There are a number of recent and significant amendments to the New Brunswick Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act which will come into effect on June 1, 2014.
Currently, an application for compensation for a workplace accident must be brought within one (1) year after the occurrence of the accident (no change). However, in the case of death, the application will now need to be brought within six (6) months from the date of the accident, as opposed to six (6) months from the time of death. The Workers Compensation Commission (the “Commission”) has the discretion to honour a claim that is brought outside of the prescribed time periods.
The Employer notice provisions will remain much the same. However, effective June 1, 2014, Employers will be required to notify the Commission if a worker is diagnosed with an occupational disease. Notice must be received by the Commission within three (3) days after the date of diagnosis.
Currently, the Act sets out procedures for how a worker may serve notice of an accident to their Employer. The amendments will repeal this section. Effective June 1, 2014 Employers will be required to institute a procedure that requires workers to notify the Employer of all workplace accidents.
In other words, the Employer must be given notice of a worker’s accident but as of June 1, 2014 there will no longer be legislated requirements on how a worker is to give notice to his/her Employer. Rather, Employers will be required to establish their own reporting requirements for workers.
Under the current Act an Employer must establish and file with the Commission a safety policy, if they regularly employ twenty (20) or more employees “at a place of employment.” Effective June 1, 2014 a safety policy will be required when an Employer has twenty (20) or more employees regularly employed “in the province.” The safety policy must be established in consultation with the employees and must set out the respective responsibilities of the Employer and employees. The Employer must file the policy with the Commission, keep a copy at each place of employment, and must make it available to a health and safety officer upon request.
Additionally, as of June 1, 2014 every Employer with twenty (20) or more employees regularly employed in the province will be required to establish a written health and safety program, in consultation with the health and safety representative/committee, which must address the following matters:
This program must be reviewed once a year by the Employer and the health and safety representative/committee. The Employer is to make a copy of the program available to the health and safety representative/committee and to any employee upon request.
The amendments require that all new employees receive orientation and training before they begin work unless the Employer is satisfied by written documentation that the new employee has satisfactory training from a previous Employer or third party, in which case only orientation is required. If there is a change in the hazards of a position, this may deem an employee to be a “new employee” who would need additional training and orientation.
The Employer must keep records of employee orientation and training for at least three (3) years. The new employee orientation must include:
As of June 1, 2014, if an occupational health and safety officer makes an order, the officer may require the Employer to provide a written report detailing their compliance with the order. The report must be signed by the Employer and the health and safety representative/committee. The officer may set out the time period for submission of the report.
Effective June 1, 2014 Employers will be required to immediately notify the Commission of an employee’s injury if the injury results in:
Immediate notice is also required for an accidental explosion or accidental exposure to a biological, chemical or physical agent at a place of employment, whether or not a person is injured. A catastrophic event or a catastrophic equipment failure that occurs at a place of employment that results, or could have resulted in an injury will also require immediate notice.
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