Keeping the office ready for a major emergency
Question: Are emergency procedures (for events such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and floods) considered part of an employer’s obligations to make the workplace as safe as possible under occupational health and safety legislation? If our emergency procedures aren’t updated, does that create occupational health and safety liability, even if the everyday operation of the workplace is safe?
Answer: Employers in Canada may have both general and specific occupational health and safety obligations in relation to emergency preparedness in the workplace, depending on the jurisdiction in which they operate.
As explained above, Canadian employers have an obligation to protect the health and safety of their employees. An employer would need to take reasonable precautions to minimize the risks posed by the types of emergencies in the question, by virtue of their general OHS obligations. This would include developing and maintaining emergency procedures.
A number of Canadian jurisdictions set out specific obligations for emergency planning. In some, employers’ emergency preparedness obligations vary according to industry or the type of work employees perform.
In B.C., for example, the OHS Regulation requires employers to conduct a risk assessment in any workplace in which a need to rescue or evacuate workers may arise. If the risk assessment shows a need for evacuation or rescue, the employer is required to develop and implement “appropriate written procedures,” and assign an employee to coordinate their implementation.
The type of emergency plan will depend on factors such as the nature and location of the employer’s operations. For example, a basic fire evacuation plan may suffice for an office or small retail operation storing minimal quantities of regular office supplies such as toner or correction fluid. A more elaborate written plan may be necessary, however, in workplaces where there are persons who require physical assistance to be moved, such as care homes or schools. Similarly, written rescue and evacuation procedures are required where an employee works at “high angles,” meaning in a position that cannot be reached by a standard stairway or elevator and would require an injured worker to be evacuated with the use of specialized rescue equipment and techniques.
Any procedures deemed necessary by a risk assessment must be practised at least once per year to ensure awareness and effectiveness of emergency exit routes, and a record of the drills must be kept.
In addition, the B.C. Regulations set out emergency preparedness requirements for specific operations, such as those dealing with chemical substances and biological agents, underground workings and diving and fishing operations. The provisions relating to these types of operations are more onerous and, in some cases, require emergency plans to be reviewed annually.
In Alberta, the Occupational Health and Safety Code under the Occupational Health and Safety Act requires employers to establish a plan for responding to an emergency that may require rescue or evacuation. The plan must be current and all affected workers must be familiar with the procedures. As in B.C., the type of plan that will be sufficient in Alberta will depend on such factors as the nature and location of the employer’s operations.
One final example is the Canada OHS Regulations under the Canada Labour Code, which state that where more than 50 employees are working in a building at any time, the employer must prepare an emergency evacuation plan for all employees, including those who require special assistance. This type of plan must be kept up to date and must take into account any changes in the building or the nature of its occupancy. In addition, every federally regulated employer must prepare emergency procedures to be implemented in the event of certain circumstances such as fire. Employers must ensure employees are instructed and trained in the emergency procedures, and must conduct an evacuation or emergency drill at least once every year as well as after any change is made in the emergency evacuation plan or the emergency procedures.
Contraventions of OHS provisions could result in penalties, which under legislation such as the Canada Labour Code, could include fines up to $1 million and imprisonment for up to two years.
In sum, maintaining current emergency procedures would be considered part of an employer’s obligations to make the workplace as safe as possible under OHS legislation. Accordingly, if emergency procedures are not updated in accordance with the OHS requirements in your jurisdiction, then there is a potential for liability. The liability in this context would not be negated even if the “everyday operation of the workplace is safe,” since compliance with certain OHS obligations is not a defence for violating others.
