OHS Week Two Jan26 - Lecture notes 2 PDF

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OHS January 26, 2018 Week Two – Legislative Framework Lecture Notes Toronto scaffolding incident – 4 workers went on an unsecure scaffold, and fell – 3 died, 1 injured badly – shipped bodies back to their origin country and moved on with life Tony Dean Report – one of the things that came out of this report is that employers have to train workers on their rights Prevention Starts Here poster Ontario – if you have more than five workers you must have the Health and Safety Board and this poster must be present Workers’ rights in Ontario:*** 1. Right to know 2. Right to participate  Anyone who wants to be a part of the JHSC is legally allowed to be 3. Right to refuse unsafe work (must always specify that it is unsafe work)  Have to be able to show what the hazard is  Physical hazards – things that are measurable, tangible – stress does not count Guide for health and safety representatives for Ontario https://www.ontario.ca/page/guide-health-and-safety-committees-and-representatives JHSC        

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A group of people represented by e’r reps and worker reps Together working to improve OHS in the workplace JHSC is required when a workplace has 20+ e’es E.g., in a workplace of 50 people a JHSC is required, how many is required? 4 – 2 e’r management resps, 2 e’e with equal rights and opinions as it is a committee Progress made through communication Leverage minutes against management and decision makers Workplace inspections – not necessarily joint committee but could be a worker representative In a joint committee at least one worker representative and one employer representative must be certified o WSPS – Work Safety Prevention Services - http://www.wsps.ca/Home.aspx o Cost for part 1 - $495, part 2 - $405, total $895 o Their role: considered certified JHSC members o Bilateral work stoppage – between the management and worker reps – they have the legal rights by their training to stop work if there is dangerous work in the workplace Workplace inspections need to be completed and documented monthly in whole or in parts – normally a checklist but should always have room for other

Internal responsibility system IRS

OHS January 26, 2018 Week Two – Legislative Framework    

Need to highlight and underline that the IRS is being skipped when dealing with nonsense claims to the Ministry Representatives of the workers, employer, and if available, the union in the workplace If the worker has not contacted the applicable people in the workplace (workers, supervisor, manager, JHSC, union) then they have no business contacting the Ministry of Labour Best way to avoid it, keep a database – never leave an employer without a documentation – must document responses to the employee PowerPoint Notes

Act: Federal, provincial, or territorial law that constitutes basic regulatory mechanism for occupation health and safety Regulations: explain how general intent of the act will be applied in specific circumstances Guidelines and policies: more specific rules that are not legally enforceable unless referred to in a regulation or act Standards and codes: design-related guides established by agencies such as the SA or ANSI The scope of OHS Legislation: All OHS legislation includes the following elements:  An act  Powers of enforcement  Workers’ rights to refuse unsafe work  Protection of workers from reprisals  Duties and responsibilities assigned to e’rs and others  Other elements, which vary among jurisdictions, include mandatory establishment of joint labour/management health and safety committees, health and safety policies, accident-prevention programs, and advisory councils on occupational health and safety. Duties and responsibilities of major stakeholders  The following are Ontario e’rs responsibilities and include: o Ensuring equipment is provided and properly maintained o Appointing a competent supervisor o Providing an information (including confidential information) in medical emergency o Informing supervisors and workers of possible hazards o Posting OHS Act in the workplace o Preparing and maintaining HS policy and reviewing it annually (see OHS Today 2.1) o All federal, provincial, and territorial OH&S acts include prescribed duties (legal requirement from OH&S legislation) that may come into effect by regulation at some time. These prescribed duties may include an employer’s responsibility to

OHS January 26, 2018 Week Two – Legislative Framework

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establish occupational health services, or a description of the written procedures that may be required. •Supervisors’ duties include: o Ensuring workers comply with OH&S Act and regulations o Ensuring workers use or wear safety equipment, devices, or clothing o Advising workers of possible hazards o Providing written instructions if applicable o Taking every reasonable precaution to ensure protection of workers o The criteria in Ontario used to determine whether a person would be held to be a supervisor include having the authority to promote or recommend promotion, to discipline workers, or to schedule or assign work. Duties of workers o Complying with OH&S Act and regulations o Properly using safety equipment and clothes provided o Reporting hazards, such as defective equipment, to supervisor o Reporting any contraventions of the act or regulations o Link elaborating on misconduct:  http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pdf/ohsa_g.pdf o In some jurisdictions, duties are laid out by regulations. Workers are prohibited from making any safety device ineffective, using any hazardous equipment or machine in unsafe conditions, or engaging in rough or boisterous conduct.

Joint HS Committee

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Required by law Provide non-adversarial atmosphere in which labour and management can work to create a healthier workplace Train and certify at least one management member and one worker member Certified members may be involved in inspections, work refusals, and bilateral work stoppages

OHS January 26, 2018 Week Two – Legislative Framework 

Internal responsibility system (IRS): Work and safety are linked and all parties in workplace have responsibility to improve health and safety

Work Refusals  Worker does not have right to refuse unsafe work if: o Work is normal condition of employment o Worker, by his or her refusal, places another life in jeopardy  Professionals granted limited right of refusal (in Ontario): o Police o Firefighters o Teachers o Health care workers  Workers have right to refuse unsafe work without fear of reprisals Stop-Work Provisions  Dangerous circumstances are as follows: o A provision of the act or the regulation is being contravened o The contravention presents a danger or a hazard to a worker o The danger or hazard is such that any delay in controlling it may seriously endanger a worker  Two Forms: o Bilateral o Unilateral: Applies in the case of an employer who has taken insufficient steps to protect workers from serious risk.  If certified JHSC member has reason to believe that a dangerous circumstance exists while doing an inspection, they can ask a supervisor to investigate and ask for remedial actions  If circumstance still exists, they may direct the employer to stop work Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)  Workers have the right to know about hazards that may be associated with certain chemicals used in the workplace  WHMIS legislation is based on three elements: 1. Labels designed to alert the worker that the container contains a potentially hazardous product 2. Material safety data sheets (MSDSs) outlining a product’s potentially hazardous ingredients and procedures for safe handling of the product 3. Employee training Corporate Liability  Liabilities that directors and officers face include: o Fines or imprisonment for corporate pollution o Cleanup costs associated with property the corporation owns, controls, or occupies

OHS January 26, 2018 Week Two – Legislative Framework

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o Fines for failing to comply with regulatory legislation In the past, directors and officers of incorporated entities were responsible solely to the corporation and shareholders; their zone of accountability now extends to the public at large. Above is the environmental and OH&S statutes that have been amended to include broad responsibilities for directors and officers....