Occupational health and safety (OHS) laws set out rules to keep workers safe and prevent injuries at work.
Workers have both rights and responsibilities at work. Supervisors, employers, contractors and more also have responsibilities at work.
Need to know | Federal OHS Laws | Alberta OHS Laws | Worker rights and responsibilities | Employer responsibilities | Responsibilities of other people at a work site | Health and safety committees and representatives | Reporting injuries or incidents | If someone isn’t following OHS laws | Take action
Need to know
- OHS laws set out rules for employers, workers and other people at a work site to follow to ensure healthy and safe workplaces.
- A worker has the right to refuse dangerous work.
- There are different OHS laws for federally regulated workers and provincially regulated workers.
- Alberta’s OHS laws are found in the OHS Act, the OHS Regulation and the OHS Code.
- Both employers and workers are responsible for understanding and complying with OHS laws.
Federal OHS Laws
Workers in the following industries must follow federal OHS laws:
- Government of Canada or Crown corporations
- Banks (not including a credit union or treasury branch)
- Airports or airlines
- Ships and navigation (including loading and unloading vessels)
- TV or radio stations
- Phone or internet providers
- Transportation between provinces (ferries, trains, trucks, or buses)
- RCMP
- First Nations administrations
Federal OHS laws are found in:
- Canada Labour Code Part II (Occupational Health and Safety)
- Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations
- Various regulations for specific types of work
Federal and provincial OHS laws are similar. Workers following federal OHS laws have the three fundamental rights described below as well as similar responsibilities. Employers also have responsibilities similar to the ones described below.
The information on this page describes Alberta’s OHS laws as they apply to most Alberta workers. Learn more about federal OHS laws on the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) website.
Alberta OHS Laws
Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act applies to workplaces governed by provincial laws. Most workers in Alberta must follow provincial OHS laws, unless they work in one of the industries following federal OHS laws.
Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS Act)
The OHS Act is the primary piece of legislation, setting out:
- workers’ rights
- responsibilities for different people at a work site
- who enforces the laws and their powers to do so
- penalties for not following the laws
Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (OHS Regulation)
The OHS Regulation sets out administrative processes and requirements, such as permits and certificates for certain industries, requirements for competent workers and safety training.
Occupational Health and Safety Code (OHS Code)
The OHS Code explains rules for health and safety in all industries and specific rules for different types of work.
People may refer to the OHS Code as the source of OHS laws in Alberta. While it is one detailed source, it is only one source alongside the OHS Act and OHS Regulation.
Exceptions for certain workers
Alberta’s OHS laws do not apply to:
- an occupant or owner doing work in or around their private home
- students in unpaid learning activities conducted by or within an education institution
- unpaid workers or family members on a farm or ranch
Worker rights and responsibilities
Alberta’s OHS Act sets out important rights and responsibilities for workers. A worker is a person who works at a job and includes a self-employed person.
A worker does not include:
- students in unpaid learning activities conducted by or within an educational institution
- unpaid workers or family members on a farm or ranch
A worker has three important rights:
- the right to be informed of work site hazards
- the right to meaningfully participate in health and safety activities for their work site
- the right to refuse dangerous work
An employer cannot discipline or discriminate against an employee who exercises these rights.
A worker’s responsibilities include:
- taking reasonable care to protect the health and safety of themselves and others around them while working
- cooperating with their supervisor or employer on health and safety
- using required devices and wearing personal protective equipment (PPE)
- not causing or participating in harassment or violence
- reporting unsafe or harmful work site acts to the employer or supervisor
- participating in training that their employer provides
- cooperating with anyone exercising a duty under OHS laws
Employer responsibilities
An employer is:
- a self-employed person
- a person who employs or engages one or more workers, including from a temporary staffing agency
- a person an employer designates as their representative
- a director or officer of a corporation
- a person employed by the employer who oversees the health and safety of the corporation or employer’s workers
An employer’s responsibilities include making sure:
- their own workers, other workers at the work site and others around the work site are healthy and safe
- workers are aware of their rights under OHS laws
- no workers experience or participate in harassment or violence at work
- supervisors are competent and know the OHS laws
- the joint health and safety committee or health and safety representative comply with all requirements
- quickly resolving concerns raised by workers, supervisors and the joint health and safety committee or health and safety representative
Employers must make sure all workers receive proper training to do their job safely and healthily.
