Independent Contractors Are Employees Under Safety Committee Rules, Court Holds

OTTAWA—Ontario employers must count independent contractors as employees in determining whether they are required to establish a joint health and safety committee under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled Jan. 18 (Ontario Ministry of Labour v. United Independent Operators Ltd..

United Independent Operators Ltd. , an aggregate trucking firm based in Woodbridge, Ontario, correctly argued that the act does not require every workplace to have a joint health and safety committee, but that does not justify a narrow interpretation of the words “regularly employed,” Justice Eileen Gillese said. She spoke on ...