Many companies have implemented fully developed environmental management systems (EMSs). And more and more companies are having their EMSs certified as compliant with ISO 14001, a standard for EMSs developed by the International Organization for Standardization. Advocates of ISO certification claim that an ISO-compliant EMS helps companies gain substantial operational, managerial and competitive benefits. But [...]... Read more

Many jurisdictions publish special guides to the excavation and trench requirements in their OHS laws. Here’s a list of some of these resources: BC: Sloping and Timber Shoring MB: Guideline for Excavation Work NL: Trench Excavation Safety Guide, available from the WHSCC by calling (709) 778-7777 NS: Excavations and Trenches: A Guide to Part 14 of the Occupational Safety [...]... Read more

An Ontario worker is buried alive after the trench he’s working in collapses. The contractor is fined $120,000 and the supervisor $5,000. A 27-year-old Alberta worker laying cable is crushed to death when the spool around which the cable is wrapped breaks free from a nearby truck and rolls into the shallow trench where he’s working. The [...]... Read more

To avoid having the flu wipe out your workforce, hold flu clinics in your workplace this fall—that is, have medical staff on hand who can administer flu shots to workers. The seasonal flu can hit companies hard by increasing worker absences and decreasing productivity. And this year, the added threat of the swine or H1N1 [...]... Read more

Benchmarking surveys are designed to help professionals compare their careers and jobs with their peers. They are often utilized to make functional changes in their jobs and/or programs based on the “best practices” of their counterparts. Click Here to continue. ... Read more

When Do Long Absences Become Long Enough to Justify Termination?... Read more

In a tough economy like this one, employers may be tempted to cut staff and push remaining workers to work longer hours to take up the slack. But doing so may not only endanger workers’ health and safety but also be illegal. Employment standards laws across Canada set caps on how long employees can work before they’re entitled to overtime. And to ensure that workers get enough rest, they also limit the number of hours workers may work in a day and/or days in a week. Maximum work hour caps ma... Read more

A breakdown of the maximum fine a corporation can expect to face for an environmental violation by province.... Read more

A large manufacturer with financial problems is forced to lay off 20 workers. And it warns the remaining workers that these layoffs may unfortunately not be the last. After this warning, a worker notices that a part on a piece of machinery is broken. The worker knows that the machine is unsafe to use in [...]... Read more

Cellular Phone Use & Driving: a Dangerous Combination, Ontario Medical Association, Sept. 2008. The Economics of Regulating Cell Phone Use in Vehicles, Hahn & Tetlock, AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, Oct. 1999. Fatal Distraction? A Comparison Between Cell Phone Drivers and Drunk Drivers, Strayer, Drews & Crouch. The Risk of Using a Mobile Phone While Driving, Royal [...]... Read more