The minimum age for working in Ontario is 14 years for most types of work. However, 14-, 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds are not to be employed during school hours unless they have been excused from school attendance in accordance with Regulation 308 of the Education Act. Some regulations specify higher minimum ages for certain types of work, as follows:
In a restaurant, the food preparation area would be considered a factory, with a minimum age of 15 years, whereas the cash register would be a shop - minimum age: 14 years. Special programs for young workers are described in a section of the ministry's web site devoted to issues of concern to students and young workers.
In a health care facility or an industrial establishment, such as a factory, store, shop or office, the regulations set a minimum temperature of 18 °C, subject to some exemptions for things like work outdoors or in freezers. The construction projects regulation specifies a minimum of 27 °C for underground change rooms [Section 20], a maximum of 38 °C for work chambers [Section 384], and where work is done in compressed air, the provision of a medical lock with a minimum of 18 °C [Section 357] and maximum of 27 °C [Section 380]. There are no set minimum or maximum temperatures for other workplaces. Nevertheless, because either extreme heat or cold may be a hazard, temperature is a legitimate issue in determining workplace safety. A particular concern is heat stress.
Although it is well known that lifting can be a hazard for workers, there is no "magic number" in Ontario's health and safety regulations describing a safe weight for lifting. The maximum acceptable amount of weight a worker can handle depends on the worker's build and fitness, the height lifted from and to, the distance from the body, the frequency of lifting, and other factors.
Section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act ( OHSA), which requires an employer to do what is reasonable in the circumstances to protect a worker, applies to lifting operations. There are general precautions that can reduce lifting hazards, and an ergonomic analysis can be performed to determine what is likely to be safe for a specific person performing a particular task. Ergonomics is concerned with how the human body is affected by the tasks it performs, including lifting.
Ontario does not have a specific regulation concerned with "working alone" although the Regulation for Industrial Establishments specifies a minimum number of workers for some hazardous work such as confined space entry or working on live electrical conductors. Instead, reliance is placed on the employer's general duty to take all reasonable precautions for the health and safety of the worker, as specified in OHSA Section 25(2)(h).
For more information on the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, how it affects your workplace and who to contact about having it enforced, please visit the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion website.
Although there is no general requirement in the Ministry of Labour's legislation for an employer to provide workers with personal protective equipment ( PPE), an employer has a general duty, under OHSA Section 25(2)(h) to "take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances" to protect workers. In practical terms, this means PPE should be provided to workers wherever there are health (or safety) risks that cannot be adequately controlled in other ways. PPE can reduce or prevent a worker's exposure to a health hazard in the workplace and can include respirators, hearing protectors, protective clothing, footwear and face and eye shields.
PPE is required in specific situations and dealt with in regulations made under OHSA. Section 7 of the Regulation respecting the Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents requires respirators to be provided when engineering controls are not practical. Under Section 139(2) of the Regulation respecting Industrial Establishments, a worker with an excessive exposure to noise must wear hearing protection.
Workplaces that are covered by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 are required by regulation to have adequate first aid equipment, facilities, and trained people. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board ( WSIB) has published a first aid brochure that includes the regulation and a list of recognized organizations that provide first aid training. Additional first aid requirements for particular work situations are specified in the Ministry's Regulations for Construction Projects [Sections 261 to 263, 355, 361 and 362] and for Mines and Mining Plants [Section 281.1 and the Schedule].
Health and safety concerns should first be brought to the attention of the employer or supervisor. If nothing is done, it can be taken to the worker's health and safety representative or Joint Health and Safety Committee. If the situation is not corrected, it can be reported to the nearest office of the Ministry of Labour. Workers also have the right to refuse unsafe work. OHSA Section 43 outlines the procedure that must be followed, and this process should be understood before a refusal is initiated. More information can be obtained from local ministry offices.
More about unsafe conditions at work.
Obviously, an injured worker's first priority should be to get proper medical attention. Ensuring that necessary medical treatment is provided is the responsibility of the employer. It may take the form of first aid from a trained co-worker or require transportation to and treatment at a hospital.
The injury-causing incident must also be reported to the worker's supervisor or employer, so that the employer's responsibilities under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act can be met. One of these responsibilities is completion of a Workplace Safety and Insurance Board form ( WSIB Form 7), which must be submitted to the WSIB before workers, who are eligible, can receive workplace safety insurance (formerly known as workers' compensation). More information on workplace safety insurance is available from the WSIB, the Office of the Worker Adviser, and the Office of the Employer Advisor.
A JHSC is a committee of at least two persons, who represent the workers and the employer at a workplace. Their primary role is to identify workplace health and safety problems and bring them to the attention of the employer. Section 9 of OHSA requires a JHSC at:
Workplaces with more than five but less than 20 workers are not usually required to have a JHSC. Instead, workers must select a person from among themselves to be a health and safety representative. The Ministry of Labour has published A Guide for Joint Health and Safety Committees and Representatives in the Workplace.
OHSA Subsection 9(12) requires most workplaces with 20 or more workers to have at least one worker and one management person serve as certified members of a workplace Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC). This certification involves training in health and safety law, and the identification, assessment and control of hazards.
Standards for this training are set by Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, in accordance with section 4 of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, and the WSIB certifies JHSC members who complete approved training programs. Certification training is delivered by a number of approved providers.
