Alberta Court: OHS Laws Require Employer to Protect Part-Time Workers

OHS programs typically focus on protecting full-time workers. After all, these workers are generally the ones who do the bulk of the work. But the OHS laws require companies to provide a safe workplace for all workers, not just the ones who work full-time. After all, a worker’s right to a safe workplace shouldn’t be contingent on the number of hours he works per week. Unfortunately, part-time workers sometimes get lost in the shuffle, especially if they work odd shifts or short hours. As a result, the employer may skimp on their safety training and supervision. A recent case from Alberta serves as a reminder that in addition to injuries and illnesses, an employer’s failure to protect part-time workers can lead to liability under OHS laws.

THE CASE
What Happened: A high school student got a part-time job at a lumber mill. He was assigned to the cleanup crew, which worked once a week cleaning up debris such as wood chips and sawdust. While on duty, the student opened a floor hatch, got distracted and fell through the hatch to the basement floor about four metres below. He suffered a broken leg and other injuries. The student wasn’t wearing any type of fall protection at the time nor was there a barrier around the hatch. The lumber mill was charged with two safety violations.

What the Court Decided: The Alberta Provincial Court convicted the lumber mill of both violations.

How the Court Justified the Decision: The court noted that the lumber mill was, in general, a responsible and careful employer that had a sound OHS program for its full-time workers consisting of safety policies, walkthroughs by senior management and internal and external safety audits. However, the OHS program overlooked one part of the workforce: the part-time cleanup crew, which was composed of high school students who only worked Friday night into Saturday morning. The safety measures the company took to protect this crew were spotty at best: 

• Instead of a regular supervisor, the crew was overseen by a “working supervisor” who supervised the group while performing his own cleaning work;
• Because of the crew’s hours, management and auditors didn’t do walkthroughs while they were working; 
• The safety training provided to the crew was cursory, consisting of a brief orientation that focused on the use of PPE and lock-down procedures; and
• The part-time workers were also given some safety materials.

But the court concluded that this training probably didn’t leave a “significant lasting impression on high school students.” It concluded that because the crew was a group of part-time students, the lumber mill didn’t really consider them to be “employees” and didn’t attach “sufficient importance to this relatively small and largely unseen element of its workforce.” Thus, the lumber mill didn’t demonstrate that it exercised due diligence as to the safety training and supervision of its part-time workers and was liable for the safety violations [R. v. Blue Ridge Lumber Inc., [2008] ABPC 268 (CanLII), Sept. 19, 2008].

ANALYSIS
The Blue Ridge case took place in Alberta but the same principles apply in all parts of Canada. It’s easy to forget about a company’s part-time workers, especially if they work after hours like the cleanup crew in the Blue Ridge case. And if you do remember that they exist, you may assume that part-time workers require only partial safety training and supervision. But an employer’s OHS duties extend to all members of its workforce—whether they work full-time and part-time. Bottom line: Partial safety training and supervision isn’t sufficient for part-time workers. These workers need the same exact training and supervision as those who work full-time.