Occupational Health and Safety

Occupational Health and Safety Act | | | | |

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Act changes health, safety responsibility
Donato, Katherine. Northern Ontario Business18. 11 (Oct 01, 1998): 18.
Employers will have to put their best efforts into getting injured workers back to work and off compensation as soon as possible because of a new law on the books.
Bill 99, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act is "putting responsibility into the hands of those who can effect change," namely the workplace parties, the employer and employees involved, says John Binks, account manager at Northern Rehabilitation Consulting Services Inc. (NRCS).
Before the passing of Bill 99, the Workers ' Compensation Board "used to be more directly involved in the return to work process” says Shirley Forsyth, program analyst with the Office of the Employer Advisor, an agency of the Ministry of Labour.
Now, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) that replaced the Workers ' Compensation Board is taking a more hands-off approach.
"The new philosophy is self-reliance," says Claudette Patterson, a consultant with claims management services at NCRS. The WSIB puts the onus on the workplace parties, employer and worker, to get the worker safely back to work as early as possible.
The workplace parties are responsible for finding appropriate work at a similar wage or making necessary changes to the workplace such as adding a ramp or lowering a desk so the injured worker can return to work as soon as possible.
"The biggest reason (for the change in responsibility) is because the workplace parties know the workplace best," Forsyth says.
This new legislation also encourages the employer to put into its policy a documented plan on how the workplace parties will deal with an injury or accident, and what procedures should be followed in reporting the incident and managing the possible disability.
"Companies should be prepared and have a formalized program" to ensure that they will not have problems with the WSIB, Binks says.
NRCS is equipped to help companies set up this program.
NRCS is a Sudbury-based company with offices nationally. Since 1992 the company has been helping employers design and implement programs to get their people back to work.
"We help employers with issues that result from workplace accidents," Binks says.
NCRS employs approximately 130 people throughout the country. Employees can be registered nurses, head-injury specialists and other physical injury specialists as well as WSIB specialists, he says. They may talk to doctors, lawyers and government workers, coordinating everything "from filing a report (to the WSIB) for an employer to looking at issues of entitlement."
The company will assist the employer and worker with all aspects of Early and Safe Return to Work (ESRTW), which includes a physical-demands analysis and functional-abilities evaluation to see what the employee is now able to do, as well as a work-site analysis to see how the workplace may have to change to accommodate the worker.
This aspect becomes important because of the new legislation, Binks says.
The new legislation "places the responsibility of ESRTW strictly on the worker and employer," Binks says.
The employer is required to return the worker to suitable employment as soon as possible. If the worker cannot return to the original position, the employer must offer another similar appropriate position, taking the abilities of the employee into account, as well as restoring the previous rate of pay.
The employer and employee must contact each other as soon as possible after the injury and keep in contact until the employee can go back to work. They must help each other in the search for work and provide any requested information to the WSIB.
Bill 99 became law in January 1998 and has been phased in over six months. As of July 1, 1998 the government is penalizing employers and employees who are "non-co-operative," refusing to comply with the regulations. Regulations for the construction industry are still in the development stage.
Refusing to co-operate is different from inability to cooperate though, Patterson explains. If there is no position available, the company is not expected to create one.
The penalty for non-co-operation can be very high. The employer may have to pay the entire cost of benefits for the employee, as well as the cost of labour market re-entry, which could include further education.
It is difficult to give a dollar value to the penalty because "each case is so much an individual case," says Renato Ciolfi, communications officer at the WSIB. The penalty would depend on factors such as the size of the company, the type of job the injured person had, and how many employees were injured.
"Each detail of the whole picture varies so much," he says.
"It can financially devastate the employer," Binks says. "It 's in their best interest" to co-operate.
The employee who will not co-operate, either by refusing appropriate work or by ignoring other regulations, can have benefits reduced or suspended.
"What the employers and workers need to really realize is that the board has developed a zero-tolerance strategy for fraudulent activities," Patterson says. "They are going to start pushing those penalties."
Employers "have to get their ducks in a row," Binks warns. It is up to them to inform their employees of the new regulations and the new workplace policies regarding injury and disability.
NRCS or another similar firm can help employers with everything related to ESRTW.
NRCS employees will spend about two years educating and working with workplace parties to get a program and policy in place. Along with that assistance, the company will help if there are any difficulties or claims. The Office of the Employer Advisor is more focused on assisting small business, but offers education, advice and information for all employers.
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Copyright Northern Ontario Business Oct 01, 1998