The programs vary in length and cost. More information on certification training can be found on the WSIB's website. A list of training providers can be obtained by calling the WSIB's Certification Hotline at 1-800-663-6639.
WHMIS is a Canada-wide system designed to give employers and workers information about hazardous materials used in the workplace. It has been implemented by a combination of federal and provincial legislation. The main purpose of the federal WHMIS legislation is to require suppliers of hazardous materials used in the workplace to provide health and safety information about their products as a condition of sale.
The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System, Regulation 860, requires employers to obtain health and safety information about hazardous materials in their workplaces and to pass it on to their workers. There are three ways in which the information is to be provided:
The supplier of the hazardous material provides the labels and MSDS to the employer. The employer passes the information on to the worker and provides education programs. The Ministry of Labour has published a WHMISGuide which is available from ServiceOntario Publications.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act,(OHSA) is Ontario's cornerstone legislation for workplace health and safety. Other contributing legislation includes the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA), Part II of which deals with the prevention of occupational injury and disease and the Human Rights Code , which often has to be considered in dealing with OHS issues. Both OHSA and WSIA are available along with all of Ontario's other Acts and regulations at the e-Laws website.
The main purpose of the Act is to protect workers from health and safety hazards on the job. It sets out duties for all workplace parties and rights for workers. It establishes procedures for dealing with workplace hazards and provides for enforcement of the law where compliance has not been achieved voluntarily. Fundamental to the successful working of OHSA is the workplace Internal Responsibility System ( IRS).
More about the OHSA.
OHSA applies to almost every worker, supervisor, employer and workplace in Ontario, including workplace owners, constructors and suppliers of equipment or materials to workplaces covered by the Act.
OHSA does not apply to:
Workplaces under federal jurisdiction are regulated by the Canada Labour Code , which is administered by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada ( HRSDC).
Federally incorporated businesses are those businesses that are working for the common good of at least two provinces and are outside the exclusive legislative authority of any one province. They are subject to provincial employment laws if they are not operating with these 15 major sectors.
Regulations made under OHSA may be sector, work or hazard specific. Sector-specific regulations apply to a particular industrial sector. There are sector-specific regulations for:
Examples of work that is covered by a specific regulation are:
Among the hazard-specific regulations are the 12 designated substance regulations ( DSRs), which apply to specific chemical substances such as asbestos, lead and vinyl chloride. A second chemical hazard regulation is the Regulation respecting the Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents, which prescribes occupational exposure limits ( OELs) for about 700 substances. Other hazard-specific regulations deal with X-ray safety and roll-over protection.
There is also a fourth set of regulations that doesn't fall neatly into these categories. Some clarify requirements in OHSA, such as defining "critical injury" or specifying that the employer must pay for JHSC member certification training. Others extend the application of OHSA; examples are the regulations for farming opertions, for teachers and for university academics and teaching assistants. The most far-reaching of these regulations is the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System ( WHMIS) regulation.
The Ministry's goal is for all workplaces to achieve self-compliance with OHSA and regulations through a well-functioning Internal Responsibility System ( IRS). Where this does not happen, progressive enforcement results. Enforcement begins with the issuing of orders and may proceed to prosecution.
Inspectors are the enforcement arm of the Ministry of Labour; their role includes the following:
The powers an inspector may use to fulfil this role are set out in OHSA Sections 54 to 57. A prosecution may be initiated against anyone having duties mentioned in OHSA Sections 23 to 32, including a:
The maximum penalties for a contravention of OHSA or its regulations are set out in OHSA Section 66. A successful prosecution could, for each conviction, result in:
The main purpose of the Occupational Health and Safety Act ( OHSA) is to protect workers from health and safety hazards on the job. It sets out duties for all workplace parties and rights for workers. It establishes procedures for dealing with workplace hazards and provides for enforcement of the law where compliance has not been achieved voluntarily. Fundamental to the successful working of OHSA is the workplace Internal Responsibility System ( IRS).
Workers' rights under OHSA include:
The Act prohibits reprisals being taken against workers who exercise these rights.
Workers have a general duty to take responsibility for personal health and safety, which means they should not behave or operate equipment in a way that would endanger themselves or others. Section 28 of OHSA lists additional specific duties:
The main way that workers can participate in workplace health and safety is through exercising their rights and duties in a responsible manner and by supporting their Joint Health and Safety Committee ( JHSC). The JHSC is made up of worker and management representatives and has the power to:
The injury-causing incident must also be reported to the worker's supervisor or employer, so that the employer's responsibilities under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act can be met. One of these responsibilities is completion of a Workplace Safety and Insurance Board form ( WSIB Form 7), which must be submitted to the WSIB before workers, who are eligible, can receive workplace safety insurance (formerly known as workers' compensation). More information on workplace safety insurance is available from the WSIB, the Office of the Worker Advisor, and the Office of the Employer Advisor.
OHSA Sections 25 and 26 assign a mixture of general and specific duties to employers and provide for other duties to be prescribed by regulation. The general duties require an employer to:
The specific duties require an employer to:
OHSA Section 26 details a number of other areas where additional duties for an employer may be prescribed. "Prescribed" means "required by a regulation." Regulations give specific directions on how to comply with the general requirements of OHSA.
OHSA also specifies duties for: