The Ontario government is launching a program on April 1 designed to get employers to take more active measures to protect their workers against ergonomic injuries. Here's a look at 'Operation Pains and Strains' and what it bodes both inside and outside Ontario.
Overview of the Program
Why It Came About: Ergonomic injuries such as back pain and strained joints account for 42 percent of Ontario's lost-time injuries. But prosecutions, fines and work orders in connection with such injuries are extremely rare. Thus, an initiative like Operation Pains and Strains was all but inevitable.
What It Is: Pains and Strains is actually a series of initiatives designed to reduce ergonomic injuries at the workplace. This analysis focuses on the enforcement initiative.
How It Works: On April 1, 2006, MOL inspectors will start looking in earnest for ergonomic risk factors. Among other things, inspectors will review injury records for incidents and patterns of ergonomic injuries. Inspectors will also look at what, if any, steps employers took to prevent such injuries.
Analysis
No province spends more time, money and effort to enforce its OHS laws than does Ontario. Yet, Ontario's OHS laws and regulations are in some ways less progressive than those of other provinces.
Operation Pains and Strains is a perfect example of the current OHS paradox in Ontario. The MOL's effort to train inspectors and target ergonomic injuries is unprecedented-something that no other province is doing. However, Ontario doesn't specifically regulate ergonomic hazards the way other provinces such as QC and BC do. The employer's obligation to protect against them stems from the general duty to 'take every reasonable precaution to protect workers from injury' (OHS Act, Sec. 25(2)(h)).
The general duty clause is fine as a stop-gap. But it doesn't provide employers specific guidance on compliance found in detailed regulation a la BC and QC. The MOL has been scrambling to fill this void. On January 26, the MOL and WSIB published an information sheet, http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/ergonomics/is_ergonomics.html, to help employers identify ergonomic risks.
But MOL guidelines are no substitute for regulation. This may be why the MOL suggests that early efforts under Pains and Strains won't be punitive. 'Initially, the ministry will focus on raising employer and worker awareness of ergonomic-related injuries and risk factors in the industrial and health care sectors by providing information and discussing ergonomic hazards,' according to the official MOL backgrounder.
Conclusion
Pains and Strains signals Ontario's intention to treat ergonomic hazards like traditional workplace risks. But enforcement without clear regulation is putting the cart before the horse. Unless and until Ontario adopts the detailed ergonomic regulation currently found in BC and QC, it will be difficult to justify punishing employers for anything but egregious violations.
This article is based on Safety Compliance Insider, Vol. 2, Issue 4, p. 7.
By Glenn S. Demby, Esq.
