Frequently Asked Questions

While there are no specific regulations on this matter, the New Brunswick Occupational Health and Safety Act requires employers to address health and safety hazards at the workplace, including buildup of ice and snow.

As for the steps you should take, first raise the matter with your supervisor or employer. If you are not comfortable doing this, you could approach your joint health and safety committee (JHSC) at your workplace, if one exists.

You may also contact your human resources department if it is responsible for workplace health and safety. If the matter is still unresolved, you can contact WorkSafeNB to file a complaint. We often respond by sending a health and safety officer to investigate. If you prefer your complaint to remain anonymous, we will respect your wishes.

To file a complaint, contact WorkSafeNB at 1 800 999-9775.

WorkSafeNB does not conduct routine air quality testing. Our agency conducts testing when complaints or concerns are made by workers regarding exposure to biological, chemical or physical agents. In other circumstances, an employer could request assistance from external consulting firms that specialize on this matter.

Your co-worker may contact our agency to provide details of the work location, conditions of the work environment and any other information that may be helpful for WorkSafeNB. The worker’s complaint can be kept confidential. Depending on the information provided, WorkSafeNB may send an occupational health and safety officer to investigate. At the very least, an officer from our agency would contact your co-worker to assess the nature of the complaint.

If your co-worker and your employer want to hire a consultant to conduct air quality tests, we can provide a list of specialists.

Any decision made by an employee of WorkSafeNB can be appealed to the Appeals Tribunal. Decisions brought to the Appeals Tribunal for a final decision are wide and varied. One can appeal any decision made on any issue of a claim during the life of the claim. Decisions may concern the acceptance of a claim, reopening of a claim, the determination of benefits, suspension of benefits, all types of prescriptions or medication, assessments, work capacity evaluations, choice or duration of any treatments, and the level of care allowance, to name a few. A one-year time limit does apply to appeals made under the Workers’ Compensation Act, the Firefighters’ Compensation Act and the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission Act. The Appeals Tribunal has the authority to extend the period within which an appeal may be made.

WorkSafeNB does not publicly release the name of a person who was injured in a workplace incident. WorkSafeNB can and often releases the type of injury or disease that occurred as well as details regarding how an injury or disease happened. It does not, however, release details of a person’s medical condition. Following its mandate to promote safe and heathy workplaces, WorkSafeNB does provide some information that may lead to awareness and prevention of workplace incidents and diseases.

There are two types of coverage a worker can receive when working outside the province: temporary coverage from the receiving jurisdiction and extended WorkSafeNB coverage.

The employer must first determine from the receiving jurisdiction (board or commission) whether coverage is mandatory in that jurisdiction. If it is, the employer must obtain temporary coverage in that region. If it is not mandatory, WorkSafeNB recommends that coverage be extended. To qualify for this coverage, the worker’s usual place of employment must be within the province of New Brunswick. Other conditions also apply. See page 10 of Workers’ Compensation: A Guide for New Brunswick Employers.

Employers have two different timeframes to report accidents:

• Immediately under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, for certain types of injuries
• within three working days of receiving notification of the incident from the injured worker under the Workers’ Compensation Act, for injuries where there is likely to be a loss of earnings or medical aid to the injured worker and where the injured worker is unable to perform his/her regular work duties beyond the date of an incident
  (Employers should note that this applies to occupational diseases and repetitive strain injuries too)

Employers should also be aware that they have an obligation to write a procedure that requires a worker to notify the employer of a workplace incident.

Incidents not meeting the reporting requirements do not have to be reported to WorkSafeNB, however, employers are encouraged to report injuries that result in disablement beyond the date of incident. Further details on the criteria for reporting injuries are available on our website.

A claim application, Form 67, must be completed by the employer and the injured worker (employee). In the event that one of the parties is not able to complete the form, the injured worker or the employer can complete their portion of the form and submit to WorkSafeNB. WorkSafeNB will follow up with the other party. Once the Form 67 has been submitted, WorkSafeNB will proceed with adjudicating the claim. If you have any further questions, please call 1 800 999-9775.

In cases where workers purchase safety equipment instead of the employer, the legislative requirements do not change. Your responsibilities as an employer are outlined in the fall-protection system section of the General Regulation 91-191 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

To answer your question regarding body harness inspection and who is responsible, the responsibility stays the same under the General Regulation, no matter who purchases the equipment. As outlined in subsection 50.4(1):

50.4(1)An owner of a place of employment, an employer and a contractor shall each ensure that each component of a fall-protection system is inspected as follows to determine whether there are any defective or inadequate components:

(a)visually by the employee before use during a shift; and

(b)by a competent person before initial use and periodically as recommended by the manufacturer, installer or an engineer.

Paragraphs 54.1(1)(a) and 54.1(1)(b) puts inspection responsibilities of the equipment on the employer. But from paragraph 50.5(1)(a), the responsibility for the equipment to be inspected before use is shared by the employer and the employee:

50.5(1)An employer and an employee shall each ensure that each component of a personal fall-protection system is inspected as follows to determine whether there are any defective or inadequate components by the employee prior to each use:

(a)by the employee prior to each use.

As you are probably aware, Quebec and New Brunswick concluded an agreement in 2008 concerning labour mobility and recognition of qualification, skills and work experience in the construction industry. More information is available at the link below:

Québec / New Brunswick Labour Mobility Agreement for the Construction Sector

An out of province contractor with three or more employees must apply for compensation coverage in New Brunswick. Follow the link for the Application for WorkSafeNB Coverage form.

As you are probably aware, a defibrillator is a machine that can help when ventricular fibrillation happens in the human heart. Ventricular fibrillation is a cause of cardiac arrest or heart attack. Since heart attacks can occur in the workplace, having an automated external defibrillator or (AED) available could save lives.

First Aid Regulation-2004-130 (Schedule A) outlines the equipment and supplies requirements for the workplace. You will note that AEDs are not a specific requirement.

However, you should note subsection 4(3) of the regulation:

This means that if your workplace believes that an AED could supplement your workplace’s first aid program, then the regulation would support such a decision.

First, it should be noted that working outside the regulatory environment is not allowed unless a deviation from the regulations is granted.  Subsection 3(3) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act allows the chief compliance officer to grant deviations from the regulations if the proposed alternative provides protection to workers that is equal to or better than what the regulations requires.

In the example you give, you seem to assume that by using a crane to lift personnel in an emergency situation in confined space work may be a breach of the regulations.

In General Regulation 91-191, section 207, CSA standard Z150-98 must be complied with when mobile cranes are used in New Brunswick workplaces. From this standard, review section 5.4.7, Personnel Lifting.

You will note that not only does the standard allow for mobile cranes to be used to carry personnel but should you be able to comply with all the provisions, a deviation would not be required.

If, on the other hand, you are required to deviate from any of the sections above to use the crane in an emergency situation, a deviation will be required. 

Finally, paragraph 263(3)(d) of the regulations requires that a competent person establish the emergency procedures for work in confined space. Should the competent person make the decision that a mobile crane will be required for rescue, this person would need to be aware of the mobile crane requirements for use to carry personnel and ensure compliance with those provisions and any conditions set if a deviation is granted.