Responsibilities of other people at a work site
Besides workers and employers, the OHS Act describes the responsibilities of seven other types of people at a work site.
Supervisors
A supervisor is a person who oversees a work site or has authority over a worker.
A supervisor’s responsibilities include:
- taking all precautions necessary to protect the health and safety of workers they are supervising
- making sure their workers follow OHS laws
- making sure their workers do not experience or participate in harassment or violence at work
- advising their workers of known or foreseeable hazards
- reporting to the employer all unsafe or harmful acts on work sites
- cooperating with anyone exercising a duty under OHS laws
Supervisors must be competent, and it is the employer’s responsibility to make sure they are.
Contracting Employers
A contractor employer is someone or a group of people who tell workers what to do at a job site, either through a contract, agreement or ownership.
A contracting employer’s responsibilities include:
- making sure the work of employers they are directing follow OHS laws
- informing the owner, employers, prime contractors, suppliers or service providers of any existing or potential hazards that may affect workers or others at the work site
- cooperating with anyone exercising a duty under OHS laws
Owners
An owner may be:
- the registered owner of land where work is being done
- the person who signs an agreement with the owner to be responsible for the owner’s obligations under OHS laws
An owner does not include a person who lives on property that is a private residence unless they also carry on a business, trade or profession there.
An owner’s responsibilities include:
- making sure the land, infrastructure and buildings on the land do not affect the health and safety of workers or others
- identifying and communicating hazards to all workers, employers, contracting employers, prime contractors, suppliers and service providers on the work site
cooperating with anyone exercising a duty imposed by OHS laws
Prime Contractors
When two or more employers are working at a construction or oil and gas site, there must be a prime contractor. The person in charge of the work must name the prime contractor (who can be an individual or a company) in writing or else they become the prime contractor themselves.
A prime contractor’s responsibilities include:
- creating a process to make sure the work site follows OHS laws
- ensuring there is a joint health and safety committee for the work site and that the committee fulfils its roles under OHS laws
- doing its work in a way that doesn’t expose workers to hazards
- informing the owner, employers, suppliers and service providers of existing or potential hazards that may affect workers or others on the work site
- cooperating with anyone exercising a duty under OHS laws
Suppliers
A supplier is a person who sells, rents, leases, erects, installs or provides any tools, appliances, equipment or personal protective equipment. It also includes a person who sells or provides harmful substances or explosives for workplaces.
A supplier’s responsibilities include:
- making sure the equipment or personal protective equipment they provide is safe to use and follows OHS laws
- if they’ve signed an agreement to maintain equipment, making sure the equipment is safe to use and follows OHS laws
- notifying employers if anything they provide does not comply with OHS laws
- making sure they provide a written copy of the manufacturer’s specifications and instructions for all equipment, personal protective equipment and harmful substances or explosives they supply
- cooperating with anyone exercising a duty under OHS laws
Service Providers
A service provider is someone who offers training, advice, testing or help with creating programs for companies.
A service provider’s responsibilities include:
- making sure their services achieve the goal of helping their clients meet OHS obligations
- making sure their services follow OHS laws
- making sure their workers are competent to provide services
- making sure their work does not endanger others at the work site
- cooperating with anyone exercising a duty under OHS laws
Temporary staffing agencies
A temporary staffing agency is a person who retains workers and helps place them with other employers.
