an employee shall not be required to attend such a meeting.
Employment Relations Except as set forth in Schedule 5.21:
(a) The Company has been and is in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Laws respecting employment and employment practices, terms and conditions of employment and wages and hours;
(b) The Company has not been and is not engaged in any unfair labor practice and no unfair labor practice complaint against the Company is pending before the National Labor Relations Board;
(c) There is no labor strike, dispute, slowdown or stoppage actually pending or, to the knowledge of the Seller, threatened against or involving the Company and since January 1, 2002, the Company has not experienced any labor strike or material concerted labor dispute;
(d) No union is currently certified, and there is no union representation question and, to the knowledge of the Seller, no union or other organizational activity that would be subject to the National Labor Relations Act (20 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) existing or threatened with respect to the Company;
(e) The Company is not subject to or bound by any collective bargaining or labor union agreement applicable to any Person employed by the Company, and no collective bargaining or labor union agreement is currently being negotiated by the Company;
(f) The Company has not experienced any material labor difficulty or work stoppage since January 1, 2002;
(g) The Company has no Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charges or other claims of employment discrimination pending or, to the knowledge of the Seller, threatened against the Company;
(h) To the knowledge of the Seller, no wage and hour department investigation has been made of the Company since January 1, 2002;
(i) There are no occupational health and safety claims pending or, to the knowledge of the Seller, threatened against the Company or that relate to its business or property;
(j) Since January 1, 2002, the Company has not (i) engaged in layoffs or employment terminations sufficient in timing and number to constitute (A) a "mass layoff" (as defined in the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act ("WARN")) or (B) an "employment loss" (as defined in WARN) or (ii) effected a "plant closing" (as defined in WARN) affecting any site of employment or one or more facilities or operating units within any site of employment or facility of the Company; the Company has not been affected by any transaction or engaged in layoffs or employment terminations sufficient in number to trigger application of any similar Law;
(k) The Company is not a governmental contractor for purposes of any federal, state or local Law.
Employee Grievances (a) Grievances on behalf of employees shall be handled as follows:
Policy Grievance – Employer Grievance The Employer may institute a grievance alleging a general misinterpretation or violation by the Union or any employee by filing a written grievance with the Bargaining Unit President, with a copy to the Labour Relations Officer within twenty (20) days after the circumstances have occurred. A meeting will be held between the parties within ten (10) days. The Union shall reply within ten (10) days after the meeting, and failing settlement, the matter may be referred to arbitration.
(a) Where a difference arises between the parties relating to the interpretation, application or administration of this Agreement, including any questions as to whether a matter is arbitrable, or where an allegation is made that this Agreement has been violated, either of the parties may, after exhausting the grievance procedure established by this Agreement, notify the other party in writing of its decision to submit the difference or allegation to arbitration, and the notice shall contain the name of the first party's appointee to an Arbitration Board. The recipient of the notice shall, within ten (10) days, inform the other party of the name of its appointee to the Arbitration Board. The two appointees so selected shall within ten (10) days of the appointment of the second of them, appoint a third person who shall be the Chairperson. If the recipient of the notice fails to appoint a nominee, or if the two nominees fail to agree upon a Chairperson within the time limit, the appointment shall be made by the Minister of Labour for Ontario upon the request of either party.
(b) Within thirty (30) calendar days of the receipt of notice referred to in Article 8.12(a) above, either party may require a process for a sole arbitrator where the grievance concerns:
i) a job posting ii) a short term layoff
Employee Safety
A. All incidents of workplace violence, unsafe equipment or job conditions shall be brought to the attention of the immediate supervisor, or in their absence, the next higher level of supervision. Should the unsafe condition not be corrected within a reasonable time, the equipment or job practice shall be brought to the attention of the Safety Committee. Additionally, employees shall report any exposure to known or suspected carcinogens in writing on a separate form. A copy of the form shall be sent to the Local Safety Committee. Employees have the right to file complaints with the State Department of Labor and Industry OSHA Division.
B. Any protective equipment or clothing, e.g., safety glasses or other types of eye protection (including prescription lenses and frames when required), safety helmets, safety vests, welding gloves and aprons, safety shoes, ear protection, protective gloves, etc., shall be provided and maintained by the Appointing Authority whenever such equipment is required as a condition of employment either by the Appointing Authority, by OSHA, or by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. The employee shall have the responsibility to use all such provided protective equipment (see Article 20, Section 11).
C. All employees who are injured or who are involved in an accident during the course of their employment shall file a first report of injury and/or an accident report, on forms furnished by the Appointing Authority, no matter how slight the incident. A summary of the first report of injury and/or accident report shall be furnished to the Safety Committee. All such injuries shall be reported to the employee's immediate supervisor and any necessary medical attention, including transportation if required, shall be arranged. The Appointing Authority shall provide assistance to employees in filling out all necessary Workers' Compensation forms, when requested.
D. Any medical examination required by the Appointing Authority shall be at no cost to the employee and the Appointing Authority shall receive a copy of the medical report. Upon request, the employee shall receive a copy of the medical report.
E. During every four (4) hour period in which an employee spends all their time on a computer, the employee will be given a five (5) minute alternative work assignment or if this is not practicable, a five (5) minute rest period scheduled to interrupt continuous operation of the machine. This five (5) minute rest period is in addition to the formal rest period provided in Article 5, is not cumulative, and cannot be used at the beginning or end of a shift, formal rest breaks, or a lunch period.
F. Any pregnant employee assigned to work with Department of Corrections' inmates, may request reassignment to alternate work within her seniority unit. The Appointing Authority will attempt to accommodate such a request. Such reassignment shall not be subject to the provisions of Article 12, Section 4. In the event that such reassignment is not practicable, the employee shall have the right to request an unpaid leave of absence, pursuant to Article 10, Section 0X.
