An Act to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act with respect to violence and harassment in the workplace and other matters

OESC developed this resource to assist school boards and school authorities with the implementation of Bill 168, as it amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). This legislation requires boards to have written policies on Workplace Violence and Workplace Harassment, and that these be located in a place where the policies will come to the attention of the workers. A boilerplate policy on Workplace Violence was circulated to all boards in February, 2010 for use in developing board policies. It was suggested, at that time, that current board policies with regard to harassment might just need editing to ensure that workplace harassment is clearly identified, and an example of how this might be done is provided below in Appendix 3, using a revised version of the original document on Respectful and Safe Working and Learning Environments.

Once the Board had established its Violence in the Workplace policy, the policy would have to be implemented through procedures that outline how the program would be implemented in the board’s workplace(s). The following are a selection of resources compiled or developed by the OESC working group to assist in the development of operating procedures. Some sections provide advice and considerations for boards, while others provide sample language for use in procedure development. It should be noted that much work on the implementation is being done in many sectors, and where possible we have drawn on those resources in the development of this document, as well as on current resources in school boards.

The information contained in this document is intended for general information only, and boards should seek their own independent legal advice to confirm that the policies and program meet both their particular circumstances, and the requirements of the amended Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).

Resources

OESC Bill 168, Resource Document for Developing Operational Procedures
OESC Bill 168, Resource Document for Developing Operational Procedures – Appendix 3
Policy Statement on Safe Workplaces and Learning Environments
Policy Statement on Violence in the Workplace
Policy Statement on Workplace Harassment