Compliance with health and safety regulations may not be good enough

Ontario Court of Appeal finds employers can have a greater duty to protect workers beyond what a regulation for a specific workplace risk dictates

The Court of Appeal for Ontario recently held that it is possible to comply with all relevant regulations under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) but at the same time violate the general duty under the OHSA to take “every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.” In other words, despite there being a regulation that specifically addresses a particular workplace risk (such as fall protection), there may be cases in which more is required from an employer than compliance with the regulation. Exactly how much more will be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the nature of the workplace and work being done.

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