As maximum fines for safety violations increase, do they really help prevent workplace accidents?
By Jeffrey R. Smith
The Nova Scotia legislature recently implemented amendments to the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act that significantly increase some fines for employers.
Up to now, the maximum fine an employer could face for any safety violation was $250,000. Now, a second and subsequent violation within five years could lead to a fine of up to double that amount. The $500,000 limit also now applies to any safety violation that causes the death of an employee.
Several other Canadian jurisdictions have increased the upper limit for monetary punishment imposed on employers in the wake of workplace accidents. These figures can be daunting for employers in the event of a serious accident that occurs in their workplace. But are these increasing dollar figures really making workplaces more safe, or is it an issue of punishment versus deterrent?
An employer on the hook for a six-figure penalty, particularly one approaching half a million dollars, is probably going to feel the effects of such a fine. But when the fine is levied, is it already too late? Usually, the accident has already happened and an employee has already been injured or killed. Is potentially hurting the employer’s bottom line going to change that, or could it potentially hurt other employees involved in the business?
After a workplace accident, labour officials usually conduct an investigation and the employer, whether of its own initiative or on the order of the investigators, implements improved safety measures to deal with the safety violation. Would forcing the employer to pay a few hundred thousand dollars on top of that further improve the safety of the workplace? Maybe ensuring the circumstances that led to the accident aren’t repeated is the most important thing.
Often, fines in the wake of workplace accidents aren’t too high and employers can pay them without too much trouble, but the threat of those maximums can hang over their heads and occasionally will be levied in the wake of a serious accident. But are they necessary as punishment or should the focus be on the safety of the workers? What if the unsafe conditions are the result of carelessness on the part of individual workers or managers? Something like Bill C-45, which allows criminal charges against individuals for negligence leading to unsafe conditions in the workplace, would be more suitable than just piling on big fines to the employer. However, one could count on one hand the number of times Bill C-45 has been invoked since it came into force seven years ago.
Large fines for safety violations may certainly make some employers sit up and pay attention. But do they deter managerial carelessness and encourage proper safety procedures more than regular government investigations and information sessions would? Or do they simply add further punishment to the employer after the fact, when it’s too late to prevent an accident?
Jeffrey R. Smith is the editor of Canadian Employment Law Today, a publication that looks at workplace law from a business perspective. For more information, visit www.employmentlawtoday.com.
