Since you took the trouble to submit the original Q, I’ll go ahead and answer it as best I can without troubling you for clarification. But if I do miss the thrust, let me know and I’ll try again.
The term “safety-sensitive” comes not from OHS laws but court cases as a reference point for drug/alcohol testing. As you know, testing is very privacy intrusive and potentially discriminatory to the extent that alcohol and drug ADDICTION is deemed a “disability” under human rights laws. So to justify testing, the employer must show that it serves a critical, nondiscriminatory purpose and does so in a reasonable fashion that doesn’t intrude any more than necessary to accomplish that purpose. Nobody disputes that workplace safety is a critical, nondiscriminatory purpose. The real controversy is whether testing is reasonably necessary to accomplish it.
One factor is WHO is tested. The rule, which I believe comes from a 2000 Sup. Ct. case called Entrop Oil, is that for testing to be justifiable as a safety measure, it must target not all employees but those who occupy “safety-sensitive” positions. There’s no official or agreed-to definition of “safety-sensitive” but it’s also a pretty straightforward, noncontroversial issue–you pretty much know who is and isn’t safety-sensitive. The basic thing to look for is whether what the employee does has a direct and immediate impact on safety in the workplace–not only of the worker but co-workers and even members of the public directly affected by the work, like pedestrians walking below a skyscraper on which crane ops are being carried out. I also found a couple of definitions from key organizations that deal with this issue that might help you out:
Canada Human Rights Commission Guidelines on Drug/Alcohol Testing: A safety-sensitive job is one in which incapacity due to drug or alcohol impairment could result in direct and significant risk of injury to the employee, others or the environment. Whether a job can be categorized as safety-sensitive must be considered within the context of the industry, the particular workplace, and an employee’s direct involvement in a high-risk operation. Any definition must take into account the role of properly trained supervisors and the checks and balances present in the workplace.
Canadian National Railway Drugs Policy: Safety Sensitive Positions Safety-sensitive positions are those which the company determines have a key and direct role in rail operation where impaired performance could result in a significant incident affecting the health and safety of employees, customers, the public, property or the environment. This includes all employees who are in safety critical positions as designated by the Safety Critical Position Rule, as well as all employees who are required to rotate in safety sensitive positions or regularly relieve employees in these positions. This also includes supervisors and managers who perform the duties of safety sensitive or safety critical positions. Classification of positions as safety sensitive is given in the SAP-HR system (qualification).
Hope this is what you were looking for. If not, contact me at glennd@bongarde.com or 203 354-4532