A temporary staffing agency’s responsibilities include:
- making sure workers they assign to a work site are suitable to do the work
- making sure workers have the right personal protective equipment before they start work
- making sure the employer can protect the worker’s health and safety
- cooperating with anyone exercising a duty under OHS laws
Health and safety committees and representatives
Most employers must create a health and safety committee or name a health and safety representative. Whether they need a committee or representative depends on the size of the employer.
Joint health and safety committees
A joint health and safety committee is a group of workers, union representatives and employers who work together to make sure everyone at work cooperates on health and safety.
The committee’s duties include:
- receiving, considering and acting on concerns about worker health and safety
- participating in the employer’s hazard assessment
- making recommendations to the employer about worker health and safety
- reviewing the employer’s work site inspection documents
A joint health and safety committee must exist for:
- employers who regularly employ 20 or more workers, or
- a work site with a total of 20 or more regularly employed workers from two or more employers except if there is a prime contractor for the site.
The number of people representing the employer’s interests cannot be greater than the number of people representing the workers’ interests. The committee must meet and work during regular work hours.
Health and safety representatives
A health and safety representative is a worker who is not a manager and who makes sure the employer and workers cooperate on health and safety.
The representative’s duties include:
- receiving, considering and acting on concerns about worker health and safety
- participating in the employer’s hazard assessment
- making recommendations to the employer about health and safety
- reviewing the employer’s work site inspection documents
A health and safety representative must exist for:
- employers who regularly employ 5 to 19 workers, or
- a work site with a total of 5 to 19 regularly employed workers from two or more employers except if there is a prime contractor for the site.
The representative must do their work during regular work hours.
An employer who must have a health and safety representative can choose to create a joint health and safety committee instead.
Reporting injuries or incidents
To OHS
The prime contractor or, if there isn’t one, the employer must report the following injuries, illnesses and incidents to OHS as soon as possible:
- one that leads to a worker’s death
- one where the worker will likely be or has been admitted to a hospital for care beyond treatment in an emergency room or urgent care facility
- an unplanned or uncontrolled explosion, fire or flood that has or could cause a serous injury or illness
- if a crane, derrick or hoist collapses or tips over
- if a building or structure collapses or fails
- certain incidents at a mine or mine site described in the OHS Code
- a worker being exposed to radiation levels above those in the OHS Code
Learn more about reporting on the Alberta OHS website.
To Workers’ Compensation Board
An employer must tell the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) within 72 hours about any injuries that stop a worker from working for a day or more. To claim benefits, the employee must also report the incident to WCB.
Learn more on the WCB Alberta website.
If someone isn’t following OHS laws
Anyone can report unhealthy or unsafe conditions at a workplace. You don’t have to be a worker to do so. You can ask to remain anonymous when you report a concern.
Directors and officers with Alberta’s OHS office have wide powers to enforce Alberta’s OHS laws.
Inspections
At any time, an OHS officer can:
- inspect a work site at any reasonable hour and without a warrant (for private homes, the owner or the court must give consent to enter)
- review, copy and/or temporarily remove any documents or records, including those on a computer or online, about worker health and safety
- test or take samples of materials, products or equipment
- take photos, measurements or recordings of a work site
- require the employer to show how to use machinery, equipment or personal protective equipment at a work site
- interview and get statements from people at a work site or those who have information about worker health and safety at the site
- bring equipment, materials or a person with specialized knowledge about the issue to be inspected
- ask anyone at a work site to identify themselves, including their name, employer and role
If someone does not allow an officer to carry out an inspection, OHS can get a court order restraining the person from hindering or interfering with the officer.
Investigations into injuries, illnesses or incidents
If an injury or incident occurs, an OHS officer will investigate. As part of their investigation, the officer can:
- go to the scene of the injury, illness or incident
- enter any place connected to the injury, illness or incident where the officer thinks they can find information (for private homes, the owner or the court must give consent to enter)
- review, copy and/or temporarily remove any documents or records
- interview anyone with information about the injury, illness or accident
- test or take samples of materials, products or equipment related to the injury, illness or accident
An OHS officer can ask a police officer to help them perform their investigation duties.
