Changes to the Workplace Safety and Health Regulation will introduce new requirements to protect workers from psychological harassment in the workplace, Labour and Immigration Minister Jennifer Howard announced this week.

Organizations across Ontario by now should have put in place plans and programs to eliminate or control the risk of violence in their workplace. Since June 15, 2010, Bill 168, a new legislation amending the Occupational Health and Safety Act to add workplace violence-related provisions, is in effect.

Few Ontario workplaces will have complied with new workplace violence and harassment legislation as it comes into force this week, employment lawyers say.

 

Bill 168, which amended the Occupational Health and Safety Act, received Royal assent in December. It gave employers six months to comply, but many have left it until too late.

It has been almost six months since Royal Assent was given to the Bill 168 amendments, instituting workplace violence and harassment provisions to the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). We are now rapidly approaching June 15, 2010, the date set for the workplace violence amendments to come into force, and thus the date set for all Ontario employers to be in compliance with the new Ontario OHSA workplace violence and harassment provisions contained in Bill 168. 

Partners in Prevention 2010, Ontario’s newest health and safety tradeshow and conference, kicked off May 4th with the Ministry of Labour announcing the availability of the workplace violence toolbox to help organizations comply with Bill 168, new legislation amending the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to add workplace violence-specific requirements.

Crown attorneys in Nova Scotia want the province’s Department of Labour and Workforce Development to investigate security and safety issues at the Halifax and Dartmouth courthouses, citing incidents of violence against Crown attorneys, workers and others inside these buildings.

With four months to go before the new workplace violence legislation takes effect in Ontario, are you ready to comply with the new requirements?

Bill 168, which amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), received Royal Assent on December 15, 2009 and comes into force on June 15, 2010. These amendments apply to Ontario employers and workers, including the Crown. 

Companies across Ontario are scrambling to meet the requirements of Bill 168, which comes into effect in June.

The new amendment to Ontario’s OHS code addresses violence and harassment in the workplace, and has many controversial elements that may leave companies wondering what exactly they have to do to comply with the legislation.

Joe Bonsu knows first-hand about the daily violence and harassment security guards face at work, having spent five years working as one.
   
Now, he stands up for security guards as president of local 5296 of United Steelworkers in Canada and he hasn’t forgotten about what he dealt with while working security at various hospitals, including the Queensway General Hospital in Toronto.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour will make resources available for employers in the province to help them comply with new requirements under Bill 168, a new law that adds workplace violence and harassment protection to the Occupational Health and Safety Act.