Hearing test requirements for federally regulated employees

[Carson Air]

#106685

Forum: Private

We are a BC based airline with Employees both here in BC and in Alberta. In the past we had been completing annual hearing testing for our Employees and submitting the results to WSBC. Because we are a federally legislated Employer (falling under COHS regs) I do not believe that BC OHS regulation 7.8 applies to us. Can you confirm if there is any legislation that requires us to complete hearing tests for our employees?

[Glenn Demby]

#106688

I apologize for not replying sooner.

While I don’t know enough about your business to say this with 1,000% metaphysical certainty, what I can say is that airlines are subject to federal and not provincial OHS Regulations, i.e., Canada Labour Code and the Canadian OHS Regulations.

And, yes, noise hazard control is required under the COHS Regs, namely in Part VII. It’s also required under the Aviation OHS Regulations, under Part 2. However, neither of these federal Regs specifically require annual hearing testing the way BC and I believe Alberta OHS regulations do. That’s likely to change but testing isn’t part of the deal right now. Of course, regulatory requirements are just minimum standards and testing of airline employees who are exposed to noise hazards is highly advisable as a best practice.

Hope that helps. I’ll try to be faster in responding in the future. Glenn Demby, OHS Insider Editor in Chief

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