Indexing (details) * Subject Legislation; Workers compensation; Return to work programs * Location Toronto, ONT, Canada, Ontario * Title Act changes health, safety responsibility * Author Donato, Katherine * Publication title Northern Ontario Business * Volume 18 * Issue 11 * Pages 18 * Number of pages 0 * Publication year 1998 * Publication date Oct 01, 1998 * Year 1998 * Publisher Northern Ontario Business * Place of publication Sudbury * Country of publication Canada * Publication subject Business and Economics * ISSN 07102755 * Source type Trade Journals * Language of publication English * Document type PERIODICAL * Accession number 99-62670 * ProQuest document ID 210513645 * Document URL http://proxy.library.niagarac.on.ca:8080/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.proxy.library.niagarac.on.ca:8080/docview/210513645?accountid=39476 * Copyright Copyright Northern Ontario Business Oct 01, 1998 * Last updated 2010-06-08 * Database CBCA Business / CBCA Complete

Health, safety regulations need update to reflect change: [FINAL Edition]
Sandre, Larry. The Windsor Star [Windsor, Ont] 02 June 1997: B.5.
The provincial government is reviewing the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which came into effect Oct. 1, 1979. This Act provides the basic framework for making Ontario 's workplaces healthy and safe.
However, as we all know, the workplace has vastly changed since 1979. Employment is shifting to the service sector, away from traditional manufacturing jobs, and more people are becoming self-employed or working on a contract basis. Just think of the amount and pace of technological change that has occurred as well as the reality of competition now on a global basis.
All create significant and different challenges in the workplace and both employees and employers must be able to work together to meet these challenges without compromising health and safety.
Part of the function of the Windsor & District Chamber of Commerce is to represent business to all levels of government. In this case, together with some chamber members, I recently had a meeting with Ministry of Labor officials to discuss changes to the Act.
What they heard was confirmation that business is committed to ensuring a healthy and safe workplace, but the current legislation is inflexible. Little discretion is allowed, even if the same or better results could be achieved another way. The process for discussion, where currently three to four different sources might have to be contacted, must be streamlined.
We also expressed concern that the work refusal provision is sometimes misused. This leads to unsubstantiated work refusals and unnecessary, costly production stoppages with no associated repercussions for workers. We recommended guidelines be established to ensure more worker accountability and responsibility.
Currently, instances of sexual harassment in the workplace are dealt with under the Human Rights Code and the Labor Ministry refers any such complaints to the Human Rights Commission for investigation. The recommendations put to the ministry indicated that, in fact, such cases should not be included as hazards under the Occupational Health and Safety Act but more appropriately remain as they are.
Difficult to apply.
We also discussed the difficulty in applying and enforcing the act across the diverse spectrum of businesses. When one considers that the act was written primarily with the industrial and manufacturing segment in mind, it is easier to understand that it is very difficult to interpret some provisions and apply them to other forms of business, such as those in service, gaming and entertainment.
We therefore recommend that the ministry consider setting codes and appointing inspectors more on an industry-specific basis.
After consulting with other groups and cities, the ministry intends to introduce proposed amendments to the act which would then, of course, have to be approved by the legislature to become law.
EDITOR 'S NOTE: Larry E. Sa Windsor & District Chamber of Commerce. For more information on our programs and membership please call 966-3696.
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(Copyright the Windsor Star)
Indexing (details) * Title Health, safety regulations need update to reflect change: [FINAL Edition] * Author Sandre, Larry * Publication title The Windsor Star * Pages B.5 * Number of pages 0 * Publication year 1997 * Publication date Jun 2, 1997 * Year 1997 * Column BUSINESS WATCH * Section BUSINESS * Publisher Infomart, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. * Place of publication Windsor, Ont. * Country of publication Canada * Publication subject Business and Economics--Banking And Finance * Source type Newspapers * Language of publication English * Document type NEWS * ProQuest document ID 254254133 * Document URL http://proxy.library.niagarac.on.ca:8080/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.proxy.library.niagarac.on.ca:8080/docview/254254133?accountid=39476 * Copyright (Copyright The Windsor Star) * Last updated 2012-03-28 * Database Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies

