When a worker refuses unsafe work under Ontario's OHSA, the law puts the first move on the employer, not the worker: the supervisor must investigate immediately, with the refusing worker present, alongside a worker health-and-safety representative — and until that investigation is done, the worker stays in a safe place near their workstation, not sent home.
Ontario's OHSA s.43 sets four grounds for a refusal: a machine, equipment or tool likely to endanger; the physical condition of the workplace or workstation; workplace violence; or a contravention of the Act or regulations likely to endanger. A worker who refuses on one of those grounds “must immediately tell the supervisor or employer” [s.43(4)].
From there the duty shifts to the employer side. The employer or supervisor “must investigate the situation immediately, in the presence of the worker” and a worker-side JHSC member (certified, if the site has one), a health and safety representative, or another worker chosen to represent the refusing worker. Until that joint investigation is complete, the refusing worker “must remain in a safe place that is as near as reasonably possible to his or her workstation” [s.43(5)] — not sent home, not reassigned without agreement. The guidance calls this the “first stage” of a work refusal.
A worker on an Ontario framing crew refuses to run a scaffold hoist, pointing to a visibly frayed cable — squarely a s.43(3)(a) ground: equipment likely to endanger. They tell their supervisor immediately. The supervisor can't wave it off or send the worker home pending review: OHSA requires an immediate joint investigation with the worker present, alongside a certified worker JHSC member if the site has one, a health and safety representative, or another worker the refusing worker chooses. Until that investigation concludes, the worker waits in a safe spot near the hoist — which is exactly why having a certified committee member actually on-site, not just listed on a roster, is what lets an employer complete this step the same day rather than scrambling to find one.
See also: Joint health and safety committees · Critical injury reporting · Using AI for incident report writing.
A 30-minute call is enough to tell you whether AI pays for itself here.