Stop work and stop use order
An OHS officer can issue a stop work order if they believe a worker’s health and safety are in danger. They can order that work be stopped or that a worker or other person immediately leave the work site. They can also make a written order listing steps that others at the work site must take to protect people from or remove the danger.
If there is a danger at all the company’s work sites, the officer can tell the company to stop all work and make everyone leave the sites. The company cannot resume work until the OHS officer cancels the order. This occurs after the company follows the steps provided by the officer to keep people safe and get rid of the danger.
A stop use order is like a stop work order, but it tells people to stop using safety gear, tools, dangerous materials or explosives. An officer can order someone to stop using it and a supplier to stop supplying it.
If someone is not following a stop work or stop use order, an OHS Director can apply to the Court of King’s Bench to turn the order into a court order. This gives the Director a greater ability to enforce the order. A person not following the order can also be fined up to $1,000,000, jailed for up to 12 months, or both.
Administrative penalties
An OHS officer can issue an administrative penalty if they believe a person has:
- not followed Alberta’s OHS laws
- not followed an order made under OHS laws
- not followed an acceptance, allowance, approval or interjurisdictional recognition issued under the OHS Act
- made a false statement or given false or misleading information to an OHS officer
An officer must issue an administrative penalty within two years of the alleged contravention or failure to comply.
Administrative penalties can be up to $10,000 per incident. If the non-complying behavior continues for more than one day, the penalty can increase to up to $10,000 for each day the behaviour continues. When deciding how much the penalty should be, an officer should think about the seriousness of the issue and the risk of harm.
A person who pays an administrative penalty cannot be charged with an offence for the same issue. Failing to pay the penalty means the Minister can file the notice of administrative penalty with the court and enforce it as a judgment of the Court of King’s Bench.
OHS offences
A person is guilty of an offence if they participate in the following activities (set out in section 47 of the OHS Act):
- not complying with an order or decision made under Alberta’s OHS laws
- intentionally blocking an OHS Director or officer from carrying out their powers or duties
- not cooperating with a Director or officer in carrying out their powers or duties
- knowingly making a false statement or giving false information to an OHS officer or the police carrying out an inspection or investigation
- making or causing another to make a record or destroying a record that is required under Alberta’s OHS laws
- not reporting an injury, illness, incident or worker exposure to radiation (see the requirements in section 33 of the OHS Act)
- not complying with any provision of Alberta’s OHS laws
After OHS investigates, they may send the incident file to Alberta Justice and Solicitor General to decide if the person responsible should be charged. Alberta Justice and Solicitor General will charge the person responsible if they think they can prove it in court and it’s important for the public. They must do this within two years of the incident. If the person responsible is charged, they will go through the justice system like someone charged with a crime. There are special prosecutors who handle OHS offences at Alberta Justice and Solicitor General.
If the court finds the person guilty of the offence, the person can be fined or jailed or both. For a first offence, the fine can be up to $500,000. If the offence continues for several days, the fine can be up to $30,000 for each subsequent day. The person can also be jailed for up to 6 months.
For a second or subsequent offence, the fine can be up to $1,000,000. If the offence continues for more than one day, the fine can be up to $60,000 for each subsequent day. The person can also be jailed for up to 12 months.
The court also has wide powers to make other orders against a person found guilty. For example, the court may order the person to pay money for training or education programs for the health and safety of workers, or any other purpose that furthers the goal of achieving healthy and safe work sites. Failing to pay these amounts by the deadline in the court order means the amount owing becomes a fine, which the government can enforce in various ways.
Take action
- Talk to your employer about your concerns
- For provincially regulated workplaces, file a complaint with Alberta’s OHS office
- For federally regulated workplaces, file a complaint with the Canada Labour Program
Reviewed: May 2024