Contractor, Supervisor & Company Official Convicted of OHS Violations

A worker fell off a roof more than three metres high and was paralyzed from the waist down. At the time, there was no fall protection equipment on site. And the injured worker said he’d never gotten training on the use of such equipment. The MOL charged the contractor as an employer and a female employee as a supervisor with OHS violations. The court ruled that the female employer qualified as a supervisor under the OHS laws as there was ample evidence she had ‘hands-on authority’ and directed work. It also found that the Crown had proven the OHS violations against the contractor and supervisor beyond a reasonable doubt. And the court convicted a company official of obstruction for refusing to provide information requested by an inspector [Ontario (Ministry of Labour) v. J.R. Contracting Property Services, [2013] ONCJ 202 (CanLII), April 18, 2013].