On Dec. 9, 2009, Bill 168, which adds new workplace violence and harassment requirements to the Ontario OHS Act, passed its third reading. Once it receives Royal Assent, the bill will become law six months later. UPDATE: On Dec. 15, 2009, Bill 168 received Royal Assent. That means Ontario companies that are subject to the OHS Act have until June 15, 2010 to comply with the new requirements by conducting risk assessments for violence, developing violence and harassment policies and programs and training workers on these new policies and programs. Workplace Violence Law in Canada All employers in Canada have a duty to prevent and protect workers from violence. The OHS laws impose this obligation in one of two ways. In Fed, AB, BC, MB, NL, NS, PEI and SK, the OHS laws specifically say employers must take steps to address workplace violence. (Québec requires employers to prevent “workplace psychological harassment,” including physical violence, in its labour standards law.) In the remaining jurisdictions, this duty is implied by the OHS law’s “general duty clause.” New Ontario Regulation Until recently, Ontario fell in the implied duty group. But with the passing of Bill 168, it now joins the specific duty group. The elements of the violence and harassment prevention programs required by the Bill are similar to the requirements in most Canadian jurisdictions that impose specific violence and harassment duties on employers. (Click here for an overview of the Bill’s seven main components.) However, Ontario’s approach has two key distinctions: Right of refusal. Bill 168 specifically extends workers’ right to refuse dangerous work to include refusals based on the risk of workplace violence. That is, a worker may refuse work if workplace violence is likely to endanger him. Domestic violence. Bill 168’s domestic violence duty is unique in Canada. This language appears to be a response to the 2005 murder of nurse Lori Dupont by her ex-boyfriend, a doctor at the hospital where she worked who later committed suicide. Senior hospital administrators knew about the ex-boyfriend’s unstable behaviour and that he’d made threats to Dupont. But on the day she was murdered, the nurse and doctor were scheduled to work together. Under the new regulation, employers in Ontario can’t ignore domestic violence, at least to the extent that they can protect workers from such violence in the workplace. The Bill requires employers to take reasonable precautions to protect workers if they become aware, or should reasonably be aware, that domestic violence that would likely expose a worker to physical injury may occur in the workplace. However, the Bill doesn’t spell out the specific precautions employers should take. So it remains to be seen exactly how companies will fulfill this duty. This requirement is the Bill’s most progressive—and controversial. Do you think it goes too far and puts too high of a burden on employers to address what’s essentially a private matter?