Strengthening workplace safety: Key amendments to Manitoba’s Workplace Safety and Health Act

Employers in Manitoba should be aware of recent changes to the Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSHA) and its regulations to ensure worker health and safety, maintain compliance and reduce the risk of workplace injuries. Significant changes were introduced into the WSHA in June 2025. This article will provide a brief overview of those amendments.

New emphasis on psychological safety

Prior to the June 2025 amendments, the main objective of the WSHA was to protect workers, self-employed people and other persons from risks to their safety and health in connection with their activities in the workplace. With these amendments, the Legislature augmented this objective to include enabling employees to work in a psychologically safe workplace.

A “psychologically safe” workplace is defined as a workplace in which the psychological well-being of workers is promoted and active measures are undertaken to prevent harm – whether negligent, reckless or intentional – to their psychological well-being. This definition was adopted from the standard established by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) in 2013.

Prior to these amendments, employers were required to ensure as far as reasonably practicable that no worker would be subjected to harassment in the workplace (which includes severe conduct that affects a worker’s psychological well-being). The pre-existing requirements involved implementing a harassment prevention policy and taking corrective actions where harassment occurs.

The new definition of a psychologically safe workplace now changes the focus of the requirement – employers are not merely required to institute a policy and react appropriately to harassment, they must now take proactive measures to reduce the likelihood of psychological harm in the workplace.

The WSHA amendments make Manitoba one of the first provinces to adopt the CSA standard to promote psychological well-being in the workplace. Under the CSA standard, a series of factors are identified as having the potential of having either a positive or negative impact on psychological well-being in the workplace. Those factors are:

1. degree of work-life balance
2. degree of civility and respect in the workplace
3. presence of clear leadership and expectations, or the lack thereof
4. the level of physical, emotional and cognitive engagement of employees with their work
5. presence of opportunities for growth and development, or the lack thereof
6. employees’ level of involvement in and influence over their own work
7. presence of a healthy organizational culture of trust, honesty and fairness, or the lack thereof
8. how well physical and psychological safety is protected in the workplace
9. how well employees’ individual psychological competencies fit with the demands of the specific workplace
10. availability of psychological and social support in the workplace
11. availability of timely and fair recognition and reward
12. appropriateness of workload based on the resources available to the employees.

By now placing the requirement to maintain a psychologically safe workplace on par with the general requirement to protect workers and others from risks to their health and safety in connection with work activities, the Legislature has signaled to employers the importance that it is placing on psychological safety. As such, employers would be wise to consider amending or developing policies and training to support psychologically safe work environments.

Multiple employers treated as a single employer

The amendments also provide additional authority to the Labour Board and the Director of Workplace Safety and Health so that they can declare multiple related employers as a single employer for the purpose of the WSHA. Such declarations would come in the form of an order and can occur when associated or related businesses are carried out under the common control or direction of multiple employers. Employers that are declared to be a single employer would be jointly and severally liable for complying with any order and the payment of any penalty or fine under the WSHA and its regulations.

Although the above-referenced amendments are likely to apply in the scenario of related businesses, it is also worth noting a 2023 ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada held (based on Ontario’s occupational health and safety legislation) that an entity can also be considered the employer of a third-party contractor’s employees even if the entity does not exercise control over those employees.

When found to be the employer of a third-party contractor’s employees in accordance with the Supreme Court’s ruling, or when multiple entities are declared as a single employer, an entity would be required to exercise due diligence to ensure workplace safety and health with regards to the work of those employees. Refer to this earlier Insight for what factors may be considered with respect to the due diligence exercised by an entity with little to no control over a third party or a related party.

More expeditious resolutions for appeals and complaints

By way of these amendments, the Legislature also provided more mechanisms to summarily dispense with WSHA proceedings that are frivolous or unnecessary. In particular, when appeals under the WSHA are filed with the Labour Board the Board must now choose between an oral or written hearing for the appeal. In addition, the Board is now able to award hearing costs in appropriate circumstances, such as in the case of unreasonable conduct or a frivolous appeal. This could allow employers dealing with frivolous appeals to request written hearings as a less expensive option and be awarded costs.

Furthermore, where a worker’s appeal is to be heard by the Director instead of the Labour Board, the Director now has the authority to refuse the appeal if the worker has pursued the matter through other forms of adjudication such as before a court or arbitrator. Similarly, when a worker files a complaint under the WSHA, the officer assigned to the matter would now have the authority to refuse to accept, investigate or continue investigating the complaint if the worker has pursued the matter through other forms of adjudication.

Other changes introduced to the WSHA

Other changes to the WSHA include the following:

• The concept of dangerous work has been clarified to involve an imminent risk of serious physical or health injury created by a hazard or the health of a worker or other person, where reasonable controls have not been put in place. Prior to this amendment, the WSHA provided workers the right to refuse work that constitutes danger to safety or health but did not clarify the threshold for such dangerous work.
• An employer may be ordered to put in place a medical surveillance program if the Chief Occupational Medical Officer has reason to believe that a worker has been over-exposed to a harmful substance. Such a medical surveillance program is to be developed by the employer in consultation with a physician and periodically reviewed in consultation with the workplace’s safety and health committee or representative.
• The period during which improvement orders and stop work orders must be posted at a workplace is seven days or until compliance with the order has been achieved, whichever is longer. There was no indication within the WSHA or its regulations as to the exact length of the period prior to the amendment.
• An employer who is required to conduct a risk assessment must ensure that the assessment is carried out by a competent person. The WSHA Regulations provide for various types of risk assessments that an employer may be required to carry out. Examples of the risks to be assessed include:
  • risk of musculoskeletal injuries;
  • risk of violence;
  • risk of exposure to excessive noise; and
  • risk of exposure to harmful chemical substances.

Wages lost due to a reprisal may be collected as if they were unpaid wages under The Employment Standards Code. This allows employees who have been subjected to reprisal and awarded lost wages to benefit from the statutory security interest in those lost wages provided for in the Employment Standards Code.

MLT Aikins helps employers to respond quickly and effectively to workforce challenges, providing proactive, practical and innovative advice and assistance on all labour and employment matters, and has particular expertise in assisting employers with workplace safety and health matters. Please contact a member of our occupational health and safety or labour and employment teams if you would like to discuss any of this information further.

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