What small contractors
also
need to know
You must report injuries and incidents to the Ministry of Labour
Our last issue (Volume 10, Number 4) spelled out a contractor's injury-reporting requirements vis-à-vis the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). The following article outlines mandatory reporting to the Ministry of Labour in the event of workplace injury, occupational illness, or "incident."
When is immediate notification of the Ministry of Labour required?
When a person is killed or critically injured on a jobsite, the employer must notify a Ministry of Labour inspector immediately by telephone, telegram, or other direct means.
When are written notices or reports to the Ministry of Labour required?
An employer must give the Ministry of Labour notice, in writing,
- within 48 hours after a person is killed or critically injured on the job (the notice must contain information required by the construction regulation -- Ontario Regulation 213/91)
- within four days after an accident, explosion, or fire injures a person on the job -- preventing the person from performing customary work or requiring medical attention -- but does not cause death or critical injury
- within four days after being advised that a worker has an occupational illness or that a claim for occupational illness has been filed with the WSIB
- within two days after any occurrence which Ontario Regulation 213/91 defines as an "incident" requiring notice to the Ministry of Labour.
Which incidents must be reported to the Ministry of Labour?
For the complete list, see Section 11 of Ontario Regulation 213/91. The following are some examples of incidents that must be reported:
- worker falling three metres or more
- worker who falls and whose fall is arrested by a fall-arrest system
- worker losing consciousness for any reason
- contact with live electrical conductors or equipment
- failure of scaffolding or trench support
- structural failure or overturning of a crane.
Is an engineer's input required in reports to the Ministry of Labour?
A professional engineer's written opinion is required where one of the occurrences mentioned above -- death, critical injury, lost-time injury, occupational illness, or incident -- involves the failure of all or part of
- temporary or permanent works
- a structure
- a crane or other hoisting device
- an excavation wall or similar earthwork which a professional engineer has deemed stable.
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