Standards for workplace Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) have been regulated in British Columbia for nearly a hundred years through the Workers Compensation Act and its Regulations. The main aim of OHS legislation is to minimize workplace injury and illness to workers and other persons present on the worksite.
Over time the scope and influence of OHS legislation has increased. The legislation is administered and enforced by WorkSafeBC, an independent agency funded by employers, which has extensive authority including the power to create and administer Regulations, undertake investigations and administer fines. These substantial powers allow WorkSafeBC to exercise significant influence over a workplace.
In the province’s construction sector, WorkSafeBC can affect the workplace in many ways, three of which we summarize here to show the extent and weight of the agency’s powers. To minimize risk and protect against potential liabilities, employers and owners must have a clear understanding of the responsibilities imposed on them by the Act.
Asbestos exposure
A substantial regulatory framework applies to workplaces where a worker may be exposed to potentially hazardous levels of asbestos fibers. WorkSafeBC has identified asbestos exposure as a serious cause of workplace injury and disease. According to the agency’s statistics, during 2000-2009 thirty per cent of deaths from workplace injury or industrial disease were related to asbestos exposure.
Employers working with asbestos must have an exposure control plan in place which includes:
• identification of the risks associated with asbestos
• education and training
• if necessary, provision of written procedures, health monitoring and decontamination methods.
There are numerous other requirements for employers whose businesses expose workers and others to asbestos.
As a result of heightened concern over asbestos exposure, WorkSafeBC is exercising many of their powers under the legislation. A new group of inspectors have been created to focus on asbestos exposure in the work place. Additionally, in the first quarter of 2011WorkSafeBC has shut down approximately thirty job sites for violations relating to asbestos and levied thousands of dollars in fines against employers as a result. (Details of some of these actions can be found here.)
More drastically, the agency has brought a court action against an employer for repeatedly breaching regulations related to asbestos. It was also successful in obtaining an injunction against an employer in the asbestos abatement business, preventing it from carrying out any further work. WorkSafeBC later sought to have the owner of the business jailed for 120 days for continuing to carry out business despite the injunction. While this attempt was unsuccessful, WorkSafeBC’s actions provide a clear indication of the extent of its powers. (Read more about this case.)
Fall protection
Employers, particularly those in the construction industry, should be aware of regulations dealing with fall protection for employees. Part 11 of the Occupational Heath and Safety Regulation requires all employers to ensure that a fall protection system is used when work is being done where a fall of three metres or more could occur or where a fall of less then three metres involves a risk of injury that is greater then the risk of injury from the impact on a flat surface. “Fall protection system” is a defined term under the Regulation which includes a system that will prevent a worker from falling or stop them before they hit the surface below.
Failure to have any or proper fall protection results in many of the fines levied against construction employers. For the months of December 2010 and January 2011, the vast majority of fines that WorkSafeBC levied within the construction industry (ranging from $2,500 to over $14,000) were for failure to use adequate fall protection. Many of these fines were the result of repeated violations by employers. (Details of some recent cases)
Excavation
Part 20 of the OHS Regulation sets out the regulatory requirements for workplace excavations. These requirements include having written instructions from a registered professional if the excavation is more than 6 metres deep and having proper sloping and shoring requirements if the excavation is more than 1.2 metres deep. In December 2010 three construction firms that failed to follow these requirements were fined $11,229.40, $42,236.80 and $68,714.73 respectively by WorkSafeBC. (For further details.)
Consequences of not complying with OHS requirements
It is clear that failing to comply with OHS legislation and WorkSafeBC Regulations can leave employers and owners at risk of significant penalties including fines, workplace shutdowns and potentially jail time. To minimize and avoid such risks it is necessary that obligations and responsibilities imposed on employers and owners by the legislation be understood and followed.
For more information on workplace Occupational Health and Safety Issues, please contact Barbara Cornish and Debra Rusnak.
Read other articles from the Spring 2011 Letter of the Law:
Homeowner’s Insurance Policies and Environmental Remediation by David Perry
Overbuilt Quarry Avoids Environmental Assessment by David Perry
Waiving Your Claim Goodbye by Stephen Berezowskyj and Carmen Hamilton
A Lot of Discretion Under the Property Law Act
by Mark Thompson and Mitch Dermer
Editor's Note by David Perry
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