Checklist
Checklist - Workplace Violence and Harassment
Document FSSMS-AUD-P21bStage 1Revision 4Version 0.3.3
Topic pages open on your jurisdiction, and requirements tables show its line. You can change this on any page.
This category audits Workplace Violence and Harassment Program and Policy - Workplace Violence and Harassment: the violence risk assessment and prevention plan, dispatch information, staging and scene safety, station security and lone work, the harassment policy and its channels, reporting and investigation, debrief and support, and the accountability loop. It is run annually by the internal auditor under 01 Audit Program and scored as described in 02 Audit Checklist Master Index.
The employer’s general duty under the applicable OHS statute (J02 Duties of Employers, Supervisors, Workers and Contractors); the applicable workplace violence requirements, adopted as policy whether or not they apply to the department (J26 Workplace Violence); the applicable harassment requirements (J27 Workplace Harassment); any psychological health duty in the statute (J28 Psychological Health and Safety); the national psychological health and safety standard (CSA Z1003-13); the responder health and safety standard (NFPA 1550, 2024); the active shooter and hostile event standard where adopted (NFPA 3000, 2024); for accredited and candidate departments, the self-assessment criteria on hazard reporting policies (11A.2), documented risk reduction (11A.3), safety training from hire onward (CC 11A.5), investigation (11A.7), risk management during emergency operations (11A.8) and the member assistance program (11B.4) (CPSE, 2019). Each jurisdiction’s version of the legal requirements is on the topic pages listed under Jurisdiction requirements (00 Jurisdiction Index).
0 not in place; 1 documented, not implemented; 2 implemented, not verified effective; 3 implemented and effective with evidence. Category score is the mean of the items that apply; items marked not applicable (with a reason) are excluded. Report the category score alongside the other categories, never as one program number. Sample sizes: 10 flagged calls, five violence reports, three stations, three harassment case files (clocks only, no content).
- Before the visit, request: the risk assessment and prevention plan with dates; the posted statement; the dispatch flag agreement; the last 10 flagged calls from CAD; the last five violence incident reports; the harassment policy, the published channels and the last three case files (clocks only); training currency by member; the last four quarterly indicator worksheets; the Corrective Action Register filtered to this program.
- On the visit, walk three stations (one volunteer where the department has them), observe a start-of-shift radio check, and interview at least six members across ranks and across career and volunteer, without their officers present.
- Score each item from the evidence column; where documents and observation disagree, observation wins and the score cannot exceed 2.
- Record findings in the table, assign an owner and a due date for every item scoring 0 or 1, and enter them in the Corrective Action Register the same week.
- Report the category score, the three effectiveness answers and the accountability-loop trace to the program manager, the senior team and the JOHSC under 01 Audit Program.
| Items | Score 3 requires | Common reason to score 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 (assessment, plan, statement) | Assessment inside five years, JOHSC copy acknowledged, plan reviewed, statement observed in every sampled station, and at least one control traced from the assessment to a completed register item | Assessment exists but no control can be traced to it |
| 7 to 13 (dispatch, staging, radios) | Every sampled flagged call either staged or reasoned, flags confirmed passed, duress tests logged on at least 95 percent of sampled checks | Staging rule written but one or more sampled calls entered unreasoned |
| 14 to 17 (training, police, active threat) | 100 percent de-escalation currency, refresher delivered, criteria stated correctly by members interviewed, active threat decision on file | Course delivered once with no refresh cycle |
| 18 to 20 (stations, lone work) | Every sampled station passes the walk and the alarm test, check-ins logged | Controls present in career stations only |
| 21 to 28 (harassment) | Every T6 element present, channels known to members interviewed, clocks met in every sampled case, separation from learning demonstrated | Policy complete but members interviewed would not use any channel |
| 29 to 35 (reporting, support) | Every sampled report reviewed inside two days, reply inside 10 days, debrief and referral recorded, JOHSC data quarterly | Reports complete but replies missing |
| 36 to 43 (culture, loop, improvement) | Survey item at target and improving, loop test traced on a real report, learning-team write-up on file, appraisal with budget | Loop described in the program but no real report can be traced through it |
| # | Item | Stage | Evidence expected | Score (0-3) | Finding | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The department has documented its determination on whether the applicable workplace violence regulation applies to it (J26 Workplace Violence), with the regulator’s written advice where sought, and has adopted the regulation’s architecture as policy regardless | S1 | Determination memo; adopted policy | ||||
