Ontario is one of the few provinces that still doesn’t specifically require employers to prevent workplace violence (although the obligation is implied under the general duty clause). But that’s about to change. The province is expected to pass a bill adding workplace violence to the hazards covered by the OHS Act.

But the Ontario bill isn’t just me-too legislation. It boldly goes where no Canadian workplace violence law has gone before: into the home. (For Robin’s excellent analysis of the Ontario workplace violence law, see,  http://www.ohsinsider.com/search-by-index/violence/ontario-proposes-new-workplace-violence-requirements)

Workplace Violence Goes Domestic in Ontario

The Ontario bill includes all the standard workplace violence measures required in other jurisdictions—risk assessments, policies, programs, etc. But one requirement is groundbreaking: the duty of employers to take every reasonable precaution to protect workers at risk of physical injury from domestic violence.

This revolutionary requirement is the government’s response to the notorious Lori Dupont case. In Nov. 2005, Nurse Dupont was murdered by her ex-boyfriend at the hospital where she worked. The killer was a doctor at the hospital. Hospital administrators knew that the doctor was mentally unstable and that he had threatened Nurse Dupont. But it not only failed to take precautions but actually scheduled the two to work together on the day of the murder.

What Ontario Employers Will Have to Do

If the workplace violence bill the province is getting set to adopt had been in effect at the time, the hospital could have faced charges under the OHS law.

But don’t panic. The duty to protect workers from domestic violence kicks in only if employers are aware or should be aware of the danger. In other words, you don’t have to meddle in workers’ domestic affairs and actively determine what’s going on at home. But if the signs are there, you’re on notice and need to act. Such signs could include:

• Complaints by the worker that he or she is being threatened or physically injured by a spouse or other person at home;
• One or more instances in which a worker shows up for work battered and bruised; and
• Actual scenes that take place in the workplace in which a worker is harmed or threatened by a spouse, boyfriend, etc. (regardless of whether the person authoring the violence works at your company).

See Website for More Information

Curbing domestic violence will require you to apply some of the same techniques you’re currently using to guard against “traditional” worker-on-worker violence. For example, you’ll need to conduct risk assessments. See the Insider website for some TOOLS you can use, including a violence questionnaire for supervisors,  http://www.ohsinsider.com/search-by-index/violence/model-form-supervisor-workplace-violence-survey .