WorkSafeBC’s High-Risk Strategy for Construction Taking a Risk-Based Approach to Reduce Injuries
Serious injuries account for 19 percent of all claims in construction B.C.’s construction sector has an injury rate that is consistently higher than the provincial average. That’s why WorkSafeBC has a […]
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…Introducing Electronic Monitoring Legislation, A First Of Its Kind
On February 28, the Ontario government tabled Bill 88, the Working for Workers Act, 2022, which, if passed, would enact the Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act, 2022 and make amendments to the Employment Standards […]
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Clarification To Law Of Employee Surveillance
Elevator law, according to one colleague and despite our best attempts to intervene, has its ups and downs. It has a unique set of characteristics, including its own elevator union […]
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Driving/Transportation: RV Dealer Fined $185,000 for Fatal Towing Accident
A worker suffered a fatal injury while towing a tri-axle 5th wheel RV unit with a John Deere tractor. A co-worker found the body pinned in a jack-knife position between […]
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Compliance Alert: New TDGR Training Rules Take Effect in February
The system you use to provide workers Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (TDGR) training may become obsolete on February 9, 2022, when Transport Canada’s new Competency-Based Training requirements take effect. Under […]
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How to Comply with New Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations Training Rules
TDGR training must go beyond awareness and include job functions The system you use to provide workers Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (TDGR) training may become obsolete on February 9, 2022, […]
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What’s the Difference between Liquefied Petroleum Gases and Flammable Liquids? – Ask The Expert
The differences between LPGs and flammable liquids are of critical importance for storage safety. QUESTION Is there any difference between a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and a flammable liquid? ANSWER Yes, and the differences […]
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How to Ensure Safe Road Transport of Compressed Gases
Shipments of compressed gases must meet OHS and Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations Chance are that you use some form(s) of compressed gases at your workplace, especially if you perform welding, […]
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Transportations of Dangerous Goods Training Certificate
Here’s a certificate you can issue to workers who successfully complete required Transportation of Dangerous Goods training.
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OK to Fire Driver for Falsely Denying DUI Incident
A truck driver with a record of attendance, performance and attitude issues managed to hang onto her job. The beginning of the end came when she was pulled over for […]
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Union Employee Fired for Distracted Driving Can’t Sue for Money Damages
A bus driver who got fired for distracted driving denied the accusation and sued his ex-employer for $50,000 in damages for defamation and wrongful dismissal. The Alberta court said it […]
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Supervisor Fined $24,000 for Failure to Train Trench Collapse Victim
A worker had to be hospitalized when the trench he was working in collapsed on top of him. The supervisor was hit with a $24,000 fine and 18 months’ probation […]
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Excavation Contractor Fined $25,000 for Pedestrian Fatality
A pedestrian died after getting hit by a dump truck that was clearing debris from a shopping center undergoing renovations. The driver apparently got the signal to reverse from an […]
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Texting at Service Stop Is Just Cause to Fire Driver with Disciplinary History
Sending a text message on her cell phone while her vehicle was parked at a service stop with its four-way flashers on was the last straw for a city bus […]
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$25,000 Fine for Dump Truck Fatality
A construction management firm was fined $25,000, including a $10,000 creative sentence to produce safety videos, for a fatality involving a dump truck that was backed at the water’s edge […]
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Traffic Accident Is Work Related Even If Worker Isn’t Doing Ordinary Job Duties
An injured electrician was told she could return to work as long as she produced a doctor’s note assessing her medical capabilities. She got the letter and was in the […]
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Fatal Traffic Accident Costs Bus Driver His Driving Position but Not His Job
A Toronto Transit Commission bus driver got fired after running over a 14-year-old passenger right after she exited the bus. Adding to the gut-wrenching was that the driver continued on […]
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Bakery Company Fined $700,000 for Separate Temp Worker Fatalities
The first fatality took place when a tractor-trailer backed into a temp who had left his post on the bread assembly line to smoke a cigarette in the loading area. […]
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The Biggest OHS Fines of 2021 (So Far)
OHS fines keep getting higher. There have already been over a dozen 6-figure reported penalties in the first 6 months of 2021. That’s more than we’d usually see for an […]
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The Most Important OHS Compliance Cases of 2021 (So Far)
Although COVID-19 continues to command the attention of OHS regulators, courts across Canada have also issued a number of significant non-pandemic OHS compliance rulings in the first 6 months of […]
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Installing Camera in Truck to Analyze Accident Causes Is Valid Safety Measure
The union claimed that installing a DriveCam system in the cockpit of concrete mixers was an unwarranted intrusion of drivers’ privacy. The employer contended it was a justifiable safety measure […]
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Driver Keeps His Job Even Though His “Slackness” Caused Expensive Accident
The semi-trailer driver would have noticed the misalignment between the vehicle and trailer had he been paying attention and gotten out of the vehicle to inspect before unloading the way […]
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Speeding Past Stopped School Bus Is Just Cause to Terminate
A heavy truck driven by an Apprentice Powerline Technician “blew by” a yellow school bus that had stopped to pick up a young girl. Witnesses, including one of the girl’s […]
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Stop Work Order Appeal Leads to Citation for OHS Violation
What began as an appeal of a stop work order requiring a building contractor to stop using a backup proximity sensor on a Ford F-350 pickup truck after modifications to […]
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Is a First Distracted Driving Offence Just Cause to Terminate? – Ask The Expert
Employees guilty of distracted driving may not get a second chance if driving is their job. QUESTION Can we terminate an employee for distracted driving if it’s just a first offence, or […]
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Driver Safety Quiz
QUESTION What are the three main types of distracted driving? ANSWER Visual distraction – taking your eyes off the wheel. Manual distraction - taking your hands off the wheel. Cognitive distraction - […]
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Driver Safety Quiz
QUESTION What are the three main types of distracted driving? ANSWER Visual distraction – taking your eyes off the wheel. Manual distraction - taking your hands off the wheel. Cognitive distraction - […]
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Delay in Reporting Work Injury Nearly Costs Worker His Workers Comp Benefits
On Sept. 4, a truck driver in a stone quarry twists his knee while climbing out of the vehicle. Not wanting to miss any work, he takes anti-inflammatory drugs and […]
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Safety Requirements for Servicing of Tires, Wheels & Rims Around Canada
Tire explosions are an all too frequent source of workplace fatalities and serious injuries. Incidents typically occur while tires mounted on fixed rims are inflated or subject to extreme heat. […]
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