About 15 per cent of the penalties for asbestos or hazardous materials-related violations
WorkSafeBC imposed 352 penalties in 2011, totaling $4,883,489.89 against employers for violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and the Workers Compensation Act in British Columbia.
The 352 penalties were imposed against 289 individual employers, with penalty amounts ranging from $700 to $250,000. A total of 15 penalties involved work-related fatalities.
“Monetary penalties are imposed on employers for repeated or serious violations of occupational health and safety regulations and to motivate to comply with their legal responsibilities,” said Jeff Dolan, director of investigations for WorkSafeBC. “An employer is not penalized if they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent risks to their workers.”
The highest penalty in 2011 was imposed against Peter Kiewit Infrastructure for an incident in which a worker was fatally struck by a rock estimated to be over 1.5 m in diameter. The firm had allowed work to proceed without clearing loose material uphill. Unstable material had been identified in risk assessments and the firm had failed to adequately train workers for the land clearing work. Peter Kiewit Infrastructure was fined $250,000.
Asbestos-related penalties
In recent years WorkSafeBC has directed a more intensive focus on the industries that present the highest risk to workers and on employers for whom compliance is known to be an issue — such as contractors and consultants involved in residential asbestos removal and demolitions.
WorkSafeBC has identified a network of contractors and consultants whose substandard practices — improperly identifying or unsafely removing asbestos — continue to put workers at risk. In the Lower Mainland an estimated 300 homes are demolished each month, many of which are likely to contain asbestos if built prior to the mid-1990s.
In 2011, WorkSafeBC developed a team of eight prevention officers to focus on continued non-compliance in residential demolition and asbestos abatement. About 15 per cent (54) of the penalties imposed in 2011 were for asbestos- or hazardous materials-related violations — the vast majority of which were for companies doing residential demolition and asbestos abatement.
About penalties
WorkSafeBC applies a penalty where there has been a serious or repeated violation of occupational health and safety laws and regulations, where a sanction is required to motivate the specific employer to comply with the law and where the sanction can act as a deterrent for others.
Penalty amounts vary year over year due to the size of employers penalized (employers with larger payrolls are assessed higher penalties) and the seriousness of the violations.
In certain circumstances, claim costs may be applied in addition to the penalty; and in extraordinary circumstances, WorkSafeBC has the ability to go beyond prescribed limits and increase the penalty amount. The maximum penalty amount is adjusted yearly — in 2011 it was $579,648.26.
Review and appeal
Penalties imposed may be appealed to the review division of WorkSafeBC and parties can appeal review division decisions to an external and independent appeal body — the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal. Approximately two-thirds of penalties are not appealed. Of those penalties that are appealed approximately 90 per cent are upheld.
