New mobile app offers quick contractor-liability clearance in B.C. • Ontario unveils hours of work and overtime tool • Ontario electrical safety code effective May 1 • Province reviewing WHSCC
British Columbia
New mobile app offers quick contractor-liability clearance in B.C.
WorkSafeBC is releasing a new mobile app that gives employers, contractors and homeowners the ability to access clearance letters from a smartphone or tablet. Clearance letters are notices that tell employers or homeowners whether a firm, contractor or sub-contractor is complying with WorkSafeBC’s registration and payment requirements. Employers or homeowners that hire a contractor who is not in compliance could be liable for outstanding premiums, according to WorkSafeBC. The app allows employers to request new clearance letters from WorkSafeBC, and to review existing clearance letters, requests and contractor profiles from their smartphones or tablets. Subcontractors can use the app to show on-the-spot proof their WorkSafeBC registrations and premiums are up-to-date. It will automatically email updated clearance information back to the offices of the employers and contractors after they review it in the field. Additionally, it can help homeowners check on contractors before hiring them. The clearance letter mobile app is available on the WorkSafeBC website — people using smartphones will be automatically directed to the mobile app: www.worksafebc.com/insurance/managing_your_account/clearance_letters/default.asp
Ontario
Ontario unveils hours of work and overtime tool
The Ontario Ministry of Labour has rolled out a new tool to help employers understand and comply with rules about hours of work and overtime under the Employment Standards Act (ESA). The hours of work and overtime tool is designed to help employers confirm and comply with specific rules concerning employee hours of work. The tool can help determine compliance for a range of standards such as daily rest, overtime, averaging and rest between shifts. The tool features tutorials and calculators on topics including overtime and time off in lieu, daily rest, eating periods, weekly free time and rest between shifts. It serves as an introduction and link to the online forms required for requesting excess hours and overtime averaging, according to the ministry. The ministry has five other online tools to help employers and employees understand and comply with the ESA, including a severance tool, a termination tool and a public holiday calculator. The tools have logged more than half a million uses since the first tool was launched on the ministry’s website in April 2009. Compliance tools are critical to help reduce the regulatory burden on employers, said Ian Howcroft, vice-president of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, Ontario. The tool is available at: www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/tools/hours/index.php.
Ontario electrical safety code effective May 1
An updated version of the Ontario Electrical Safety Code (OESC) comes into effect May 1. This 25th edition of the code establishes safety standards for installing and maintaining electrical equipment, including the prevention of fire and shock hazards. All electrical installations in Ontario must conform to the code. The code is available online: http://esasafe.com/Corporate/ontario_electrical_safety_code_25th_edition_2012.php
Newfoundland and Labrador
Province reviewing WHSCC
Newfoundland and Labrador’s government is conducting a review of the province’s Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission’s (WHSCC’s) operations. The review is required by law every five years. The review will examine compensation and health care services, client services, injury and fatality prevention and the financial sustainability of the WHSCC, said Paul Davis, the minister responsible for the WHSCC.
