Labour Day, Monday, September 3rd, 2012

Employees get a day off with regular pay or public holiday pay (depending on the province or territory of employment). If the employee is required to work on the holiday, the employee must be paid regular wages and get a substituted day off with pay at a later date (depending on the province or territory).

In Ontario, employees get a day off with public holiday pay. If the employee is required to work on the holiday, the employee must be paid regular wages and/or premium pay and/or get a substituted day off with pay at a later date. 

Public Holiday Pay in Ontario.


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Bill 160 in effect as of April 1, 2012

 BILL 160 (what are you?)

 30.  The short title of this Act is the Occupational Health and Safety Statute Law Amendment Act, 2011.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 160 and does not form part of the law.  Bill 160 has been enacted as Chapter 11 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2011.

The Bill amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act

Section 4.1, which specifies the Minister’s responsibility for the administration of the Act and sets out some of the Minister’s powers and duties in administering the Act, is added to Part II of the Act.

The Act is amended to allow the Chief Prevention Officer, appointed under Part II.1 of the Act, to establish standards for training programs and to approve programs that meet the standards.  

The Chief Prevention Officer may also establish standards that a person must meet in order to become an approved training provider and may approve a person who meets the standards as a training provider with respect to one or more approved training programs and may collect information about workers’ successful completion of approved training programs for the purpose of maintaining a record.

Section 7.6, which allows the Chief Prevention Officer to establish training and other requirements that a member of a joint health and safety committee must fulfil in order to become a certified member, is added to the Act.  The Chief Prevention Officer may certify a committee member who meets the requirements.

Section 7.7 permits the Chief Prevention Officer to delegate certain powers and duties under sections 7.1 to 7.6 to an employee in the Ministry of Labour.

Section 8 of the Act is amended to require a constructor or employer to ensure that health and safety representatives receive training to enable them to effectively exercise the powers and perform the duties of a representative.

Section 9 of the Act is amended to allow either co-chair of a joint health and safety committee to make written recommendations to a constructor or employer if the committee fails to reach consensus.

The Bill adds Part II.1 (Prevention Council, Chief Prevention Officer and Designated Entities) to the Act.  

Section 22.2 of the Act requires the Minister to establish a Prevention Council responsible for providing advice to the Minister on the appointment of a Chief Prevention Officer and providing advice to the Chief Prevention Officer on occupational health and safety matters.  

Section 22.3 requires the Minister to appoint a Chief Prevention Officer responsible for developing a provincial occupational health and safety strategy, preparing an annual report on occupational health and safety and advising the Minister on occupational health and safety matters.   

Section 22.4 requires that the advice of the Chief Prevention Officer and the position of the Prevention Council be obtained in respect of a proposed change to the funding and delivery of services for the prevention of workplace injuries and occupational diseases if the proposed change would be significant.  

Sections 22.5 to 22.9 allow the Minister to designate an entity as a safe workplace association or as a medical clinic or training centre specializing in occupational health and safety matters if the entity meets the standards established by the Minister.  A designated entity must operate in accordance with the standards and with any other requirements imposed on it, and is eligible for a grant from the Ministry.

Part III.1 of the Act is amended to allow the Minister to approve codes of practice with respect to both statutory and regulatory requirements and specify that compliance with the code is deemed to be compliance with the requirement, subject to any terms or conditions set out by the Minister in the approval.

Section 50 of the Act is amended to allow an inspector to refer a matter to the Board where a worker alleges that his or her employer has violated the prohibition against reprisals and where circumstances warrant.  The matter cannot have been dealt with by final and binding settlement by arbitration under a collective agreement or by the worker filing a complaint with the Board and the worker must consent to the referral.

Section 50.1, which gives the Office of the Worker Adviser and the Office of the Employer Adviser prescribed functions for the purposes of Part VI of the Act, is added to the Act.

Section 63 of the Act is amended so that persons employed in the Office of the Worker Adviser or the Office of the Employer Adviser are not compellable witnesses in a civil suit or any proceeding respecting any information or material furnished to or obtained, made or received by them under the Act while acting within the scope of their employment.

Subsection 70 (2) of the Act is amended to add complementary regulation-making authority.

Provisions relating to the load bearing capacity of structures are updated to remove references to an engineering design method that is no longer current.

Other complementary and transitional amendments are made to the Act.

Amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997

Part II (Injury and Disease Prevention) of the Act is repealed.  

The substance of subsection 4 (2) and section 10 of that Part (dealing with payments to constructions workers and first aid requirements that may be set by the Board) is re-enacted elsewhere in the Act.

Section 159 is amended to exempt information sharing agreements between the Board and the Ministry of Labour from the requirement that the agreement be approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Other complementary and transitional amendments are made to the Act.

