Nova Scotia's Occupational Health and Safety Act obligates any person in a workplace to share the responsibility for making it safe and healthy. This principle is known as the internal responsibility system, and is the basis for the laws within the OHS Act. All applicable groups, such as employers, employees, contractors, suppliers and owners, must follow these regulations. If a regulation is broken, an order, and possibly a penalty, is issued.
Workplace safety decisions are made under the Nova Scotia OHS Act through Occupational Health and Safety committees. The size of the committee is based on the number of employees working in the organization. Workplaces with fewer than five employees must have at least one OHS representative, and large organization's need to create a Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee to oversee smaller OHS committees. Half of the OHS and JOHS committees must be represented by workers.
Under the OHS Act, Nova Scotian workplaces require a health and safety policy prepared and reviewed annually by the OHS or JOHS committee. The policy outlines the responsibility and commitment of the organization to work with employees to maintain a healthy and safe workplace. The policy includes training for employees, written workplace procedures, and maintenance of records to identify, monitor and report workplace hazards. The Occupational Safety General Regulations outline specific requirements for workplace safety procedures.
Nova Scotian employees are granted the "right to know" under the OHS Act. This means potential workplace hazards and health risks are disclosed and understood by all employees of an organization. Employers provide workplace training and proper protection to reduce the potential for injury or illness. Despite these precautions, there are an average of 800 work-related deaths per year in Canada.
When a Nova Scotian employee faces a workplace hazard, they are protected under the OHS Act by the "right to refuse work." Employees may refuse to work without reprimand, when performing their job risks their safety. Employees must report a hazard immediately to their supervisor, and are not expected to return to work until the work hazard has been corrected. Under the OHS Act, employers are responsible to pay employees for time missed due to unsafe working conditions.
