{"id":70,"date":"2020-09-03T09:10:15","date_gmt":"2020-09-03T13:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opentextbooks.concordia.ca\/hrmcanadian\/chapter\/13-1-workplace-safety-and-health-laws\/"},"modified":"2020-11-03T08:22:03","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T13:22:03","slug":"13-1-workplace-safety-and-health-laws","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbooks.concordia.ca\/hrmcanadian\/chapter\/13-1-workplace-safety-and-health-laws\/","title":{"raw":"13.1 Workplace Safety and Health Laws","rendered":"13.1 Workplace Safety and Health Laws"},"content":{"raw":" \r\n
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Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n
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  1. Understand employer and employee obligations in regards to occupational health and safety (H&S)<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Be able to explain the impact of\u00a0 non compliance in H&S<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Be able to explain health concerns that can affect employees at work.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    Workplace safety is the responsibility of everyone in the organization. HR professionals and managers, however, play a large role in developing standards, making sure occupational healthy and safety laws are followed, and tracking workplace accidents. Health and safety is a key component of any human resource management (HRM) strategic plan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    9.1\u00a0 Rules and Regulations<\/strong><\/h1>\r\nWhat does the law say?<\/strong>\r\n

    In Canada, the Canadian Labour Code<\/a>, in particular, the Canadian Occupational Health and Safety Regulations<\/a>, have provisions regarding what employer's and employee's responsibilities are.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n\r\nHealth and Safety is both a federal and provincial responsibility in Canada. In essence, Health Canada contributes to occupational health and safety (OHS) issues by coordinating the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System and by monitoring workplace radiation exposure. Health Canada also provides employee assistance services and occupational health services to federal employees.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nApproximately 6% of the Canadian workforce falls under the OH&S jurisdiction of the federal government. The remaining 94% of Canadian workers fall under the legislation of the province or territory where they work.\r\n

    In Quebec, the Commission des Normes, de l'\u00e9quit\u00e9, de la sant\u00e9 et de la s\u00e9curit\u00e9 du travail, CNESST<\/a>, dictates the best practices and steps to follow for both management and employees. \r\n<\/small><\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n\r\nAccording to the latest statistics from the CNESST dated from 2018,\u00a0 228 employees lost their lives during a work related accident or illness. There were 91,711 employees who were injured in the workplace which can be equivalent to 251 accidents per day or 1 accident every six minutes!\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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    <\/a>What is the CNESST's role in Qu\u00e9bec?<\/h2>\r\n \r\n
    The Commission de la sant\u00e9 et de la s\u00e9curit\u00e9 du travail (CSST), now referred to as the CNESST, is the organization mandated by the Government of Qu\u00e9bec to administer the province's occupational health and safety plan. It acts in the capacity of a public insurer for workers and employers while also overseeing prevention in the workplace. The occupational health and safety plan evolved from a wide consensus, which led to a social contract linking over two million workers to their respective employers. Under this contract, workers are compensated for employment injuries, and employers are protected from legal action.<\/div>\r\n
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