Every Alberta employer is required to eliminate or control violence and harassment in its workplaces. The law that imposes this requirement is not the Alberta Human Rights Act (that covers “discrimination”), but the Occupational Health and Safety Code.
On January 8, the Alberta government published a revised OHS Code. The revisions align Alberta with other Canadian jurisdictions and give more flexibility to employers. Nevertheless, the requirements to control violence and harassment are quite stringent.
Specifically, as an Alberta employer, you are required to develop and implement a workplace violence and harassment prevention plan. The plan must include:
- Measures to eliminate or control the hazards of violence and harassment to workers.
- Methods to inform workers of the nature and extent of the hazard of violence and harassment in your workplaces.
- Procedures to report violence or harassment.
- Procedures to investigate workplace violence or harassment.
- Provisions to protect the confidentiality of all parties involved in a report or incident of violence or harassment.
In addition, the Code requires that you:
1. Consult with your health and safety representative or committee in the development and implementation of the plan.
2. Protect people from potential domestic violence extending to your workplaces.
3. Provide paid time off to workers to seek treatment if they have been harmed by workplace violence or harassment.
4. Deploy additional specific controls if you operate a retail gas station or convenience store.
Lastly, the Code requires that you provide training to all your workers, the content of which must include:
1. How to recognize of violence and harassment.
2. The details of your violence and harassment prevention plan.
3. The appropriate responses to violence and harassment, including procedures for obtaining assistance.
4. The details of the procedures you have deployed to report, investigate, and document violence and harassment.
The deadline to put all this in place is March 31, 2025. You ignore these requirements at your peril. Obviously, if there is an incident of violence or harassment in your workplace and the OHS branch investigates, not having things in place basically guarantees a conviction under the OHS Act. As well, the OHS branch conducts blitzes from time to time, where its officers visit employers and demand proof of compliance with the Code. In either case, the penalties for non-compliance include “a fine of not more than $500 000”.
If you would like help developing your workplace violence and harassment resources, please contact me directly.
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