Proposed amendments to the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Act received second reading in the House of Assembly today.
The proposed legislation will address housekeeping items, incorporate gender-neutral language, modernize terminology, reduce red tape and achieve internal and cross-legislative consistency.
If approved, the amended Act will come into force on September 1, 2023. This will allow WorkplaceNL ample time to make the necessary internal adjustments these amendments will require. None of the proposed changes will affect benefits to injured workers or increase costs to employers, nor do they modify current obligations, authority levels, or rights.
The need for amendments to the Act were identified in the 2013 Statutory Review, the 2019 Statutory Review and on-going analysis of the current Act by WorkplaceNL and the Workplace, Health, Safety and Compensation Review Division.
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“Modernizing the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Act is long overdue. The Act has not had a substantive consolidation since 1983. While there have been some changes made to the Act since 2013, these amendments will make this legislation more user friendly and improve overall readability. As Minister Responsible for WorkplaceNL, I look forward to the successful implementation of these amendments.”
Honourable Bernard Davis
Minister Responsible for WorkplaceNL
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