In case you haven't heard... 

The Ontario Legislature passed Bill 168 in early December -- it's projected to come into effect in June 2010 following Royal Assent.

Bill 168 amends the Occupational Health & Safety Act to require employers to assess the risks of violence and harassment in the workplace and develop policies, practices, and procedures to reduce and manage these risks.  The responsibility for enforcement seems to be falling to Health & Safety Inspectors.  However, the Human Rights Commission will retain responsibility for enforcement related to the designated groups under their charge.

Some of more interesting aspects of this legislation is the requirement to notify employees where they may come into contact with clients or employees with an established history of violence.  As you can probably appreciate, this needs to be done very carefully to provide the minimum information 'reasonably necessary' to protect employees.

There is also special attention paid to domestic violence issues in the workplace.

For more information please refer to the article provided courtesy of the law firm Hicks Morley.  If anyone has any questions regarding this legislation please feel free to call.

Matthew Simon, HBA CHRP
Human Resources Management Consultant.