February 12, 2010

Reminder: Avoid Repeat Penalties

WorkSafeBC can impose administrative penalties of up to $565,000 for health and safety violations. Penalties are a tool to motivate employers to comply with the Workers Compensation Act and Occupational Health and Safety Regulation.

If WorkSafeBC imposes a penalty on an employer, any further penalties for similar violations may become repeat penalties. When WorkSafeBC notifies an employer that a penalty is being considered for a violation, the employer must change its behaviour or risk facing repeat penalties for similar violations in the future. Each repeat penalty is generally double the amount of the previous one.

In January, policy was changed to increase the fairness of repeat penalties. Under the revised policy, a repeat penalty will be imposed if a similar violation occurs within three years of the date of the first violation and notice was given to the employer.

For further details of the changes to the repeat penalty policy, please refer to the Prevention Manual (policies D12-196-6 and D12-196-1) which can be found on our web site under the Regulation & Policy tab. For a full explanation of the policy change click here.

Sincerely,


Anne Burch
Director, Prevention Policy and Regulation Review
Policy and Research Division
WorkSafeBC-WCB