Ontario’s Workplace Violence And Harassment Bill Passes Third Reading

Bill 168, "An Act to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act with respect to violence and harassment in the workplace and other matters," passed third and final reading in the Ontario Legislature on December 9, 2009. Bill 168 will soon receive Royal Assent and will then come into force six months later.

Bill 168 represents a significant change in how, and to what extent, workplace violence and harassment is regulated in Ontario. Bill 168 has been passed with few substantive changes to the original version of the Bill that was first introduced by the Ontario Government earlier this year (described in our e-Alert of April 23, 2009).

Under Bill 168, employers must devise workplace violence and harassment policies, develop programs to implement such policies, and engage in assessments to measure the risk of workplace violence. In addition, work refusal rights and the duties of employers and supervisors under OHSA have both been clarified to specifically apply to