Safety Manual | 2022

8.14 Weapons in the Workplace

Policy It is the Company’s policy to protect its Employees as much as possible while still maintaining an open and friendly environment for its clients. Overview Employees must be made aware of the potential for workplace violence. Whether it be an unruly or threatening client, subcontractor, supplier, visitor or even possibly, a fellow employee, Employees should feel that they understand the following techniques to use in confronting such situations. If at any time, the Employee feels that he or she cannot handle the situation, he or she should immediately call the General Counsel, the CEO, Human Resources or his or her immediate Supervisor for assistance. If at any time the situation is dire, the Employee should remove himself or herself from danger, warn other Employees if possible and call 911. Feeling Unsafe on a Jobsite If an Employee ever feels unsafe on any job, he or she should do the following: · Remove himself or herself from the area immediately; · Call his or her Supervisor and report his or her observations; · If appropriate, the Supervisor should call the client; · Depending on the situation, the BL Employee could: Œ return with police presence, Œ return with another BL Employee, Œ have another BL Employee take over the project, Œ determine that the job is unsafe for any BL Employee to handle. All of the above decisions should be made in consultation with the Employee’s Supervisor and, if appropriate, the client. Equipment All offices maintain a key card, key pad or key system that is serviced by the office’s landlord. When an Employee leaves BL, his or her key card is retrieved and deactivated and the key pad code is changed. It is imperative for the continued safety and security of all occupants that office entrance doors not be propped open. While there are exceptions to hold a door open while making deliveries or loading and unloading vehicles, as a general rule, a propped office door should never be left unattended.

Purpose The purpose of this Section is to make Employees aware of the rules on weapons in the workplace.

Scope This Section applies to all Employees.

Policy It is BL Companies’ policy not to allow any type of weapon in the workplace. This includes firearms, stun guns, knives, etc. but excludes knives that are used as tools and that are covered in Section 8.12. Overview Weapons are strictly prohibited from the workplace. At BL Companies, the workplace is defined as all of its physical offices as well as the parking lots; a client’s workplace, if the Employee is on-site or attending a meeting; and any field site, construction site, job trailer, etc. State Exceptions Tennessee, Florida and Ohio are the three states with a BL office where the law provides a narrow exception to the prohibition on firearms by an employer. · Ohio Senate Bill 199 allows an Employee who holds a license to carry a concealed handgun, who otherwise lawfully possesses a firearm or who lawfully possesses ammunition to transport or store the firearm or ammunition in his or her locked, privately-owned vehicle in a parking lot, parking garage or other parking area the employer provides for employees. · Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1313 and Florida Statute 790.251 permit employees to have locked guns in their locked cars. Notwithstanding the above, BL Companies strongly discourages any firearms from being brought onto Company premises.

8.15 Workplace Violence

Purpose To provide tools to Employees who are confronting violent or potentially violent situations or feel unsafe.

Scope This Section applies to all BL Companies’ Employees.

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Section 8 // safety practices & procedures //