OH&S Administrative Penalties Now In Force

As of October 1, 2013 Administrative Penalties have come into effect in Alberta which can impact any parties regulated by Occupational Health and Safety legislation. Offenders can now face administrative penalties as high as $10,000 per violation, per day. These penalties have been implemented by the Government of Alberta in an attempt to encourage compliance with the health and safety regulations in place in the province and as such, in assessing these, OHS officials will consider factors such as past health and safety performance, the frequency of orders, tickets and other compliance interventions, and whether there appears to be an overall commitment to maintaining safe standards in the workplace.

Also be aware that in January 2014 an additional compliance mechanism will come into force that will allow OHS officers to issue tickets to employers and individual workers who are in contravention of ticketable provisions of the OHS legislation. These can be given out immediately any time an OHS officer witnesses an infraction, and can be in the range of $100 – $500.

For employers, tickets can be issued for actions such as:

• Failing      to keep a work site clean and free of tripping/slipping hazards
• Failing      to have MSDS materials readily available
• Failing      to ensure that temporary stairways meet minimum width and handrail requirements
• Failing      to ensure workers wear proper footwear and safety equipment

Potential tickets for workers include:

• Failing      to wear proper, visible clothing when exposed to traffic
• Failing      to properly wear/use a fall protection system
• Smoking      in the presence of a flammable substance
• Working      from the top two rungs of a portable ladder

For a full list of ticketable offenses and their associated fines, as well as further information on administrative penalties, check out:
http://humanservices.alberta.ca/working-in-alberta/ticketing-and-administrative-penalties.html