First Reference Talks

Bill 168 – Meeting your obligations for violence and harassment prevention

Friday, May 21st, 2010

There’s lots of talk in Ontario’s workplaces and online about workplace violence and harassment and the Bill 168 amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Hopefully by now the message is getting through, and employers are taking the steps to prepare for the June 15 deadline. (That’s about three weeks away!)

Tags: Bill 168, Bill 168 violence, Employment law conference, harassment prevention, health and safety policy, Health and Safety program, occupational health and safety, ontario, policies and procedures, policy, violence and harassment prevention, violence prevention
Posted in Conferences, Health and Safety, Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Workplace violence and harassment policies – to integrate or not?

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

Ontario’s upcoming occupational health and safety violence and harassment rules require that employers implement violence and harassment prevention policies. Manitoba and Saskatchewan also require OHS policies for both workplace hazards. When drafting or updating your violence/harassment policies to meet legal OHS requirements (e.g., Ontario’s Bill 168), are you creating individual policies or integrating your policies? That was the question asked in the most recent HRinfodesk poll. According to the results of the poll, out of 155 responses, 84 (~54%) respondents intend to comply to the letter of the law, while 71 (~46%) respondents have taken another approach by integrating both policies into one.

Read the full article on HRinfodesk.

Tags: Bill 168 violence, HRinfodesk, manitoba, occupational health and safety, ontario, policies, policies and procedures, Saskatchewan, violence policy, workplace harassment, workplace harassment prevention guide, workplace violence
Posted in Health and Safety, Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Now is the time to arrange training

Friday, January 29th, 2010

I have been busy at the HRPA Annual Conference and Tradeshow this week where I had the pleasure of presenting, “Protecting Your Organization from the Workplace Bully.” I can report that, based on the buzz among HR Professionals and decision makers I have talked to, employers are really aware of their obligations and challenges under the amended Occupational Health & Safety Act. Employers, for the most part, also have a renewed interest in reaching up and pulling down from the shelf, those plans for training in the areas of harassment prevention!

Tags: Bill 168 violence, harassment, harassment training, health and safety, HRPA 2010, human rights, occupational health and safety, ontario, training, workplace harassment, workplace training, workplace violence
Posted in Health and Safety, Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Clarification on Ontario Bill 168

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

On January 27, 2010, I attended the HRPA annual conference. I was most interested on the session titled, Violence in the Workplace: An Update on Bill 168 from the Ministry of Labour. I needed some clarification on possible exemptions to the new violence and harassment prevention law and the application of certain measures in the bill.

Tags: Bill 168, Bill 168 violence, disclosure of personal information, disclosure of persons with a history of violence, domestic violence, harassment policy, ontario, Ontario Ministry of Labour, Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act, violence in the workplace, violence policy, workplace harassment, workplace violence, workplace violence and harassment
Posted in Health and Safety, Human Resources | 6 Comments »

Disclosing persons with a history of violence

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

The Ontario Occupational Health and safety Act violence and harassment prevention provisions (Bill 168) require employers to provide information, including personal information, about a person with a history of violent behaviour if:

Tags: Bill 168, Bill 168 violence, disclosure of personal information, disclosure of persons with a history of violence, human rights, OH&S, OHSA, Ontario Human Rights Code, Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act, personal information, privacy legislation, privacy rights, private sector privacy legislation
Posted in Health and Safety, Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Transition period for Bill 168 means: time to act

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Ontario employers take heed, the six-month transition period provided by the government before amendments to Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (Bill 168) come into force allow you time to prepare and be in compliance. This means implementing the new rules and measures required by law on or before June 15, 2010.

Tags: Bill 168 violence, harassment, occupational health and safety, ontario, Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act, violence, workplace harassment, workplace prevention plan, workplace prevention program, workplace violence
Posted in Health and Safety, Human Resources | 3 Comments »