Proposed Amendments
A new Part 4.1, entitled Psychological Health and Safety, Harassment and Violence, is proposed to be added to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation.
Harassment and Violence
The proposed new Part 4.1 establishes employer requirements to address harassment and violence. The proposed amendments:
- Define harassment to mean an action, including an action of a sexual nature or an action that targets personal characteristics, that:
- is directed against a worker;
- occurs in the workplace or is work-related; and
- can reasonably be expected to be intimidating, humiliating, or otherwise offensive to the worker.
- Clarify that management actions taken in good faith are not considered harassment.
- Define violence to mean any action, including an action of a sexual nature, that occurs in the workplace or is work-related and consists of one or both of the following:
- The application of physical force against a worker that could cause injury.
- A threatening statement or behaviour that can reasonably be expected to give a worker cause to believe that the worker is at risk of injury.
- Require employers to develop a harassment prevention program, which includes written policies and procedures for dealing with harassment, and educating and training workers on risks of harassment and how to deal with it in the workplace. The new provisions also require employers to record incidents of harassment and to implement or modify control measures to eliminate or minimize the risk of recurrence.
- Require employers to develop a violence prevention program, which includes identifying conditions and activities that could expose workers to violence, eliminating or minimizing the risk of violence by implementing and reviewing control measures, developing policy and procedures, educating and training workers, and recording incidents of violence.
Psychological Health and Safety
The proposed new Part 4.1 establishes a set of requirements for employers to identify, assess, and control psychosocial hazards. The proposed amendments:
- Define psychosocial hazard to mean a workplace or work-related hazard that could expose a worker to the risk of psychological injury.
- Set out a framework for employers to identify, assess, and control psychosocial hazards, and require employers to review and modify control measures to ensure they continue to be effective.
- Set out requirements for when the employer must consult with workers in the workplace, and the applicable workplace representative.
- Introduce requirements for employers to educate, train, and provide information to workers on psychosocial hazards that are relevant to the workplace and the worker’s tasks and be specific to the conditions of the workplace and activities that take place in the workplace.
While employers have always had a duty to protect workers’ psychological health and safety, some of the proposed amendments are expected to face significant pushback from the employer community in light of concerns that these amendments propose to enforce excessively broad definitions that cannot be objectively measured or implemented and risk further opening the floodgates to workers’ compensation claims not properly arising from work-related traumatic events or significant stressors.
We will continue to monitor the proposed amendments as they progress and their potential implications for employers going forward.
Consultation Process – Now Open
The consultation process regarding the proposed amendments is now open and stakeholders can provide feedback on WorkSafeBC’s proposed amendments until October 9, 2026, by following the steps outlined on WorkSafeBC’s website. After October 9, 2026, WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors will consider the feedback received before making a decision as to the implementation of these proposed amendments.
If you have any questions about this article, please contact Andrew Wood or Amanda Alberti.
