3 Jun 2015 | Journal of Commerce | RUSSELL HIXSON staff writer
The Council of Construction Associations (COCA) of B.C., which initially had concerns about recently implemented changes to the Workers Compensation Act, is now applauding the province for working with industry to improve the regulations.
COCA president Dave Baspaly said that while he was not satisfied with the amount of consultation at the beginning of the process of Bill 9, he believes that the government has listened to many of the industry’s concerns and worked to improve the legislation.
In February, Baspaly told the Journal he had concerns about the lack of consultation. He also had concerns about a provision requiring incident reports be submitted within 48 hours, near miss report requirements and the decision to not include powers to punish individual workers for not wearing safety equipment. “John Panusa (director of the occupational health and safety regulation and policy department) has done a really good job of listening to industry and labour, and trying to find the right path through,” Baspaly said. “We are not too far apart now.”
Baspaly said Panusa sat down with industry and explained the new regulations, something that is unprecedented.
According to WorkSafeBC, there are two major changes to the requirements for employer incident investigations.
First, it has been amended to require an employer to undertake a preliminary investigation within 48 hours of the incident. Second, employers must now submit a full investigation report to WorkSafeBC within 30 days of an incident, unless an extension is granted.
The act has also introduced expanded circumstances and scope for stop work orders.
In the past, WorkSafeBC could apply a stop work order only in cases of immediate danger. Now, WorkSafeBC can stop work if there are reasonable grounds for believing there is a high risk of serious injury, serious illness or death to a worker.
They can also do so when an employer fails to comply with the same order twice within a year.
Orders can also be issued at other employer locations that haven’t been inspect if WorkSafeBC believes the same dangerous conditions may exist.
Previously, the act allowed WorkSafeBC to apply to the British Columbia Supreme Court for an injunction to either restrain a person – which includes corporate and individual employers, owners, supervisors, suppliers and workers – from continuing a contravention or require a person to comply with the act, regulation or an order.
The amendments to the injunction provisions now enable the court to also grant an injunction restraining a person from carrying on in an industry, or an activity in an industry, indefinitely or until further order of the court.
According to the act, an injunction is an “exceptional remedy” that’s handled by the WorkSafeBC’s legal services department in consultation with the relevant prevention officers and managers.
There has also been a change to penalty due diligence. The amendment clearly places the onus of proving due diligence on the employer facing an administrative penalty.
Baspaly said he is looking forward to seeing how the regulations, implemented this month, work.
“Now, we will see how it actually works in the field. We will be watching it very closely and championing the employers rights to make sure these regulations are implemented fairly and equitably across the system,” he said.