CSSEA Info - New Occupational Health and Safety Regulations to Come Into Effect

Three new WorkSafeBC Occupational Health & Safety Regulations (OHSR) will be implemented effective April 3, 2017. The new regulations will require that joint committees be evaluated annually; that minimum mandatory training and education be conducted for joint committee members and worker health and safety representatives; and that full and meaningful participation is defined when dealing with accident reporting and employer incident investigations.

New Regulations in Detail

1) Evaluation of Joint Committees

Section 3.26 requires employers to ensure an evaluation of each of its joint committees is conducted annually. The purpose of the evaluation is to allow a joint committee, after a year in operation, to examine its effectiveness and think about how to improve in following years.

The evaluation must be conducted by either:

• • the co-chairs of the joint committee or their designates;
• • the employer; or
• • a person retained by the employer.

If the evaluation is done by the employer or someone retained by the employer, the input of the co-chairs or designates must be obtained and considered. The minimum topics the evaluation must include are set out in section 3.26(3) of the OHSR. This is a non-exhaustive list and the evaluation may include additional topics.

Discussion & Evaluation
Section 3.26(6) requires the joint committee to discuss the finished evaluation at its next meeting. The joint committee may respond to the evaluation using the existing powers and procedures set out in the Workers Compensation Act (such as making recommendations to the employer under s. 130(d) and 133) of the OHSR. The joint committee’s discussion and evaluation must be incorporated into its meeting minutes, which is to be posted in the workplace.

WorkSafeBC Evaluation Tool Resource
When the amendments become effective on April 3, 2017, WorkSafeBC will have an evaluation tool available online that can be used by joint committees to comply with section 3.26 of the OHSR. Use of the tool will not be mandatory; other tools can be used as long as they meet or exceed all the requirements for an evaluation in the OHSR, including the requirement for input of the co-chairs or their designates.

2) Minimum Mandatory Training and Education

Section 3.27 establishes minimum mandatory training and education for joint committee members and worker health and safety representatives. Worker Representative is defined in section 128 of the Workers Compensation Act

Specifically, new joint committee members – those selected on or after April 3, 2017 – are to receive at least 8 hours of instruction and training as soon as is reasonable, but no more than 6 months after being selected. Section 3.27(4) of the OHSR specifies the six topics the training must include.

Similarly, new worker representatives – those selected on or after April 3, 2017 – must receive at least 4 hours of instruction and training as soon as is reasonable, but no more than 6 months after being selected.

It is important to note that the minimum training required by section 3.27 of the OHSR does not form part of the annual educational leave granted by section 135 of the Act – new joint committee members and worker health and safety representatives must receive the instruction and training required under section 3.27 of the OHSR; additionally, all joint committee members and worker health and safety representatives are entitled to 8 hours of educational leave each.

Required Training Topics
The earliest date that training can be required is April 3, 2017. Mandatory training must cover certain topics, which are set out in section 3.27(4) and (5). Those topics represent the minimum requirements and are specific to the duties and functions of a joint committee or worker representative. There are free training materials available on WorkSafeBC’s website for the education and training of joint committee members and worker health and representative members.

Exceptions

For joint committees and worker health and safety representatives, the minimum training is not required if:

• • They used to be a worker health and safety representative or on a joint committee in the past;
• • They have already received training; and
• • It has been two years or less since they stopped being a representative or left the committee.

3) Participation in Investigation

Section 3.28 aims to clarify the meaning of the term ‘participation’ in section 174 of the Act to ensure full and meaningful participation in the investigative process by both the employer and the worker representative when dealing with accident reporting and employer incident investigations. In addition to those items listed in section 174(1.1) of the Act, section 3.28 of the OHSR states that participation by worker and employer representatives also includes:

• • Assisting the persons carrying out the investigation with gathering information relating to the investigation;
• • Assisting the persons carrying out the investigation with analyzing the information gathered; and
• • Assisting the persons carrying out the investigation with identifying any corrective actions necessary to prevent recurrence of similar incidents.

For More Information

Please check the WorkSafeBC website for updates. If you have any questions please contact your HRLR Consultant.