SITUATION A company has a large warehouse in which workers use forklifts and other motorized equipment to access and move materials. After several near misses in which workers distracted by cell phones almost ran over co-workers, the company decides it’s time to bar workers from carrying and using cell phones in the warehouse while they’re on duty. Under the new policy, workers must leave their phones in their lockers and may use the phones only on their own time (such as breaks and lunch)... Read more

SITUATION A small manufacturer has been hit hard by the recession and laid off numerous workers. As it now approaches its busy season, the last thing it can afford is for a bout of swine flu to disrupt its operations. Unfortunately, over the course of a few days, one, two, then three workers call in sick, complaining of flu-like symptoms. When the fourth worker calls in sick, his supervisor, fearing that the manufacturer may have a swine flu outbreak on its hands, asks the worker if he has swi... Read more

SITUATION A female worker at a nursing home is self-conscious about her chipped nails. So she treats herself to a set of fake nails. Her fellow housekeepers love her new look. But wearing fake nails violates the nursing home’s dress code. Even though the worker doesn’t directly treat residents, the code applies to both direct and indirect caregivers, including housekeepers. The worker claims that the dress code violates her right to selfexpression. The nursing home argues that the dress cod... Read more

SITUATION Workers in a warehouse use a crane to move steel beams. They don’t properly secure the beams, which collectively weigh over a tonne. As the crane starts to move, the beams shift and half of them fall. Three workers are struck by the falling beams; two are killed and one is paralyzed from the waist down. In the wake of the tragedy, the company issues a press release stating, “ABC Company apologizes to the injured worker and the families of the deceased workers and is sorry for thei... Read more

SITUATION A secretary at a law firm develops laboured breathing, chest tightness, headaches, rashes and dizziness. A doctor diagnoses her with multiple chemical sensitivities, especially to scents, perfumes and chemical smells. To accommodate the secretary, the firm asks staff not to wear perfume or cologne; installs air cleaners near the secretary’s station; lets her use a washroom in the office sickroom instead of the public washroom used by other workers; and changes her hours to limit her... Read more

Situation A mining company installs a gate at the front of the site where miners dump their waste. Over time, the gate becomes damaged and develops an overswing so that when it’s open, it crosses a nearby set of bypass tracks on which mining cars run. The company is aware of the gate’s condition. But the gate still protects workers from inadvertently entering the dump site. So the company doesn’t bother to fix it. One day, a worker is driving a locomotive down the bypass tracks when it hi... Read more

This situation is based on the facts of an actual case from Saskatchewan. Can you guess how the court ruled? Do you agree with the ruling? Situation A worker has worked for a paper company for nearly 24 years without incident and now manages the warehouse. He’s also the commanding officer of an army cadet corps and is responsible for training cadets on the use of air rifles. One day, he brings several air rifles to the warehouse. During work hours, he shows a co-worker how the rifle works ... Read more

To avoid bottlenecks on a factory’s assembly lines, the line coordinator sometimes moves workers from one line to another. One day, after no one volunteers to move to Line 1, the coordinator reassigns two workers to that line. They refuse the reassignment for what they claim are safety reasons. But they don’t explain exactly what about that assembly line poses a hazard to them. In fact, the workers aren’t really afraid for their safety. The real reason they don’t want to work on Line 1 i... Read more

A company investigates several incidents at its brewery and finds that one worker is responsible for them. The company interviews the worker, who eventually admits to breaking the arm of a chair, jamming bottle caps into the stop buttons on machinery, deliberately smashing air pressure valves on equipment, hiding a bottle opener in an expensive bottle washing machine and removing light bulbs from emergency stop lights on equipment. These actions endanger expensive equipment and co-workers and vi... Read more

An automobile releasing company (the “contractor”) from Ontario has a contract with a car manufacturer to load completed vehicles onto railroad cars so they can be transported to locations throughout Canada and the United States. The car manufacturer leases the railroad cars from another company for transport. The contractor’s workers work with railroad workers to make sure that the vehicles are loaded properly and safely onto the railroad cars. Railroad workers are covered by ... Read more