Your 2026 Guide To The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)
The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) is the main law governing workplace health and safety in Ontario. It establishes duties for employers, supervisors, workers, constructors, and workplace owners and provides the foundation for many Ontario occupational health and safety requirements.
For employers, understanding the OHSA is an important part of operating a safe and compliant workplace. The Act addresses responsibilities ranging from providing information, instruction, and supervision to identifying and controlling workplace hazards.
The OHSA also works alongside regulations that establish more detailed requirements for particular industries, hazards, equipment, and types of work.
This guide provides an overview of what Ontario businesses should understand about the OHSA in 2026, including employer and worker responsibilities, workplace safety requirements, and the role of appropriate health and safety training.
What Is the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act?
Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, commonly called the OHSA, sets out the legal framework for workplace health and safety in the province.
At its core, the OHSA is built around the idea that everyone in the workplace has a role in keeping it safe. This approach is commonly known as the Internal Responsibility System (IRS).
Employers have significant responsibilities because they have control over many aspects of the workplace, but supervisors and workers also have duties under the Act.
The OHSA establishes requirements related to areas such as:
Employer, supervisor, and worker duties
Workplace hazards
Information, instruction, and supervision
Health and safety policies and programs
Joint health and safety committees and health and safety representatives
Worker rights
Reporting certain workplace incidents
Enforcement, inspections, and orders
The specific requirements that apply to a workplace depend on factors such as the industry, number of workers, hazards present, and work being performed.
What Is the Internal Responsibility System?
Ontario’s workplace health and safety system is based on shared responsibility.
The Internal Responsibility System recognizes that the people in a workplace are often in the best position to identify hazards and address health and safety concerns.
That doesn’t mean every workplace party has identical responsibilities.
Employers, supervisors, and workers have different duties based on their roles and level of authority. A strong Internal Responsibility System depends on everyone understanding those responsibilities, communicating about hazards, and taking appropriate action when a health or safety concern arises.
Training is an important part of this system because workers and supervisors need the knowledge required to recognize hazards and understand the procedures they are expected to follow.
What Are an Employer’s Responsibilities Under the OHSA?
Ontario employers have extensive duties under the OHSA.
Among other responsibilities, employers must provide information, instruction, and supervision to workers to protect their health and safety. They must also take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.
Depending on the workplace, employer responsibilities can include:
Providing required health and safety training
Making sure required protective equipment and devices are provided and maintained
Ensuring prescribed measures and procedures are carried out
Providing workers with information about workplace hazards
Appointing competent supervisors where required
Preparing and reviewing required health and safety policies and programs
Cooperating with joint health and safety committees or health and safety representatives
Reporting certain workplace injuries, illnesses, or incidents as required
Addressing identified workplace hazards
Simply having written policies isn’t enough if workers haven’t been trained or procedures aren’t being followed in practice.
Employers should understand both the general duties established by the OHSA and the regulations that apply to their particular workplace.
What Responsibilities Do Supervisors Have Under the OHSA?
Supervisors have specific responsibilities under Ontario’s workplace health and safety legislation.
A supervisor must make sure workers comply with the OHSA and applicable regulations and use or wear the equipment, protective devices, or clothing required by the employer.
Supervisors must also advise workers about actual or potential dangers to their health and safety that the supervisor knows about and, where required, provide written instructions about measures and procedures for their protection.
Like employers, supervisors have a duty to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of workers.
This is why supervisor health and safety education matters. A person given authority over workers needs to understand the responsibilities that come with that role.
What Responsibilities Do Workers Have Under the OHSA?
Workers aren’t passive participants in workplace safety. The OHSA also gives workers responsibilities.
Workers are generally required to:
Work in compliance with the OHSA and applicable regulations
Use or wear protective equipment and devices
Report missing or defective equipment or protective devices that could create a danger
Report known workplace hazards or contraventions of the OHSA or regulations
Avoid removing or making ineffective required protective devices
Avoid engaging in behaviour that could endanger themselves or other workers
Workers need appropriate information and training to meet these responsibilities effectively.
Employers should therefore make sure workplace safety procedures aren’t simply written down somewhere. Workers need to understand the hazards associated with their jobs and what they are expected to do about them.
What Rights Do Ontario Workers Have?
The Ontario occupational health and safety system gives workers important rights in addition to responsibilities.
