Employers who have hired summer workers aged 25 years or younger and who operate in the retail, restaurant, hospitality, or recreational sector in Ontario should prepare for a Ministry of Labour inspection throughout the coming weeks.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour announced a province-wide “summer safety blitz” to take place through to August 30. Inspections will focus on new and young workers, and target sectors which most often hire summer workers, including retail, restaurants, hospitality, and recreational services. The Ministry considers “new workers” to be those who have been on the job for less than 6 months or reassigned to a new job, and “young workers” to be those under the age of 25.

The blitz will also focus on workplaces which are newly registered under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, as well as those which have not had a proactive health and safety visit during the previous five years.
The Ministry of Labour previously launched a similar blitz in 2018, conducting 2,321 field visits and issuing 7,675 orders and requirements under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act and its accompanying regulations.

A copy of the Ontario Government’s News Release can be found here.
We recommend employers revisit existing health and safety programs to ensure hazards that may be present for new and young workers are identified and trained on.

We encourage Employers looking for guidance on how to proceed during the summer safety blitz or have any Occupational Health and Safety questions to contact a Mathews Dinsdale lawyer.