On May 15, 2017, the Ontario Government issued a Progress Report that sets out 23 recommendations and tools aimed at improving workplace violence prevention programs in the province's health care sector, which, the Report states, is the largest sector in Ontario impacted by workplace violence.

The recommendations and tools in the Report are endorsed by the Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care Leadership Table. The Leadership Table was established in August 2015 as a joint initiative between Ontario's Minister of Labour and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, with the goal of making health care settings within the province safer.

Of the 23 listed recommendations in the Progress Report, the most notable for employers in Ontario are those that propose to amend the workplace violence provisions of Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act and update the Ministry of Labour's approach to overseeing workplace violence prevention and control in Ontario's workplaces, including recommendations to:

  • Amend section 9(31) of the OHSA to allow a designated worker member of the joint health and safety committee to be included in workplace violence investigations under certain circumstances (Status of recommendation: engaging – i.e. consulting with stakeholders);
  • Amend the OHSA to create a requirement about the information to be provided to a worker who experienced a violent incident. Including, for example, the requirement to inform workers of the results of a workplace violence investigation and of any corrective action that has been or that will be taken as a result of the investigation (Status of recommendation: engaging – i.e. consulting with stakeholders);
  • Require the MOL to post all MOL fines against employers in health care that are under $50,000 (Status of recommendation: in progress – i.e. activities underway); and
  • Revise the MOL Health Care Sector Plan to include more details on legislative compliance and requirements with the OHSA's workplace violence provisions (Status of recommendation: complete).

If implemented, the Report's recommendations, especially those seeking to amend the OHSA, will likely require all employers in the province, including those outside of the health care sector, to revisit their workplace violence policies and programs. The full Progress Report can be found here.

For more information, visit our Occupational Health & Safety Law blog at www.occupationalhealthandsafetylaw.com

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