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Hazardous Occurrence Investigation Recording and Reporting

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

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Introduction

Occupational health and safety in areas of federal jurisdiction is governed by Part II of the Canada Labour Code and the Canada Occupational Health and Safety (COHS) Regulations. The purpose of Part II of the Canada Labour Code is to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, linked with, or occurring in the course of employment. However, when these efforts fail, the result may be a workplace accident or illness.

It is important to know what needs to be done in the event of an accident or occupational disease. Once the injured or endangered parties have been looked after, the site where the incident happened must be secured for investigation purposes, and anything related to the incident must be left undisturbed. The investigation determines what steps need to be taken to prevent a recurrence.

1. Accidents must be investigated

All accidents, occupational diseases and other hazardous occurrences affecting any employee(s) must be investigated by a qualified person. The investigation should identify the causes of the occurrence so that the employer, in conjunction with the Workplace Health and Safety Committee or the Health and Safety Representative, can take the necessary measures to prevent a recurrence.

2. Investigating accidents in the workplace

The employer must designate a qualified person to investigate, record and report on the hazardous occurrence. Workplace Health and Safety Committees and Health and Safety Representatives are required to participate in investigations and to provide comments on the employer's investigation report.

The Policy Health and Safety Committee, should one exist, can determine the extent to which it considers its participation necessary. Please refer to pamphlets: Pamphlet-6A-Policy Health and Safety Committees, Pamphlet-6B-Work Place Health and Safety Committees and Pamphlet-6C-Health and Safety Representatives for further information on their responsibilities.

3. Types of hazardous occurrences

Under the COHS Regulations, there are different types of hazardous occurrences including the following:

Minor injury: any employment injury or an occupational disease for which medical treatment is provided and excludes a disabling injury [Note: Medical treatment is care that is provided at a medical treatment facility, which means at a hospital, medical clinic or physician's office where emergency medical treatment can be dispensed and is not to be mistaken with first aid.]

Disabling injury: any employment injury or an occupational disease that results in either time loss, or modified duties. Disabling injuries can be either temporary (sprained wrist), or permanent (severed limb), depending on whether or not the employee is expected to make a full recovery.

Loss of consciousness: from an electric shock or a toxic or oxygen deficient atmosphere.

Rescue and revival or other emergency procedures: any incident that requires emergency procedures to be implemented, such as a hazardous substance spill, bomb threat or violence prevention procedure.

4. All hazardous occurrences must be reported to the Labour Program

All hazardous occurrences must be reported to the Labour Program. The reporting requirements vary depending on the type of occurrence.

Reports within 24 hours - (to a Labour Program Health and Safety Officer)

The employer must report to a Labour Program Health and Safety Officer by telephone as soon as possible, but within 24 hours after becoming aware of an occurrence that resulted in:

Authorization may be required from a Labour Program Health and Safety Officer before disturbing an accident scene where an employee has been killed or seriously injured. The Labour Program has an after-hours emergency telephone number that can be used to contact a Health and Safety Officer.

Reports within 72 hours - (to Workplace Health and Safety Committee)

In addition to the 24-hour report to the Labour Program, where a boiler or pressure vessel, or elevating device is damaged, the employer must record in a log within 72 hours a description of the occurrence including date, time, and location. The record must include the causes of the occurrence and the corrective measures taken or the reason for not taking correctives measures. The employer must immediately send a copy of this record to the Workplace Health and Safety Committee or the Health and Safety Representative.

Reports within 14 days - (to a Labour Program Health and Safety Officer)

The employer must also report in writing to a Labour Program Health and Safety Officer, within 14 days, occurrences that resulted in:

The report should either be submitted using the form, Hazardous Occurrence Investigation Report (LAB 1070), or it must contain all the information required by this form and deemed acceptable to the Labour Program. Addresses and telephone numbers for the various district offices are available on the Labour Program website or by calling 1-800-641-4049.

Motor vehicle accidents on public roads are subject to the same recording and reporting requirements identified above. If police investigated the accident, the police report must accompany the report on the investigation conducted by the police and the Workplace Health and Safety Committee. Both the employer's report and the police report must be submitted to a Labour Program Health and Safety Officer.

The Workplace Health and Safety Committee or Health and Safety Representative must receive a copy of all investigation reports.

Note: Reports submitted to provincial workers' compensation boards or other insurance agencies do not fulfill an employer's obligation to report to the Labour Program.

Annual reports by 1st March - (to Labour Program)

Each year, all employers must submit their completed Employer's Annual Hazardous Occurrence Report - EAHOR (LAB1009) and the Employer's Annual Harassment and Violence Occurrence Report - EAHVOR (LAB1206) for the preceding calendar year, even if there are no incidents to report.

This means that by March 1st of each year, employers must complete and submit an:

Both reports, EAHOR (LAB1009) and EAHVOR (LAB1206) can be submitted electronically or by mail:

5. The Workplace Health and Safety Committee must also report

Each year the chairperson(s) of the employer's Workplace Health and Safety Committee must send to the regional Labour Program office, the Workplace Committee Report (LAB 1058) by March 1st for the preceding calendar year. This report includes the number of minor and disabling injuries, and the number of investigations the committee has participated in.

6. Record retention period

All records of hazardous occurrences, including the log of minor injuries, the employer investigation reports (including police reports), and the employer annual reports to the Minister, must be kept by the employer for a period of 10 years.

7. Employers in air, rail, and marine transportation

Employers in the air, rail and marine sectors must investigate and report hazardous occurrences onboard aircraft, trains, and marine vessels, to Transport Canada in much the same way as they are required to investigate and report hazardous occurrences on the ground to the Labour Program. A specific annual report form must be used for the annual reporting requirements.

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