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Month In Review – Alberta

LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Respiratory Protection

Feb 1: Filtering respirators that meet the requirements of CSA standard Z94.4.1, Performance of filtering respirators, are now acceptable in PPE. Previously, filtering respirators had to meet NIOSH standards. Now, either NIOSH or CSA Z94.4.1 will do for filtering respirators.

Action Point: Find out how to implement a compliant respiratory protection policy at your workplace

Ergonomics

Feb 1: Alberta issued new guidance to help employers understand and comply with their OHS obligations to protect workers from hand/arm and whole body vibration which can lead to musculoskeletal injuries.

Action Point: Use the OHS Insider template to create a legally sound Musculoskeletal Injuries Prevention Policy at your workplace

Cold Stress

Feb 1: The Alberta WCB received an average of 76 workers comp claims per year for time-loss injuries due to extreme cold from 2018 to 2022. Of these injuries, 97% were due to frostbite. Total time lost averaged 2 months per injury, according to the agency. Fingers were the most commonly injured body part at 35%; the construction and construction trade services industry sector had the highest percentage of claims related to extreme cold with 40%. February is the peak month for frostbite injuries.

Action Point: Implement an effective cold stress compliance game plan at your workplace

Privacy

Jan 26: The Alberta government issued a new Data Ethics and Privacy Management framework for ethical use of data and personal information by public agencies and officials.

Action Point: Find out how privacy laws affect workplace safety

Drugs & Alcohol

Jan 22: Citing recent declines in smoking and vaping among youth ages 15 to 19, Alberta unveiled a new Tobacco and Vaping Reduction Strategy focusing on province-wide use and especially younger residents. Key elements: public education campaigns, development of online sales instructions for retailers and stepped-up enforcement action.

Action Point: Use the OHSI Substance Abuse Compliance Game Plan to curb drugs and alcohol at your workplace

Workers Comp

Feb 29: That’s the final day for Alberta employers to submit their actual payroll and wages data from 2023 and project figures for 2024 to the WCB to avoid potential penalties and late fees.

CASES

Material Handling: Oilfield Worker Fatality Results in $350,000 Fine

Alberta’s first reported OHS fine of 2024 is a doozie–$350,000 against an oilfield services company stemming from a November 2021 fatality in which the check valve of a pipe under pressure broke and struck the worker performing tests on the pipe [Xtreme Oilfield Group Inc., January 15, 2024].

Action Point: Use the resources on the OHS Insider Material Handling Compliance Center to avoid similar incidents and fines at your workplace

Material Handling: Failure to Prevent Rack Overloading Costs Employer $102,000

Steel pipe fell off a rack that gave way under the excessive load placed upon it struck a worker causing serious injuries. The Alberta employer was fined $102,000 after pleading guilty to one OHS violation, failure to ensure that the rated capacity on the operation of equipment, as described in the manufacturer’s specifications or specifications certified by a professional engineer, weren’t exceeded [Great Northern Plumbing Inc., January 10, 2024].

Action Point: Use the OHSI storage rack inspection checklist to avoid similar violations at your workplace

Discipline/Work Refusal/Retaliation: Failure to Renew Wasn’t Retaliation for Complaining of Workplace Harassment

A teacher working at a nonprofit organization under a series of one-year contracts claimed she was offered an inferior position and ultimately not re-signed to a new term in retaliation for reporting workplace harassment. The OHS director dismissed her discrimination complaint, noting that the teacher complained about workplace harassment over a week after the organization offered her the new position. The Alberta Labour Relations Board found the finding reasonable and nixed the teacher’s appeal. An Appeal Body rarely second guesses an OHS Officer’s findings of fact when reviewing a decision on the standard of reasonableness, the Board reasoned [Miciak v. Sarah McLachlan School of Music Society, Board File No. OHS-00077, February 7, 2024].

Action Point: Find out how to avoid reprisals liability when disciplining workers for safety violations

Working Alone: No Excluding Workers Who Work Alone from First Aid Premium

Under a 2021 collective agreement, an engine manufacturer agreed to pay a 60 cents per hour First Aid Premium to workers with Level 1 occupational first aid certification (“OFA 1”). Because Field Service Technicians primarily work alone and off-site, the company decided to exclude them from the Premium. So, the union filed a grievance. The Alberta arbitrator sided with the union. While the employer’s argument that the Premium was meant to reward workers for helping other workers made sense, the language in the collective agreement stating that workers with OFA 1 get the Premium included no exclusions. If the employer wanted to exclude Field Service Technicians, it should have inserted express language to that effect, the arbitrator concluded [Cummins Canada ULC v International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 1722, 2024 CanLII 3900 (AB GAA), January 5, 2024].

Action Point: Find out how to implement a compliance game plan to ensure the safety of workers who work alone