Transition from WSIB to Ministry of Labour

Bill 160 amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act provided for the transfer of several WSIB functions, including the Research Advisory Council, from the WSIB to the Ministry of Labour (MoL). The transition of the research program from the WSIB to the MOL is under way, and the Ministry continues to build capacity. Once the Ministry’s Prevention Council is in place, the Chief Prevention Officer will initiate a review of research priorities.

In the meantime, the WSIB is working closely with the MoL on key transition issues, including the management of the Bridging the Gap competition. The 2012-13 Bridging the Gap application process will follow much the same cycle as in previous years. The key difference is that the authority for final approval of proposals no longer rests with the WSIB Board of Directors, but with the Chief Prevention Officer.

Waterloo North Hydro Inc. Fined $110,000 After Worker Injured

July 18, 2012 11:00 AM

Waterloo, ON - Waterloo North Hydro Inc., an electricity distributor for Waterloo and the surrounding area, was fined $110,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured.

On October 12, 2010, a mall was under construction in Waterloo. Workers from Waterloo North Hydro Inc. had installed transformers on site and were attempting to send power from a transformer in one location to a transformer in another location. As power was sent to the second transformer, a worker for an electrical contractor was in the area routing a metal tape through a duct. The tape came into contact with a newly energized electrical conductor and caused an arc flash. The worker was badly burned.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that an adequate job plan for energizing the transformers had not been documented. A job plan would have identified all known hazards and implemented controls for each hazard to protect workers from injury.
Waterloo North Hydro Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to establish and implement an adequate job plan prior to installing and energizing the transformers.

The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Ruth Legate Exon. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.


Court Information at a Glance
Location:                    Ontario Court of Justice
                                    77 Queen St. N
                                    Kitchener, ON
Judge:                         Justice of the Peace Ruth Legate Exon
Date of Sentencing:    July 16, 2012
Defendant:                  Waterloo North Hydro Inc.
Matter:                        Occupational Health and Safety
Conviction:                 Ontario Regulation 213/91, Section 181(1)
                                   Occupational Health and Safety Act, Section 23(1)(a)
Crown Counsel:          Kikee Malik

An Ontario court has held that an employer had no duty to provide safety training to a medical manager

[author: Adrian Miedem

An Ontario court has held that an employer had no duty to provide safety training to a medical manager on a function – the use of ladders – that was outside of the manager’s job duties.
The case involved the Emergency Medical Services Manager with the Parry Sound Health Centre. The manager took an extension ladder, leaned the ladder against the outside of a building, then climbed the ladder to check a heating and air conditioning roof unit that was not working properly. When the manager was 15 or 20 feet up, the ladder gave way and he fell to the ground and was seriously injured.

The Ministry of Labour laid an Occupational Health and Safety Act charge against the employer, alleging a failure to properly train the medical manager on ladder use.

Justice of the Peace Tenant, in the Ontario Court of Justice, held that the employer was not guilty. He found that ladder use “had nothing to do with” the medical manager’s job; that the manager should not have been using a ladder; that it was not foreseeable that he would use the ladder; that he was not asked by the employer to use the ladder or to repair the roof unit; and that he was aware that the proper procedure was to call a maintenance worker.

The court asked, rhetorically, whether it would be “reasonable and necessary to provide information, instruction and supervision to a maintenance worker on the proper use of a hypodermic syringe?” and whether, if a nurse was injured hanging a piece of art, would the employer be required to train all nurses in the use of hammers?

In closing, the court stated that it does not require “super-human efforts” to raise a due diligence defence to Occupational Health and Safety Act charges, and the Act and regulations do not “mandate or seek to achieve the impossible entirely risk-free work environment”.
R. v. West Parry Sound Health Centre, 2012 CarswellOnt 7703 (Ont. C.J.)

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Published In: Administrative Law Updates, Labor & Employment Law Updates

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Company Director Fined $90,000 Under OHSA After Workers Killed

  

July 13, 2012 11:20 AM

Toronto, ON - Joel Swartz, the director of Metron Construction Corporation, a Toronto constructor, was fined $90,000 after pleading guilty to violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after four workers were killed and another worker was seriously injured.

