Legal Aspects of Crisis Management

Legal Aspects of Crisis Management Workshop for Azusa Pacific University’s Emergency Management Team December 15, 2004

Disaster Planning/Crisis Management/Emergency Operations Terms that indicate a process or plan by which an organization can respond in a crisis situation

Crisis Events • Natural accidents • Fires, earthquake, flood, wind • Normal accidents • Physical crisis, economic crisis, personal crisis • Abnormal accidents • Criminal, information, reputation

Emergency Management Team • Prepare the university for crisis related events • Mitigate when possible the occurrence of such events • When possible decrease the affects of such events

Emergency Management Team - Goals • Life safety • Secure APU’s critical infrastructure & facilities • Resume the educational activities of the university

Elements of Emergency Management • Risk assessment • Emergency operations plan • Incident command system • Response • Recovery • Mitigation

Emergency Management Issues • Life safety • Protection of property • Insurance & ability to recover • Exposure to civil & criminal liabilities • Compliance with statutory and regulatory rules • Short and long term viability in market • Environmental • Social • Personnel

Laws & California Governmental Agencies • Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 • California Office of Emergency Services • Title 19 • Health & Safety Code • Labor Codes

Laws & APU • Cal/OSHA – Title 8 – Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIP) • Emergency Action Plan (EAP) • Reporting a fire • Emergency evacuation • Procedures for employees who remain to operate equipment • Procedures for accounting for all employees • Procedures for employees performing rescue or medical duties • Training

Laws & APU City of Azusa Development Code: 3.10.030.E High occupancy and sensitive facilities shall have an emergency response plan with contingencies for all appropriate hazards submitted with every building permit request

Laws & APU Azusa Pacific University Specific Plan Will require APU to have an integrated campus plan to meet the requirements of the Development Code

Possible Laws & APU • 9/11 Commission • Recommends the adoption by Homeland Security the use of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1600 as the national preparedness standard • NFPA 1600 has been adopted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as the National Preparedness Standard

NFPA 1600 • Standardized disaster/emergency planning and business continuity • Mitigation oriented • Procedures for disaster and recovery • ICS • Organization must develop procedures to carry out the plan • Must develop communication plan • Training & Education

Laws & APU • Worker’s Compensation • Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)

Laws & APU • Duty & Liability – Does a given set of circumstances create legal responsibility for harm and should it attach to whom and why

Civil Law – Relevant Factors • Foreseeability of harm • Nature of the risk • Closeness of the connection between the college’s act or omission, and the injury • Moral blame and responsibility

Civil Law – Relevant Factors • Social policy of preventing harm • Burden on the university and the larger community if duty is recognized • Availability of insurance

“foreseeability of harm” Duty is…only an expression of the sum total of those considerations of policy which lead the law to say that the plaintiff is entitled to protection… As society changes…so our relations to one another change, and the law must adjust accordingly… Estates of Morgan, supra, 673 N.E. 2d at 1322

Can the university foresee crisis occurring? If so, does the university have a duty to protect faculty, staff, students and visitors?

“Assumption of Duty” Once an actor, the university, assumes a duty not imposed by law, it is then bound to carry out the duty with reasonable care and is liable if it does not.

Examples • 1993 Bombing of the World Trade Center (WTC) • January 2004, 175 law suits were allowed to go to trial • 1984 one of the agencies who owned the WTC warned that the site was vulnerable and a likely terrorist target • The attacks were foreseeable since the agency created a committee and asked for a report

Examples 9/11 - Workers • 1,200 police officers, firefighters, sanitation and demolition workers • They suffered injuries by breathing air fouled by toxins and contaminants • Were not supplied proper respiratory masks and protective equipment • Violated labor laws requiring that safety gear be provided

Examples 9/11 – Those on the Ground • Boeing – Cockpit doors were not substantial • Airlines – Duty to screen passengers • WTC – Had duty to design, construct, repair and maintain the Twin Towers • Withstand spread of fire • Effective fire safety and evacuation procedures.

Crisis Litigation When an incident occurs the fundamental questions will be asked, who, what, when, where and why. By individuals, agencies, insurance companies, injured workers and third parties. As in WTC personal liability lawsuits could ensue.

Summary • Cal/OSHA • Azusa Development Code • APU Specific Plan • NFPA 1600 • Worker’s Comp • FERPA • Duty

“People that behave best during a crisis are not those with the best plan but those that are value-driven…. While tactical notions are very important in dealing with a crisis, values provide a kind of enduring logic that lends coherence to an organizations actions.” John Scanlon, Public Relations Executive

Legal Aspects of Crisis Management