Three fundamental worker rights are commonly recognized:
The right to know about workplace hazards and receive information, instruction, and supervision needed to work safely
The right to participate in workplace health and safety, including through health and safety representatives or joint health and safety committees where applicable
The right to refuse unsafe work in circumstances permitted by the OHSA
The OHSA also contains protections related to reprisals. Employers and others cannot penalize workers for exercising rights under the Act in circumstances protected by the legislation.
Understanding these rights is an important part of workplace health and safety education for both workers and supervisors.
What Health and Safety Requirements Apply to Ontario Workplaces?
The OHSA establishes the overall legal framework, but employers shouldn’t treat it as the only source of workplace safety requirements.
Regulations under the Act contain more detailed rules that apply to specific industries and hazards.
For example, Ontario has regulations addressing areas such as construction projects, industrial establishments, hazardous products, designated substances, and other workplace hazards and activities.
The requirements that apply to a construction company may therefore be different from those affecting a warehouse, manufacturer, retail business, or office.
This is why employers need to evaluate their own operations rather than relying on a generic safety checklist.
Factors to consider include:
The type of work workers perform
Equipment and machinery used
Hazardous products present
Fall hazards
Vehicle and pedestrian interactions
Required personal protective equipment
Workplace size and staffing
Emergency procedures
Industry-specific regulatory requirements
A workplace hazard assessment can help identify risks and determine which procedures, controls, and training requirements need to be addressed.
What Workplace Health and Safety Training Is Required in Ontario?
There isn’t one single training course that makes an Ontario workplace compliant with the OHSA. Training requirements will depend on the worker’s duties, hazards, equipment, industry, and applicable regulations.
Ontario workers and supervisors are subject to mandatory basic occupational health and safety awareness requirements. Beyond that foundation, additional training may be necessary based on the work being performed.
Examples can include:
WHMIS education and workplace-specific training
Equipment-specific operator training
Working at Heights Training where the applicable construction requirements are met
Fall-protection training in industrial environments
Workplace-specific hazard and procedure training
Training related to personal protective equipment
Emergency procedures
Correct Compliance provides a range of Health & Safety Training for Ontario workplaces, including WHMIS, Pedestrian Awareness, Battery Maintenance & Pre-Shift Inspections, and Fall Protection (Industrial).
Businesses can also access Online Training for workplace safety topics that are appropriate for online delivery.
The important question isn’t simply whether an worker has “safety training.” Employers need to determine what training is appropriate for that worker’s actual responsibilities and hazards.
What Happens if an Ontario Workplace Doesn’t Comply With the OHSA?
The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) enforces Ontario’s occupational health and safety legislation.
Inspectors have powers under the OHSA to enter workplaces, conduct inspections and investigations, review documents, and issue orders when requirements aren’t being met.
Non-compliance can lead to orders requiring a workplace to correct a problem. More serious circumstances can result in prosecution and significant penalties.
However, compliance shouldn’t be treated solely as a way to avoid enforcement. A practical health and safety program helps employers identify hazards before someone is injured, establishes clear expectations for workers and supervisors, and creates processes for responding when conditions change.
How Can Ontario Businesses Keep Their Health and Safety Programs Compliant?
Health and safety compliance is an ongoing process rather than a document that gets completed once and filed away.
Businesses should regularly consider whether:
Workplace hazards have changed
New equipment or products have been introduced
Workers have received appropriate training
Supervisors understand their responsibilities
Policies and procedures still reflect current operations
Required inspections are being completed
Workers understand how to report hazards
Training and inspection records are maintained
Corrective actions are actually being completed
Businesses should also review requirements when operations expand, staffing changes, or employees begin performing new types of work.
Correct Compliance provides occupational health and safety consulting to help Ontario employers address areas including workplace hazard assessments, safety program development, workplace inspections, training, OHS program audits, and policy and procedure development.
How Can Correct Compliance Help With Ontario Occupational Health and Safety?
Understanding the OHSA is the starting point. Applying its requirements to a real workplace is where practical health and safety management becomes important.
Correct Compliance provides workplace safety training and consulting services for Ontario employers across industries including construction, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, and retail.
Training can help workers and supervisors understand hazards, responsibilities, equipment, and procedures relevant to their work, while regular reviews can help businesses identify gaps as their operations change.
The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act establishes the framework, but every workplace is different. Employers need to understand the legislation and regulations that apply to their operations and make sure their health and safety practices work in the real world.
Contact Correct Compliance to learn more about practical workplace health and safety training and compliance support for your Ontario business.
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