| 2 | A written violence risk assessment exists, considers past incidents here and at similar workplaces, the circumstances and interactions of the work, and workplace layout, and is dated inside five years | S1 | Toolkit T1 and T2 completed and dated | ||||
| 3 | The JOHSC was consulted during the assessment and holds a copy | S1 | JOHSC minutes; copy acknowledgment | ||||
| 4 | The assessment has been reviewed after every trigger event (new type of violence, significant change, construction, regulator order) in the audit period | S1 | Change log; revision dates against the incident register | ||||
| 5 | A written prevention plan with control measures, training, reporting and response procedures exists and has been reviewed inside five years | S1 | Program note adopted and dated; review record | ||||
| 6 | The violence prevention statement, signed by the fire chief, is posted in every station and workplace | S1 | Observed in the three sampled stations | ||||
| 7 | A written caution flag agreement with dispatch, police and the emergency health services provider exists and is in use | S1 | Agreement; flag register | ||||
| 8 | Caution flags are reviewed at least annually and removed when no longer supported, with a privacy basis recorded | S2 | Annual review record; privacy review | ||||
| 9 | Responding crews, including volunteers responding from home, receive flags before arrival | S1 | Sample of 10 flagged calls: dispatch recording or CAD notes confirm the flag was passed | ||||
| 10 | The staging SWP is in force; crews staged on every sampled flagged call or the officer recorded a specific reason to proceed | S1 | Sample of 10 flagged calls against CAD times and incident reports | ||||
| 11 | Pre-defined staging points and radio phrases exist for staging and for “scene safe” | S1 | Dispatch procedure; staging card | ||||
| 12 | The staging card is current and present on every sampled apparatus and known to crews | S1 | Observed on apparatus; crew can state the exit word and the police criteria | ||||
| 13 | Every member carries a radio with a duress function where the fleet permits, and the function is tested weekly | S1 | Radio check log sampled 90 days | ||||
| 14 | Every operational member holds a current de-escalation certificate inside the department’s refresh interval (two to three years) | S1 | Training records; percentage current | ||||
| 15 | Annual scene safety refresher delivered, covering naloxone post-reversal agitation, encampments, clandestine lab handoff and lone response | S2 | Attendance; scenario sign-off | ||||
| 16 | Police request criteria are written and known: any weapon, any assault, any threat, any patient who cannot be treated safely, any member’s judgment | S1 | SWP; interview three members | ||||
| 17 | The department’s active threat role is decided in writing with police and EHS; where a rescue task force role is adopted, NFPA 3000 based planning, joint training, equipment and JOHSC consultation are on file | S2 | Decision record; MOU; exercise report | ||||
| 18 | Every sampled station controls public access to living and sleeping areas, has working exterior lighting, and a tested means to summon help from the public counter | S1 | Station walk; alarm test log | ||||
| 19 | A lone-worker procedure exists for single-staffed stations, inspectors and public educators, and check-ins are logged | S1 | Procedure; check-in log sample | ||||
| 20 | The rule that volunteers arriving alone stage until the apparatus arrives is in the SWP and taught | S1 | SWP; interview two volunteers | ||||
| 21 | A written harassment policy exists containing every element the applicable law prescribes (J27 Workplace Harassment) and every row of toolkit T6 (15 rows) | S1 | T6 completed; policy text | ||||
| 22 | At least two reporting channels outside the chain of command are published in every station and known to members | S1 | Observed; interview three members including one volunteer | ||||
| 23 | Every member has been trained on the harassment policy at hire and at each change | S1 | Training records | ||||
| 24 | The harassment policy has been reviewed inside three years and after any serious case | S1 | Review record | ||||
| 25 | Harassment complaints are acknowledged within five working days and assessed for interim measures within the same period | S1 | Three case files, clocks only | ||||
| 26 | Investigations are conducted by trained persons with no stake in the outcome, with outcomes to the parties inside the target clock | S1 | Investigator roster and training; case clocks | ||||
| 27 | Conduct investigations are kept separate from learning reviews: different people, no shared notes or files, and learning information never used in a conduct process | S1 | Process description; interview HSO and HR; spot check that no learning-team write-up appears in a case file | ||||
| 28 | Organizational corrective actions arising from harassment cases are logged in the Corrective Action Register separately from any individual outcome | S2 | Register entries | ||||
| 29 | Every incident of violence, including threats and stages without contact, is reported on the form before the end of the shift (volunteers within 24 hours) | S1 | Five sampled reports against CAD; interview on under-reporting | ||||
| 30 | The HSO reviews every violence report within two working days | S1 | Review dates on five sampled reports | ||||
| 31 | Every reporter receives written notice of the preventive action taken inside 10 working days | S1 | Part D on five sampled reports | ||||
| 32 | Assaults are reported to police and injuries to the workers’ compensation board inside the statutory time | S1 | Police file numbers; WCB submission dates | ||||
