Bulletins

Bulletins

Emergent bulletins are distributed to all school districts as issues arise. Some are more reference based for practitioners, others more time sensitive for both trustees and district staff.

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Now available: Refusal of Unsafe Work in K-12 FAQ

February 6, 2024

Now available: Refusal of Unsafe Work in K-12 FAQ

BCPSEA has partnered with sector stakeholders to prepare a new resource: Refusal of Unsafe Work in K-12 Public Education: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

This resource was developed in response to updates to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and WorkSafeBC Guideline G3.12 Refusal of unsafe work. The document provides sector-specific answers to questions that commonly come up during complex work refusals within the K-12 public school system, particularly involving interactions with dysregulated students.

WSBC Board approves amendments to regulation concerning refusal of unsafe work

06-July-2022


WorkSafeBC (WSBC) has amended Section 3.12 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. This section outlines a worker’s rights to refuse unsafe work. The regulation directs a person not to perform any work if they have reasonable cause to believe doing so would create an undue hazard to the health and safety of any person.

The new amendments include additional requirements for the employer around assigning refused work to another worker. As of Aug. 22, 2022, employers must not require or permit another worker to do refused work unless:

  • the matter has been resolved as outlined in the regulation, or
  • the employer has, in writing, advised the other worker of the following:
    • the refusal
    • the unsafe condition reported
    • the reasons why the task would not create an undue hazard
    • their right to refuse unsafe work

Read more on this issue in the BCPSEA OHS bulletin.

Understanding the WSBC Regulatory Development Process Steps

  1. Regulatory Amendment Initiation – identifying specific key issues, SMEs and further data required.
  2. Pre-Consulation – a pre-consultation session with a small number of external stakeholders to receive feedback on the draft regulatory amendments.
  3. Public Consultation – The draft regulatory amendments, along with explanatory notes, are published on the WorkSafeBC website for review and comment.
  4. Public Hearing – draft amendments are made public and stakeholders are provided with another opportunity to comment
  5. Board of Director (BOD) Decision – WSBC presents the feedback received during the public hearings to the BOD and requests approval for the proposed amendments
  6. Post-Decision – If the regulatory amendments are approved, the regulations are deposited with the Office of the Registrar of Regulations, Ministry of the Attorney General.
No. 2021-06

Amendments to Employment Standards Act: Paid Personal Illness or Injury Leave

No. 2021-05

Changes – General Paid Leave: Asymptomatic Employees

No. 2021-05

Public Interest Disclosure Act – New deadline

Attachment-FINAL-Public Interest Disclosure Policy Toolkit – April 2021

No. 2021-05

Distribution of BCTF FSA Pamphlets

Workplace Violence Prevention Tools Now Available

The Workplace Violence Prevention Working Group is pleased to announce that it has concluded its main objective of providing school districts with tools, new and revised, that will support the workplace violence prevention process. The collaborative working group is comprised of representatives from CUPE, BCTF, BCPVPA, BCSSA, SSABC, BCPSEA, WorkSafeBC as well as occupational health and safety personnel representing rural and urban school districts. The tools are now available to the K-12 sector on the Occupational Health and Safety section of the BCPSEA website.

The Working Group tools can be found at the following BCPSEA OHS Resources and Tools page.

No. 2021-04

Amendments to Employment Standards Act: Paid Sick Leave

No. 2021-03

Public Interest Disclosure Act

Attachment: Public Interest Disclosure Act: Policy Toolkit

No. 2021-02

Proposed Amendments to Employment Standards Act Introduced: COVID-19 Leave — Paid Leaves for Vaccination

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