Safety Compliance at UNE

Consequences of Noncompliance

Faculty, professional staff, and students of UNE are responsible for ensuring that they follow the procedures and faithfully implement the appropriate responsibilities put forth in the Environmental Health and Safety Manual (PDF). A noncompliance is a serious breach of University policy and is subject to disciplinary action that might include termination of employment for faculty and staff or dismissal from the University for students. The procedures to be followed in the event of such action will be in keeping with the disciplinary policies in the Personnel Handbook (PDF), as it applies to faculty and staff, and in the Student Handbook (PDF), as it applies to students.

Compliance Assistance

It is assumed that each administrator, faculty member, staff person and student will be attentive to and responsible for the University's need to provide a safe living, learning and working environment by complying with the UNE Safety Manual.

EHS assists departments in compliance efforts by periodically inspecting all areas of the campus and identifying potential problems. The inspections are documented on the Laboratory Inspection Checklist (PDF) or whichever checklist is appropriate depending on the space evaluated. Serious problems are brought to the attention of the responsible department head, supervisor and, in some cases, dean or vice president upon completion of the visit for immediate corrective actions. Findings are documented and responsibility is assigned as to the invididual who should complete the action items and recommended corrective measures, and of course EHS offers assistance as needed. 

If the solution that has been agreed upon has not been achieved by the expected completion date or if no solution can be agreed upon, EHS will request a meeting with the responsible dean or vice president to assist in resolution. Sufficient data, including a copy of the original documentation and any corrective action to date, as well as expected completion dates will be presented and discussed at this time.

Conflict Resolution Strategies

In the event that EHS and the responsible senior administrator cannot agree on an appropriate course of corrective action, the vice president of operations, who acts as risk manager for the University, will be brought in to facilitate an appropriate resolution. If that in turn is unsatisfactory, a discussion will be held with the affected senior administrators to resolve the matter.

Disciplinary Actions

Faculty or staff failure to comply with the contents of this manual will result in disciplinary action in accordance with procedures outlined in the Standards of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures in the UNE Personnel and Faculty Handbooks.