Ontario Construction News staff writer
As of June 1, 2023, the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) will require that naloxone be available on construction sites and at workplaces across Ontario.
The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development has identified construction as a “high-risk” industry and the decision to have naloxone available will be “up to the employer’s discretion” to determine. Not all employers have to comply with the OHSA requirements to provide naloxone in the workplace.
Employers will be required to provide naloxone kits, when the “become aware, or ought reasonably to be aware, that there may be a risk of a worker having an opioid overdose at a workplace where that worker performs work for the employer, or where the prescribed circumstances exist.”
According to the new legislation, there is a risk of a worker opioid overdose if
- A worker opioid overdose may have already occurred in the workplace.
- A worker who uses opioids may voluntarily disclose this risk to their employer.
- An employer may observe opioid use among workers in their workplace or discover that opioid use is occurring in their workplace during a workplace investigation.
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- Employer finds discarded opioid paraphernalia, such as used needles, in their workplace.
- Joint health and safety committee (JHSC), health and safety representative (HSR), a union representative, human resources (HR) staff, and/or someone else in the workplace may bring this risk to the employer’s attention.
- There is a risk that the worker overdoses while in a workplace where they perform work for the employer. The requirements do not apply if there is a risk of it happening outside of the workplace.
- The risk is posed by a worker who performs work for the employer. If the risk of an opioid overdose is presented by a worker of one employer on a work site shared by multiple employers, only the employer of the worker who is at risk would be required to provide a naloxone kit in that workplace.
If all of these scenarios are present, the employer must comply with the OHSA requirements to provide naloxone in the workplace.
If they meet the criteria, employers must ensure that, at any time there are workers in the workplace, the naloxone kit is in the charge of a worker who works in the vicinity of the kit and who has received the training.
Training must include how to recognize an opioid overdose and administer naloxone, identify any hazards related to the administration. Also, the requirements will not change how an employer may choose to manage worker impairment from drugs or alcohol that may pose a risk to workplace safety.
For more information on requirements, disclosure of information, location of kits, number of kits required, administering naloxone, and more, visit the MLITSD Naloxone in the workplace website.
The OHSA does not specifically require an employer to provide more than one naloxone kit in their workplace. However, the OHSA requires an employer to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker (clause 25(2)(h) and subsection 25.2(5) of the OHSA).