Message from the OCC

Workplaces with more than five regular employees will be required by June 15, 2010 to have all the necessary policies, programs, measures and procedures in place in order to be in compliance with the recent amendments made to the Ministry of Labour’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (Bill 168-Violence in the Workplace).

As of June 15, 2010 employers with more than 5 employees will be required to:

§ prepare a written policy with respect to workplace violence and harassment
§ assess the risks of workplace violence that may arise from the nature of the workplace, the type of work or the conditions of the work
§ develop and maintain a program to implement the workplace violence policy
§ take all reasonable precautions in the circumstances for the protection of the worker if a domestic violence situation would expose a worker to physical injury in the workplace
§ provide information, including personal information, about a person with a history of violent behaviour
§ report and provide prescribed information on all workplace violence incidents to a joint health and safety committee

The Accessibility Standards for Customer Service Standard (O. Reg 429/07), also known as the customer service standard, came into effect on January 1, 2008 and is the first standard developed under AODA. It applies to all businesses and organizations that provide goods or services to the public or other organizations and have at least one employee in Ontario. Compliance dates and reporting requirements for organizations in the private sector, including non-profit are as follows:

§ businesses with 20 or more employees must comply by January 1, 2012, and report in 2012;

§ businesses with one to 19 employees must comply by January 1, 2012, but are exempted from reporting.