Government Launches New Workplace Health And Safety Strategy
June 11, 2008 12:50 pm , Ministry of Labour
Safe At Work Ontario is the McGuinty government 's new four-year workplace safety compliance strategy, designed to: * improve the health and safety culture of workplaces * reduce workplace injuries and illness * improve productivity for businesses and strengthen Ontario 's economy * lessen the burden on the health care system * save costs for employers and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), and * Provide a level playing field for compliant companies.
This strategy builds on the success of the ministry 's four-year compliance strategy, which ended this spring. It focused mainly on workplaces with higher than average lost-time injury (LTI) rates and claim costs. Under the new strategy, the ministry will focus on workplaces according to a variety of factors, including: * injury rates and associated costs * compliance history of companies * hazards inherent to the work * new businesses * size of businesses * specific events or incidents (e.g., critical or fatal injuries, or violence) * Presence of new, young or otherwise vulnerable workers.
KEY IMPROVEMENTS * Ministry of Labour inspectors can refer workplaces to Health and Safety Associations (HSAs) for additional assistance and training. * Improved program flexibility and effectiveness in determining the most appropriate workplaces for intervention--the ministry is not limiting its inspections to workplaces with injuries. It is also focusing on workplaces with higher risks of injuries using indicators such as inherent hazards and poor compliance records.
A fundamental component of this new plan is the development of annual sector-specific plans that provide the flexibility to focus on sector specific hazards and characteristics. The ministry has developed strategies for industrial, health care, construction and mining sectors which specify how the new identification criteria will be used.
The results of the inspection will determine the level of engagement and frequency of subsequent inspections for that workplace.
The ministry will also continue to work with our system 's education and prevention partners, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and the Health and Safety Associations (HSAs), to identify and engage employers with high rates of injury.
ENGAGING WORKPLACES
The Ministry of Labour has a primary responsibility to ensure that workplaces comply with Ontario 's Occupational Health and Safety Act and related legislation.
A strong health and safety workplace culture consists of: * Competence (appropriate knowledge and training, systems for responding to events, properly functioning JHSC and other IRS components) * Commitment (demonstration by the employer of leadership on health and safety, appropriate policies and procedures to protect workers, low tolerance for poor health and safety practices, insistence upon full compliance), and * Capacity (adequate resources for preventing injuries, good system for obtaining assistance from HSAs and the WSIB).
INFORMATION SOURCES
For more information, employees and employers may call the Ontario Ministry of Labour 's Health and Safety Inquiries line at 416-326-3835 (in the GTA) and 1-800-268-8013 (province-wide)
Written information--including occupational health and safety fact sheets--can be accessed via the Ontario Ministry of Labour 's website.
OUTLINE
The Occupational Health and Safety Act first came into effect in 1979. Since then, the workplace environment has changed vastly and so have the laws and regulations. The Act can be interpreted from two points of views, one from the government’s view, and the second from the employee and employer’s view. The government is trying their best to enforce these laws in the workplace by introducing four-year strategy plans as mentioned in [3] and the people are trying their best to follow these laws to ensure safety at all times. Even though the Act may have loopholes which has been detected by the Windsor & District Chamber of Commerce [1], the government is working towards perfecting it, so that the people benefit. Over the years it has been amended quite a number of times, all for the benefit of the people. In [2] we see that the introduction of the WSIB has greatly benefitted the workers compensation. The Act is a work in progress.

REFERENCES [1] Larry Sandre, Health, safety regulations need update to reflect change. Windsor, Ont.: Infomart a division of Postmedia Network Inc., 1997.
[2] Katherine Donato, “Act changes health, safety responsibility”, in Legislation and Workers compensation, Vol. 18, Business and Economics. Sudbury: Northern Ontario Business, 1998.
[3] Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, “Government Launches New Workplace Health and Safety Strategy”. Ontario: news.ontario.ca, 2008.

References: [1] Larry Sandre, Health, safety regulations need update to reflect change. Windsor, Ont.: Infomart a division of Postmedia Network Inc., 1997. [2] Katherine Donato, “Act changes health, safety responsibility”, in Legislation and Workers compensation, Vol. 18, Business and Economics. Sudbury: Northern Ontario Business, 1998. [3] Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, “Government Launches New Workplace Health and Safety Strategy”. Ontario: news.ontario.ca, 2008.