| 33 | A debrief is held within the shift after every incident, the member is advised to consult a health professional, and peer support and EFAP are offered | S1 | Part B on five sampled reports | ||||
| 34 | Modified duties are available for psychological as well as physical injury, and claims including PTSD presumption claims are supported | S1 | Modified duties list; claim assistance log | ||||
| 35 | Anonymized violence and harassment data are reviewed by the JOHSC quarterly | S2 | JOHSC minutes | ||||
| 36 | Hazing, gendered and sexual harassment are named in the psychosocial hazard assessment and measured in the safety culture survey | S2 | Hazard assessment; survey items and results | ||||
| 37 | Officers have completed the supervisor module on receiving reports, debriefing, early intervention and what to do when they are the subject of a complaint | S1 | Supervisor competency records | ||||
| 38 | The body-worn camera question has a recorded decision; where adopted, a PIA, retention and access policy and JOHSC consultation are on file; cameras are not counted as a prevention control without evidence | S3 | Toolkit T7 | ||||
| 39 | The program’s indicators are reported quarterly inside 15 days of quarter end to the program manager, senior team and JOHSC | S2 | Last four quarterly worksheets | ||||
| 40 | Accountability loop. The program names one line owner, doers, verifiers with frequencies, a feedback path with cycle times, and a closure rule with escalation on the register’s priority scale; sampled deficiencies were logged inside five working days and closed with evidence | S1 | Section 11 of the program; register sample; loop test traced on one real report | ||||
| 41 | Psychological safety. The annual survey item on whether members can report a threat or a harassment concern and expect to be taken seriously is at or above target and improving, reported by career and volunteer, and leaders have told crews what changed because of reports | S2 | Survey results; change notices; interview | ||||
| 42 | A learning-team session with members who have used the staging procedure has informed its last revision | S2 | Learning-team write-up (no names); revision record | ||||
| 43 | The program has been reviewed by the Program Improvement Team in its annual appraisal with a budget worksheet | S2 | Appraisal; worksheet |
Answerable only by observation or interview, never from documents. Record the answers with the category score.
- Ask three members, one a volunteer, to describe the last time they or a crewmate felt unsafe at a call, what they did, and whether it was reported. If it was not, ask what would have made reporting worth it.
- Ask three members, one a volunteer and one a woman or a member of an under-represented group where the department has them, which harassment channel they would use and whether they believe a complaint about an officer would be taken seriously and kept from that officer.
- Observe a crew at the start of a shift: do they test the duress function, can they say the exit word without looking at the card, and can the officer state the police request criteria?
This chapter relies on the following legal requirements, which differ by province and territory. Check your jurisdiction’s section on each topic page before adopting it.
| Topic | What to check in your jurisdiction | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Duties of Employers, Supervisors, Workers and Contractors | How the general duty to take every reasonable precaution applies to violence and harassment, and what supervisors and officers must do when a member is threatened or reports (items 16, 33, 37) | J02 Duties of Employers, Supervisors, Workers and Contractors |
| Workplace Violence | Whether a workplace violence regulation applies to a fire department, and what it requires: the risk assessment and its review, the prevention plan, a posted statement, committee consultation, reporting, response and training (items 1 to 6, 13 to 20, 29 to 33) | J26 Workplace Violence |
| Workplace Harassment | Whether a written harassment policy is required, the elements it must contain, and the rules for reporting channels, investigation, training and review (items 21 to 28) | J27 Workplace Harassment |
| Psychological Health and Safety | Whether the statute names psychological health or psychosocial hazards, and the crisis and support resources available to members after an incident (items 33, 34, 36) | J28 Psychological Health and Safety |
Center for Public Safety Excellence [CPSE]. (2019). Fire and emergency service self-assessment manual (10th ed.). Commission on Fire Accreditation International. https://cpse.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/10th-Edition-FESSAM-Strikethrough-Underline-v.4.pdf
CSA Group. (2013). CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803/2013 (R2022), Psychological health and safety in the workplace: Prevention, promotion, and guidance to staged implementation (free to read from CSA Group and the Mental Health Commission of Canada). https://www.csagroup.org/store/product/CAN-CSA-Z1003-13-BNQ%209700-803-2013/
National Fire Protection Association. (2024). NFPA 1550, Standard for emergency responder health and safety (consolidates NFPA 1500, 1521 and 1561). https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-1550-standard-development/1550
National Fire Protection Association. (2024). NFPA 3000, Standard for an active shooter/hostile event response (ASHER) program. https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-3000-standard-development/3000