In Ontario, there is a legislation called the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), which addresses the prevention of injury and disease in Provincially regulated workplaces. Under this legislation employers have the duty to provide a safe workplace and the employees have a duty to take reasonable care in the workplace to protect their health and safety and those of coworkers. Employers must also provide employees with information on known workplace hazards, and employees must report to the employer any hazard of which they become aware.

The OHSA requires representatives and joint committees to monitor the workplace and guarantees employees the right to refuse unsafe work.

Subsection 43(3) of the OHSA provides:

43.—(3) A worker may refuse to work or do particular work where he or she has reason to believe that,

(a) any equipment, machine, device or thing the worker is to use or operate is likely to endanger himself, herself or another worker;

(b) the physical condition of the workplace or the part thereof in which he or she works or is to work is likely to endanger himself or herself;

(b.1) workplace violence is likely to endanger himself or herself; or

(c) any equipment, machine, device or thing he or she is to use or operate or the physical condition of the workplace or the part thereof in which he or she works or is to work is in contravention of this Act or the regulations and such contravention is likely to endanger himself, herself or another worker.

If the worker is concerned about an unsafe work environment

There are certain classes of workers where they are not entitled to the right to refuse unsafe work, such as police officers and firefighters, due to the fact that the circumstances giving rise to the refusal are inherent in the worker’s work or are a normal condition of the worker’s employment. Another instance where a worker is not entitled to the right to refuse unsafe work is where the refusal would directly endanger the life, health or safety of another person (ss. 43(1)–(2) OHSA).

The Canada Labour Code (CLC) contains similar provisions for employers and employees that working in Federally regulated workplaces.

Connect With Suzanne Desrosiers Professional Corporation

If you are an employer or an employee working in a Federally or Provincially regulated workplace and have questions about the OHSA or the CLC and how it applies to you, please feel free to reach out to Suzanne Desrosiers Professional Corporation by calling us at (705) 268-6492 or emailing us at info@sdlawtimmins.com and we would be more than happy to help!