Bill 35 changes to support legislative changes made under Bill 9 of 2015 came into effect November 17, 2015 and January 1, 2016.

These changes:

• address administrative issues relating to WorkSafeBC’s annual report and service plan and to the WorkSafeBC Superannuation Plan.
• Require employers to immediately report to WorkSafeBC all workplace fires or explosions that had the potential to cause serious injury to a worker.
• Require employers to provide both preliminary and full employer incident investigation reports to the employer’s joint occupational health and safety committee or worker representative, as applicable, or post these reports at the worksite.
• Specify what the participation of an employer and worker representative in the employer’s investigation of a work-related incident may include (but isn’t limited to).
• Require joint occupational health and safety committees to advise the employer on significant proposed equipment and machinery changes that may affect worker health and safety.
• Allow WorkSafeBC to take a proactive role in assisting committees to resolve disagreements over health and safety matters, even if the committee has not formally reported these matters to WorkSafeBC.

To assist you with this transition, this resource is a high level summary that provides an introduction and overview of the changes to the Workers Compensation Act.