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Penalties - Public Sector
Disclaimer: Revised November 2010
Administrative penalties are fines imposed on employers for health and safety violations of the Workers Compensation Act and/or the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The penalties--listed under the industry sectors below--show the date the penalty was imposed and the location where the violation occurred (not necessarily the business location). The registered business name is given as well as any "doing business as" (DBA) name.
The penalty amount is based on the nature of the violation, the employer's compliance history, and the employer's assessable payroll. Once a penalty is imposed, the employer has 90 days to appeal to the Review Division of WorkSafeBC. The Review Division may increase, maintain, reduce, or withdraw the penalty. Employers may then file an appeal within 30 days of the Review Division's decision to the Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal, an independent appeal body.
Listed under the industry sectors below, the fines indicate the penalties imposed prior to appeal, and they may not reflect the final penalty amount.
Public Sector
Recent Penalties
NO RECENT PENALTIES FOR THIS SECTOR
Prior Penalties in Date Order
Company: Balfour Recreation Commission, Balfour 
Classification unit: Local government and related operations
Amount: $9,850.95
Date of penalty: May 5, 2011
This firm's worker was seriously injured when the golf-course mower he was operating slid down a hill, eventually tumbling down a drop-off into a sand bunker. The firm failed to remedy the terrain hazard even though this was the third incident to occur on the same hillside.
Company: City of Campbell River, Campbell River
Classification unit: Local government and related operations
Amount: $15,000
Date of penalty: April 14, 2008
Asbestos violations. Repeated non-compliance with the requirement to ensure that friable asbestos-containing material in the workplace is controlled by removal, enclosure, or encapsulation in order to prevent the release of airborne asbestos.
Company: Cultus Lake Park Board, 4165 Columbia Valley Road, Cultus Lake
Classification unit: Local government and related operations
Amount: $28,827
Date of penalty: July 24, 2007
Two workers were involved in an incident where the lower boom of a bucket truck made contact with a high-voltage power line. The employer had not ensured that at least the minimum applicable distance was maintained between exposed, energized high-voltage electrical equipment and conductors. Failure to provide adequate information, instruction, training, and supervision.
Company: City of Surrey, Surrey
Classification unit: Local government and related operations
Amount: $52,000
Date of penalty: June 25, 2007
Fatality. Two workers were installing a storm sewer into an excavation that was 4.3 m (14 ft.) deep and 6 m (20 ft.) long. The excavation had straight sides and did not have a shoring cage. Soon after one of the workers climbed out, a wall of the excavation collapsed onto the remaining worker, who died of his injuries. As Prime Contractor the firm failed to establish and maintain a system or process for complying with the Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The firm also failed to submit a Notice of Project (NOP) to WorkSafeBC for any construction work that involved entering a trench deeper than 1.2 m (4 ft.) and longer than 30 m (100 ft.) or that involved entering any other type of excavation deeper than 1.2 m (4 ft.).
Company: City of Nelson, Public Works Yard, 80 Lakeside Drive, Nelson
Classification unit: Local government and related operations
Amount: $68,792
Date of penalty: January 4, 2006
Two workers were riding in the back of a city dump truck when the vehicle slid or rolled down a hill. The vehicle flipped and rolled onto the workers, killing one and injuring the other. The truck had unserviceable front and emergency brakes and the brake warning light on the dashboard was not working. The City failed to adequately instruct and supervise its workers and failed to adequately maintain its vehicles. These were high-risk violations.
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