BC employers will be required to provide all workers who are exposed to new workplace hazards, all new workers and all workers under 25 with orientation and training on safe work procedures and how to recognize hazards on the job.
The requirements, which are effective July 26, 2007, are being implemented through amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation.
The amendments are designed to address the high incidence of injuries sustained by new workers during their first month in the workplace and by “young” workers (defined as those under the age of 25).
The amendments define a “new” worker to include not only those employees new to a workplace, but also those who return to a workplace where the hazards of that workplace have changed during their absence, those who are affected by a change in the hazards of a workplace and those who relocate to a new workplace where the hazards are different.
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