Employment and Immigration

Act: Occupational Health and Safety Act
Regulation: Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (Occupational Health and Safety Code)

The Occupational Health and Safety Act sets standards to protect and promote the health and safety of workers throughout Alberta. It outlines your rights and responsibilities as an employer, as well as the rights and responsibilities of others working at or involved with the work site.

The Act affects most workers and employers in the Province of Alberta. The major exceptions are:

• domestic workers (such as nannies and housekeepers)
• federal government employees
• workers in federally regulated industries (for example, banks, transportation companies with workers who cross provincial borders, and television and radio broadcasters)
• farmers and certain agricultural workers.

You are an employer if you employ one or more workers, if you are designated to represent an employer, or if your responsibility is to oversee workers’ health and safety for your corporation. In certain situations, prime contractors, contractors and suppliers also assume some of the workplace health and safety responsibilities at a work site. If you are self-employed, you are treated as an employer under the Act.

The Act, the Regulation and the Code are enforced by occupational health and safety officers [officers] from Alberta Employment and Immigration, Workplace Health and Safety (WHS). They have the right to enter and inspect your work site, take samples of products, conduct tests, take pictures and recordings, and look at and copy relevant documents.

If an officer believes a work site is dangerous, he or she can order work stopped right away or call for corrective measures. An officer can also order equipment shut down if it appears unsafe to operate.

For more information about the work environment or work practices contact Alberta Employment and Immigration, Workplace Health and Safety at 1-866-415-8690. Visit the Website at http://www.whs.gov.ab.ca for more information, including the Working Alone regulation.

• Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) - Alberta
• The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)

DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this section is of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute advice for any specific fact situation. For particular questions, the users are invited to contact their lawyer. For additional information, see contact(s) listed below.

Alberta Contact(s):
Workplace Health and Safety
Alberta Employment and Immigration
Telephone: 780-415-8690
Toll-free (information): 1-866-415-8690