WorkSafeBC is considering proposed amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (“OHSR”) dealing with harassment and violence, and psychological health and safety. A period of public consultation is open until October 9, 2026, during which time interested stakeholders, including employers, have an opportunity to provide feedback to WorkSafeBC’s Policy, Regulation and Research Department regarding the proposed amendments.
If adopted, the amendments would see a new Part 4.1 added to the OHSR, entitled Psychological Health and Safety, Harassment and Violence, setting out frameworks for dealing with psychosocial hazards, harassment and violence in the workplace. This would be a departure from the current framework introduced in 2013, in which the expectations for addressing bullying and harassment are contained in policy items in WorkSafeBC’s Prevention Manual rather than the OHSR. If the proposed Part 4.1 to the OHSR is accepted, corresponding changes to the Prevention Manual will follow providing guidance on procedures for addressing harassment and violence. These are anticipated to be posted for public consultation at a later date.
With respect to workplace violence, the amendments remove any differentiation between violence committed by a worker or a non-worker. Ultimately, WorkSafeBC’s intention is to provide a more coordinated approach to preventing and responding to harassment and violence in the workplace, replacing the current mix of regulatory and policy requirements and elevating policy and procedure requirements to the level of regulatory compliance.
Notable changes include:
“Harassment” definition
The amendments would introduce a new definition of “harassment”, meaning an action, including but not limited to an action of a sexual nature or an action that targets or is based on a person’s race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, physical or mental disability, age, Indigenous identity, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, that: (a) is directed against a worker; (b) occurs in a workplace or is work-related; and (c) can reasonably be expected to be intimidating, humiliating or offensive to the worker. However, an action taken in good faith by an employer or supervisor in respect of the management of the workplace or worker is not harassment.
Unlike the current definition of “bullying and harassment” in the Prevention Manual, this definition builds-in protected characteristics under the Human Rights Code, removes the qualifier of “inappropriate conduct or comment”, and adds “offensive” to the nature of proscribed conduct beyond that which can reasonably be expected to be intimidating or humiliating. Additionally, the new definition clarifies that any action of an employer or supervisor in respect of management of the workplace or worker must be taken in good faith to be excluded from the definition.
Harassment prevention program
Employers will be required to develop and implement a harassment prevention program with compliant written polices and procedures, and the provision of education, training and information. Consultation with a workplace representative – which may be the joint health and safety committee, the worker health and safety representative, or the workers, depending on the workplace – will also be required. While such requirements currently exist, their status will be elevated from policies in the Prevention Manual to inclusion in the OHSR and likely fleshed out with more details.
“Violence” definition
“Violence” is currently defined narrowly in section 4.27 of the OHSR such that it only encompasses behaviour of a non-worker against a worker. Worker-on-worker violence falls under a separate definition of “improper activity or behaviour” under section 4.24 of the OHSR. As a result, worker-on-worker violence is not captured by the scope of the regulations specifically dealing with violence in the workplace.
The amendments remove this distinction, introducing a holistic definition of “violence” that applies regardless of the source of the violence. In place of the existing definitions, “violence” will mean an action, including but not limited to an action of a sexual nature, that occurs in the workplace or is work-related and that consists of one or both of the following: (a) the application of physical force against a worker that could cause injury; (b) a threatening statement or threatening behaviour that can reasonably be expected to give workers cause to believe that the worker is at risk of injury.
Violence prevention program
Similarly, all employers will be required to develop and implement a violence prevention program which includes identification of hazards that could expose workers to violence, a written risk assessment, written policies and procedures, and the provision of ongoing education, training and information. This marks an expansion from the existing requirements, which only mandate a violence prevention program for workplaces where risk assessments reveal a risk of violence from non-workers.
The requirements for violence prevention programs under the amendments will be more comprehensive and will no longer be limited to addressing the risks of violence from non-workers; they must also address worker-on-worker violence.
Similar to the harassment prevention program, the violence prevention program requirements include obligations to consult with a workplace representative, and with workers for the purpose of identifying conditions and activities in the workplace that could expose workers to violence.
We will continue to monitor and report on developments related to these proposed amendments. If your organization would like to assistance in putting together a feedback submission to WorkSafeBC on these proposed changes, please contact Michelle Jones, Jeff Bastien or another member of our Labour and Employment Group.