Background

Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), “workplace violence” is the exercise of physical force by a person against a worker, in a workplace, that causes or could cause physical injury to the worker. It also includes:

  • an attempt to exercise physical force against a worker in a workplace, which could cause physical injury to the worker
  • a statement or behaviour that a worker could reasonably interpret as a threat to exercise physical force against the worker, in a workplace, which could cause physical injury to the worker

“Workplace harassment” is defined under the OHSA as "engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome" or workplace sexual harassment.

“Workplace sexual harassment” is defined under OHSA as either:

  • engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, where the course of comment or conduct is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome
  • making a sexual solicitation or advance where the person making it is in a position to confer, grant or deny a benefit or advancement to the worker and the person knows or ought reasonably to know that the solicitation or advance is unwelcome

Concerns and hazards

Firefighters may encounter workplace violence or workplace harassment by other workers or the public. Workplace violence or workplace harassment may also occur while at inspections, emergency scenes or at other public events.

Actions for employers

Employers must comply with the violence and harassment provisions in Part III.0.1 of the Occupational Safety Act, including those for:

  • policies and programs
  • risk assessment
  • reporting and investigating
  • information and instruction for workers

Employers should:

  • provide conflict resolution, de-escalation and non-violent crisis intervention training
  • when responding to known places of potentially violent situations, have workers work in pairs, have police attend and/or have workers keep a safe distance from the situation
  • train workers to recognize situations dealing with the public which could lead to a violent situation
  • create communication signals or terminology to call for assistance and train workers (including but not limited to fire prevention workers, operations workers and communicators) on their use
  • use the hazardous location identification options available through computer aided dispatch systems (for example, caution notes added to an address in a dispatch system)
  • know the location of workers at all times

Considerations

When conducting a risk assessment and developing a program, consider:

  • a violent attack can happen in seconds
  • workplace violence may include shaking a fist in a worker’s face, or throwing objects at a worker
  • workplace harassment may include making remarks, jokes or innuendos that demean, ridicule, intimidate, or offend
  • threats of violence and workplace harassment may be verbal or written

Applicable regulations and acts

Read:

  • Occupational Health and Safety Act
    • clause 25(2)(a): provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect the health or safety of the worker
    • clause 25(2)(h): take every precaution reasonable in the circumstance for the protection of the worker
    • Part III.0.1 Violence and Harassment

Related

Read: