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○○ the employer’s compliance history ○○ the employer’s overall approach to managing health and safety ○○ information provided by workers and union representatives How does this affect you? If a prevention officer notes some non-high-risk violations while he or she is inspecting an employer’s worksite, and a compliance agreement is appropriate, the officer may decide to offer it to the employer. The employer then has the option to agree in writing to take steps to comply, rather than being subject to orders regarding those violations. For example, if an employer has fallen behind in holding required monthly joint OHS committee meetings, the employer may agree in a compliance agreement to hold those meetings and report back, rather than being ordered to do so. What are OHS citations? The following outlines WorkSafeBC’s model of OHS citations under Section 196.1 of the Act, as well as accompanying proposed new policy and regulation to take effect in February 2016: • Employers can receive an OHS citation — a smaller, administrative penalty — for failing to comply with a non-high-risk corrective order, or for failing to prepare or send in a compliance report when required. OHS citations are designed to increase the level of compliance with orders. Changes to review requests Under the new legislation, and starting September 15, employers will have just 45 days — rather than the previous 90 days — to request a review of an order or penalty. • For example, if an employer receives an order to replace some hard hats that don’t meet the regulation requirements — and then doesn’t comply with that order — WorkSafeBC may warn the employer that further failure to comply with that order could result in an OHS citation or OHS penalty. If the employer still doesn’t comply after the warning, WorkSafeBC could then issue an OHS citation or OHS penalty for failing to comply with the order. • The first citation in a three-year period is for $500, along with a second warning. If an employer has received prior OHS citations in a three-year period, any subsequent OHS citation will be $1,000. How does this affect you? An employer who always complies with orders will never get an OHS citation. If an employer doesn’t comply with an order and gets an OHS citation, further We are also the transportation industry’s certifying partner for the Certificate of Recognition The Trucking Safety Council of British Columbia is an independent health and safety association funded, governed, and working for industry. Driving to Improve Safety Providing quality occupational health and safety services to the transportation, logistics and warehousing industries in British Columbia. The SafetyDriven Team can provide: Safety Training & Education Safety Advisory Services Safety Tools and Resources Safety Research & Best Practice Development Safety Program Support Injury Management Advisory Services Explore our services and programs. www.safetydriven.ca TOLL FREE: 1-877-414-8001 14 September / October 2015 | WorkSafe Magazine
non-compliance with that order will result in a larger OHS citation or an OHS penalty. Or, if the employer is already at the maximum citation amount, WorkSafeBC could impose an OHS penalty. There’s a financial incentive for employers to comply: The maximum fine for a citation is $1,000; for an OHS penalty, the fine is based on the employer’s payroll, and could be as high as the statutory maximum (more than $621,000). How have stop work orders changed? The legislation on stop work orders expands the criteria and lowers the threshold for issuing them. The legislation also allows WorkSafeBC to stop work at any of an employer’s work locations, if similar unsafe conditions are considered likely to exist at those jobsites. WorkSafeBC may now issue stop work orders for any high-risk violation, as well as where employers fail to comply with the same order twice in the same year and there is a risk of serious injury, illness, or death to a worker. How have employer incident investigations changed? Employers are still responsible for investigating workplace incidents, but must now do so in two stages, according to specific timelines: • A preliminary investigation must be done within 48 hours of the incident; and if WorkSafeBC requests it, the employer will need to submit a report of his or her findings. An interim corrective action report must then also spell out interim corrective action that the employer will implement while conducting a full investigation. • A full investigation must be finished within 30 days, although the employer may, in limited circumstances, be eligible for an extension. A copy of the “full investigation report” must be submitted to WorkSafeBC. A final corrective action report must identify corrective action to be taken, resulting from the conclusions of the full investigation report. Where can you get more information and provide feedback? You can view discussion papers on each of these topics and find out how to provide feedback by the October 15 deadline by going to the following links: • OHS Compliance Agreements www.worksafebc.com/regulation_and_policy/ policy_consultation/law_40_10_1200.asp • OHS Citations www.worksafebc.com/regulation_and_policy/ policy_consultation/law_40_10_1220.asp • Stop Work Orders www.worksafebc.com/regulation_and_policy/ policy_consultation/law_40_10_1190.asp • Employer Incident Investigations www.worksafebc.com/regulation_and_policy/ policy_consultation/law_40_10_1210.asp W Knowledge sharing the HEALTH & SAFETY TRAINING OFFICIAL DISABILITY GUIDELINES CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION (COR) PROGRAM DURATION REDUCTION INITIATIVE 3E ONLINE MSDS MANAGEMENT CLAIMS REDUCTION INITIATIVE CONTACT US Cathy Cook, Executive Director P: 778-278-3486 F: 778-278-0029 E: ccook@bcmsa.ca www.bcmsa.ca September / October 2015 | WorkSafe Magazine 15
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Page 18 and 19: WorkSafeBC occupational safety offi
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