Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO: Vancouver City Council

FROM: Manager, Employee Health & Safety, in consultation with the Director of Human Resources

SUBJECT: New Workers Compensation Act - Bill 14

INFORMATION

COUNCIL POLICY

There is no applicable Council Policy.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to provide Council with information on changes to the Workers Compensation Act and its implications to the City. A subsequent report will outline the steps the City needs to take to meet these new requirements.

BACKGROUND

Bill 14 was passed by the Legislature on July 30, 1998 and adds over fifty pages to the Workers Compensation Act. Changes to the Act are the result of recommendations published by the Royal Commission on Workers Compensation which dealt with the process for the development and implementation of regulations and benefits for fatality claims.

The cornerstone of the Royal Commission’s report was the recommendation of a new occupational health and safety statute. Though the changes approved will not be contained in a statute separate from the Workers Compensation Act, they will form a new “Part 3” of the Act.

The development of Bill 14 was not without its controversies. The employer representatives invited to take part in the drafting of the new Act withdrew in the middle of the process
because of perceived bias on behalf of the Provincial Government to the positions of the BC Federation of Labour.

DISCUSSION

The stated purpose of the new legislation is as follows:

“107(2)(g) - to minimize the social and economic costs of work related accidents, injuries and illnesses, in order to enhance the quality of life for British Columbians and the competitiveness of British Columbia in the Canadian and world economies.”

City staff doubt if the new legislation will reduce or eliminate workplace injuries and diseases. The focus of the legislation is on new, paper-intensive, restrictive requirements, which will not safeguard the worker but will add more bureaucracy and paperwork. The major changes to the act include:

- Changing the entire Occupational Health and Safety Committee requirements, selection process, structure, training requirements, reporting structure and follow-up system;
- New penalty and responsibility structure;
- Expansion of responsibly for employers relative to contractors, safety committee recommendations and posting of orders, safety committee minutes and notice of compliance reports;
- Extraordinary time frame for workers to appeal perceived discrimination by the employer for evoking the “right to refuse unsafe work” part of the Act;
- Provides right of seizure for officers without warrants; and
- Reduction of employer appeal timelines.

Occupational Safety & Health Committee (OHSC)

The new act strengthens the role of the OHSC by stipulating requirements for selection of members, training and reporting requirements.

· Committees are required in all workplaces with 20 or more workers. If 9 to 20 workers are at a workplace, a health and safety representative is required. Selection of the committee or the representative is by procedures established by the union. Ifunion process fails to produce members, only then can the employer select members.
· Two co-chairs are to be selected - the labour co-chair by labour representatives, the employer co-chair by employers representatives.

· Mandatory 8 hours of annual WCB approved paid training is required for all OHSC members and health and safety representatives.

· The employer must respond in writing within 21 days to recommendations of the OHSC. If the response is not to the satisfaction of the committee, either co-chair can contact the WCB to resolve the issue.

· Employers must keep OHSC minutes for two years and have them readily accessible for WCB officers, must post the previous 3 months of minutes and post the previous 12 months of WCB inspection orders for that area.

There is a debate currently raging between employers and unions as to the definition of a “workplace”. Unions and some WCB Officers interpret that to mean any separate workplace which would substantially add to the costs of these requirements.

Penalties and Responsibilities

The new Act provides specific duties for directors and officers of corporations and provides for large penalties if the Act is violated. Section 213 (paraphrased) includes the following: A person who contravenes a provision of the regulations or order commits an offence. If a corporation commits an offence under the Act, an officer, director or agent of the corporation who authorizes, permits or acquiesces in the commission of the offence also commits an offence. This applies whether or not the corporation is prosecuted for the offence.

If convicted of an offence, a person is liable to the following penalties:

(a) in the case of a first conviction, a fine of not more than $500,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine of not more than $25,000 for each day during which the offence continues after the first day, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or both fine and imprisonment;

(b) in the case of a subsequent conviction (within 2 years) a fine of not more than $1 million and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine of not more than $50,000 for each day during which the offence continues after the first day, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both fine and imprisonment.

The Act reduces the appeal time from the current 90 day, three step appeal process to a 60 day two step process. Ironically, workers or unions can now appeal the decision by a WCB Officer not to apply an administrative penalty or to not apply an order.

CONCLUSION

Bill 14 will change the way the City manages OH&S issues and adds significant costs and complexity to doing business in B.C. The government has not yet decided on an implementation date, as they have to sort out the conflicts that exist in the new statute and the current (new) WCB regulations.

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ag981006.htm

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