June 15th, 2010, the date on which Bill 168, the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act (Violence and Harassment in the Workplace) 2009 comes into force is now one month away.

If your Company has not started preparations to become compliant, or you want to be sure that you have done what is required, here is a 5-step checklist you can use as a guide.

Bill 168 Compliance Checklist

STEP

ACTION

REMINDERS/NOTES

SUGGESTED COMPLIANCE DATE

1.

Prepare/Finalize Workplace Violence and Workplace Harassment Policies

  • The policies need to be signed and dated by the highest level of management at the workplace

May 21, 2010

2.

Conduct Assessment of Risks for workplace violence.

  • Must consider: (i) the nature of the workplace; (ii) the type of work; (iii) the conditions of work; (iv)circumstances common to similar workplaces and (v)circumstances specific to your workplace.
  • Results of Assessment must be reported to the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee or Representative.

May 28, 2010

3.

Create Violence and Harassment Programs necessary to implement your policy and the recommendations from the assessment.

  • Must include: (i) reporting and investigation procedures for complaints or incidents of workplace violence and harassment; (ii) measures and procedures to control the risks of violence identified in the assessment; (iii) measures and procedures for the summoning of immediate assistance when workplace violence occurs or is imminent.

June 4, 2010

4.

Provide Information and Instruction (training) to all staff on the employer's policies and programs.

  • Ensure that all staff: (i) are aware of the policies and programs that have been developed to address harassment and violence; (ii) are aware of the measures and procedures for summoning immediate assistance and for controlling identified risks; and (iii) know how to report incidents of harassment and violence and how the employer will investigate such reports.

June 11, 2010

5.

Post policies in the workplace.

 

June 15, 2010

We are here to help you. Give us a call for consultation or assistance in achieving compliance with Bill 168.

Margot Blight

mblight@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6114

Lisa C. Cabel (De Piante)

lcabel@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6217

Naomi E. Calla

ncalla@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6129

Matthew L.O. Certosimo

mcertosimo@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6068

Victoria B. Cowling

vcowling@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6136

Brian Dingle

bdingle@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6189

Jennifer M. Fantini

jfantini@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6726

Melany V. Franklin

mfranklin@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6091

Michelle S. Henry

mhenry@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6626

Robert W. Kitchen

rkitchen@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6023

Wendy Litner

wlitner@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6039

Jeff Mitchell

jmitchell@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6226

Morton G. Mitchnick

mmitchnick@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6413

Brian D. Mulroney

bmulroney@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6009

Genny Na

gna@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6032

Eric M. Roher

eroher@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6004

Susan E. Sorensen

ssorensen@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6017

Melanie Warner

mwarner@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6679

Rob Weir

rweir@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6248

Kate A. Zavitz

kzavitz@blgcanada.com

(416) 367-6535

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