Ontario's Upcoming OHS Changes: You ARE Affected

On July 1, 2014, Ontario's new Occupational Health and Safety Awareness Training Regulation comes into effect, requiring all employers to ensure that all workers and supervisors receive OHS training that meets certain requirements.

This is not industry-specific, nor is there a threshold figure for the number of employees.  Basically all employers in Ontario are affected.  (Of course, in law, there are always exemptions and exceptions of some form.  In this case, though, the exemptions are limited to workers and supervisors who have already completed training that meets the requirements of the Regulation.  As well, Federally-regulated employers are generally not regulated by Ontario's OHSA.  However, even Federally-regulated contractors performing work in Provincially-regulated workplaces are subject to the OHSA.)

What is required?

A basic occupational health and safety awareness training program for workers must include the following:

• The duties and rights of workers under the Occupational Health and Safety Act;
• The duties of employers and supervisors under the Act;
• The roles of health and safety representatives and joint health and safety committees under the Act;
• The roles of the Ministry of Labour, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and entities designated under s.22.5 of the Act with respect to health and safety;
• Common workplace hazards;
• WHMIS;
• Occupational illness, including latency.

A basic occupational health and safety awareness training program for supervisors (which the OHSA defines as any person "who has charge of a workplace or authority over a worker") must include:

• The duties and rights of workers under the Act;
• The duties of employers and supervisors under the Act;
• The roles of health and safety representatives and joint health and safety committees under the Act;
• The roles of the Ministry of Labour, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and entities designated under s.22.5 of the Act with respect to health and safety;
• How to recognize, assess and control workplace hazards, and evaluate those controls;
• Sources of information on occupational health and safety.

How much will this cost?

The reality is that this new obligation is not particularly onerous, and the Ministry has provided useful resources to help employers to meet their obligations, including free training manuals and workbooks, as well as the development of free online learning modules to provide this training.  In other words, you don't have to pay expensive consultants or lawyers to come in and provide basic occupational health and safety awareness training programs.  So the cost can be as low as the time it takes for your employees to complete the training.

That said, there are advantages to actually holding training seminars.  The e-learning modules are best suited for individual learning in environments where most or all employees have access to a computer.  (There's a certain degree of interactivity which could be adapted to group learning, but ultimately you only get to print out one certificate.)  Especially for larger employers, having a qualified presenter teach the program will probably improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the training, including the ability to tailor the program to the workplace.

What other obligations arise beyond the training?

This training is not 'fire and forget'.  Employers have to keep records - who has completed the training, and who is exempt (i.e. because they did the training already and provided proof when they started, or performed equivalent training before the regulation came into effect).  Employers are also obligated to provide workers with proof of completion (or exemption) upon request, during employment and within six months afterwards.

I am able to provide assistance to employers to comply with their new obligations arising from this Regulation.

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This blog is not intended to and does not provide legal advice to any person in respect of any particular legal issue, and does not create a solicitor-client relationship with any readers, but rather provides general legal information. If you have a legal issue or possible legal issue, contact a lawyer.

The author is a lawyer practicing in Newmarket, primarily in the areas of labour and employment law and civil litigation. If you need legal assistance, please contact him for information on available services and billing.