Bill 168 Archives - Rubin Thomlinson

Bill 132: Obligation or opportunity?

May 5, 2016 | By Christine Thomlinson

Starting our own business gave us the opportunity to create the kind of place where we wanted to work – the kind of working environment that would have us excited about heading to work each Monday, as opposed to lying awake on Sunday night dreading the start of another work week. I am truly grateful

Occupational health & safety aboard the millennium falcon (and the cosmic definition of “workplace” under the Occupational Health and Safety Act)

March 16, 2016

As an occupational health & safety lawyer and a Star Wars fan, a recent news report regarding an incident aboard the legendary Millennium Falcon naturally caught my attention. In that regard, British occupational health & safety authorities announced last month that criminal charges had been issued against Foodles Production (UK) Ltd. (“Foodles”, which is a

Ontario’s new Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act and why workplace investigations have suddenly become more important

November 2, 2015 | By Janice Rubin

On October 27, 2015, the Ontario government tabled its Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment) 2015 (the “Act”). The Act amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and in particular, those provisions brought in through Bill 168 in 2010 that set out employers’ obligations to have

Occupational health and safety: Bell’s “Let’s Talk Day” puts the spotlight on mental health

February 2, 2015

This past Wednesday, January 28, was Bell Canada’s “Let’s Talk Day”, an annual event in which the communications giant makes additional donations (beyond its other contributions throughout the year) to Canadian mental health programs based on the number of text messages, wireless and long distance calls, and certain tweets and Facebook shares transmitted by its

The latest on psychological health and safety in the workplace: Ontario Ministry of Labour releases report from its roundtable on traumatic mental stress

November 18, 2014

For the past few years, work-related mental stress has been the subject of increasing attention from the media, as well as from government, regulatory bodies and other stakeholders. For example: In 2010, the Bill 168 amendments to Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act formally recognized workplace harassment (together with workplace violence) as occupational health and

Multiple stabbing in Toronto workplace: A tragic reminder of employers’ obligations under Bill 168

April 10, 2014

April 9, 2014 brought shocking news of an employee who allegedly reacted to the termination of his employment by pulling a knife during the dismissal meeting and stabbing four of his co-workers. At the time of this writing, three of those individuals remain in hospital—two of them in critical condition. News reports indicate that the

Let’s talk workplace incivility

November 7, 2013

Last week, I traveled to York University to give a lecture on workplace incivility to students in the Human Resources Management program. Other than marveling at some of the new buildings on my old university campus, I was also surprised by the discussion that was occurring in the classroom about incivility. The solutions that these

Occupational health & safety: Why fire drills matter

September 27, 2013

When I was young, a fire drill usually meant a welcome escape from the classroom. Marching single-file, my classmates and I would end up in the schoolyard, where we’d enjoy what felt like an extra recess period. Fast-forward to working life, and fire drills have – for many of us – become synonymous with annoyance.

Serious insight for serious situations.