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2013 Legislative Session: 5th Session, 39th Parliament

FIRST READING

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

MR. RAJ CHOUHAN

BILL M203 – 2013

WORKPLACE BULLYING PREVENTION ACT, 2013

This bill targets the reduction and elimination of workplace bullying by modifying

the Worker's Compensation Act . The bill allows incidents of workplace harassment to be investigated, compensated,

and dealt with in the same manner as workplace accidents. It provides less strenuous

requirements for the award of compensation for mental stress in situations that involve

harassment. It also requires employers of 10 more employees to write and implement

a policy on harassment.

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

Section 1 of the Workers Compensation Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 492 is amended by adding

the following definition:

"harassment" means harassment as defined in

section 117.1 of this Act;

"injury" includes psychological or physical harm caused by harassment;

Section 5.1 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) Subsection (2) paragraphs (

a) and (

c) do not apply to mental stress resulting

from harassment.

3 The following

section is added:

Duties in relation to Harassment

117.1

(1) In this

section

"harassment" means any conduct, comment, display, action, or gesture that

(

a) adversely affects a worker's psychological or physical well-being, or

(

b) the actor knew or reasonably ought to have known would cause a worker to be humiliated

or intimidated.

(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), harassment includes the act

of intentionally causing harm through verbal harassment, intimidation or other more

subtle methods of coercion such as manipulation, including ignoring and isolating

a person.

(3) For greater certainty harassment may occur in the absence of any intent to harm,

humiliate, intimidate or otherwise harass a worker.

(4) Despite subsection (1), a reasonable action that is taken by an employer, or

a manager or supervisor employed or engaged by an employer, relating to the management

and direction of the employer's worker or the place of employment is not harassment.

(5) An employer with more than 10 workers must:

(

a) establish and implement a workplace harassment policy that

(

i) includes measures and procedures for workers to report incidents of workplace

harassment;

(ii) includes procedures for investigating incidents and complaints of workplace

harassment;

(iii) includes procedures to make workers accountable for acts of harassment; and

(iv) meets any other requirements imposed by regulation.

(

b) make a copy of the workplace harassment policy readily available for review by

the employer's workers and, at each workplace where workers of the employer are regularly

employed, post and keep posted a notice advising where the copy is available for review,

and

(

c) provide to the employer's workers the information, instruction, training and

supervision necessary to ensure a workplace free of harassment.

Explanatory Note

This bill targets the reduction and elimination of workplace bullying by modifying

the Worker's Compensation Act . The bill allows incidents of workplace harassment to be investigated, compensated,

and dealt with in the same manner as workplace accidents. It provides less strenuous

requirements for the award of compensation for mental stress in situations that involve

harassment. It also requires employers of 10 more employees to write and implement

a policy on harassment.

Copyright (

c) Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada