Employer did not have policy to salt employee parking lot
Following a guilty plea, Casino Rama was fined $50,000, plus a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, for an incident where two workers slipped and fell on the icy surface of the employee parking lot, sustaining critical injuries.
A worker arrived at the work location, near Orillia, Ont., and after parking, walked through the parking lot, slipped and fell. Other workers went to assist and one them also slipped and fell. The workers were transported by ambulance to hospital. Their injuries were deemed critical.
Investigation by the Ministry of Labour revealed that the area of the parking lot where the workers fell was covered with ice and snow and was very slippery. Surveillance footage of the area showed that seven other people had slipped on ice in this parking lot earlier in the day.
At the time of the accident, Casino Rama had a snow removal policy that included applying road salt in walkways and customer parking areas. However, the policy did not include applying road salt in the employee parking lot.
Section 11(a) of Ontario Regulation 851 (the Industrial Establishments Regulation) requires that "a floor or other surface used by any worker shall be kept free of obstructions, hazards and accumulations of refuse, snow or ice."
Casino Rama Services failed as an employer to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed in section 11(a) of Ontario Regulation 851 were carried out at the workplace. This was an offence under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Labour