On December 24, 2009, six workers were on a suspended work platform, also known as a swing stage, at a construction project on Kipling Ave. in Toronto. The swing stage collapsed and fell 13 floors, killing four of the workers and seriously injuring another worker. The only worker properly attached to fall protection was held by the lifeline and pulled to safety.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the deceased workers had not been properly tied off to a lifeline, and had not been properly trained in the use of fall protection. The swing stage had been overloaded and it was later determined to be defective and hazardous.
Joel Swartz pleaded guilty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to failing, as adirector, to take all reasonable care to ensure that:

• workers did not use a defective or hazardous swing stage
• the swing stage was not loaded in excess of the weight it was meant to bear
• workers were adequately trained in the use of fall protection by a competent person
• Metron Construction Corporation prepared and maintained written training and instruction records for each worker

Metron Construction Corporation was convicted of criminal negligence causing death and was fined $200,000 in relation to the same incident. Metron's conviction was pursuant to amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada relating to workplace safety which have been in force since 2004.  The criminal charges were laid by the police.

The fines were imposed by Judge Bigelow of the Ontario Court of Justice. In addition to the OHSA fines, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

Other defendants facing charges stemming from this incident are still before the court.

Court Information at a Glance
Location:                     Ontario Court of Justice
                                    Old City Hall
                                    60 Queen Street West
                                    Toronto, ON
Judge:                         Judge Bigelow                                   
Date of Sentencing:   July 13, 2012
Defendants:                 Joel Swartz
                                    Metron Construction Corporation
Matter:                        Occupational Health and Safety
Conviction:                 Ontario Regulation 213/91, Section 26.2(1)
                                   Ontario Regulation 213/91, Section 26.2(3)
                                   Ontario Regulation 213/91, Section 93(2)(a)
                                   Ontario Regulation 213/91, Section 134(3)
Crown Counsel:         Tom Schneider

Construction Supervisor Fined $30,000 After Worker Killed

 

 

July 12, 2012 4:00 PM

Milton, ON - An Uxbridge construction company supervisor was fined $30,000 for violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was killed.

On December 15, 2009, bridge construction was underway on the Queen Elizabeth Way over Bronte Creek in Oakville. The construction company 474294 Ontario Limited, carrying on business as Northern Machinery Services, was removing the concrete deck of the existing bridge. The president of the company, Barry Wood, was supervising. While workers were removing concrete panels from the bridge a section of the deck began to collapse. A worker fell and a collapsing concrete panel fell on top of the worker. The worker was killed.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that Mr. Wood had been provided with a copy of an engineered procedure for safely cutting and removing concrete from the bridge deck in order to maintain its structural integrity and prevent collapse. However, this procedure had been violated. Furthermore, the workers exposed to a fall hazard while dismantling the bridge had not been wearing fall protection.

Barry Wood pleaded guilty to failing, as a supervisor, to take the reasonable precaution of ensuring that workers engaged in the cutting and removal of the bridge deck followed the engineered procedure for that task. He was fined $20,000 for this violation.

Mr. Wood also pleaded guilty to failing, as a supervisor, to ensure that workers exposed to a fall hazard were wearing fall protection. He was fined $10,000 for this violation.

The fines were imposed by Justice Stephen Brown. In addition to the fines, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.


Court Information at a Glance
Location:                    Ontario Court of Justice
                                    491 Steeles Ave. E.
                                    Milton, ON
Judge:                         Justice Stephen Brown 
Date of Sentencing:    July 12, 2012
Defendant:                  Barry Wood
Matter:                        Occupational Health and Safety
Conviction:                 Occupational Health and Safety Act, Section 27(2)(c)
                                   Ontario Regulation 213/91, Section 26.1(2)
Crown Counsel:          Wes Wilson

Small Business in Niagara

In 2008, my demographic studies put small businesses (under 50 employees) in Niagara at 75%.  The Labour Market Plan 2009 - 2013 by our provincially mandated local board - Niagara Workforce Planning Board - put that number at 99% - with 50% of those as owner/operator - zero employees.

The hot new job in Niagara seems to be entrepreneurial!

Many in the Niagara Region are screaming for Leadership...from grassroots to Regional Integrated Economic Development Commission.  There are businesses that want to invest in Niagara.  They want to build their business in Niagara and they want to raise their family in Niagara.

We can have the best of both worlds; living and working together; collaboratively instead of competing against each other.  Partners in (your industry here), Competitors in the Field (borrowed from the Niagara Industrial Association.)

It raises my eyebrows each March when the Sunshine List is delivered to us via the local media.  We have also been called the "Call Centre Capital of Ontario".  There is a huge gap between minimum wage at $10.25 an hour and over $100,000 per year.

How many jobs are left in Niagara that cover that gap?  The gap between 40 hours of work at minimum wage which earns $21,320 and over $100,00?  If you don't work for a government, government funded or non-profit funded organization; what are your chances for more than minimum wage?

These are my opinions and observations.  I learned a long time ago that we can make numbers into what ever story we want told.

I would love to hear some feedback from you.  I know you have an opinion.  You might not have been looking for a rant on the HRNC Blog - but employment IS our business.

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