Power-streaming
employee wellness
starts at the top
BY ANASTASIYA JOGAL
EVERY YEAR, Brian Bentz, president and CEO of PowerStream,
rides his bike for the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer all the way
from Toronto to Niagara Falls, Ont., over a two-day span, covering
more than 200 kilometres.
"As leaders of the organization, I really want to underscore that it
is really important for us to believe in the concept of health and well-
ness and have our staff see that we actually believe it and live it every
day," said Bentz. "We have to be living examples of it."
NEWS BRIEF
Safety Reporter
Canadian
www.safetyreporter.com
February 2016
Fitness > pg. 2
WORKER TOLD TO HIT THE ROAD
AFTER DRUG TEST REFUSAL
Company policy stated refusal would result
in discipline including dismissal, but positive
test would bring assistance pg. 3
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYERS
CONVICTED AFTER ROADSIDE
INJURIES, DEATH pg. 5
Careless driver that hit workers not
foreseeable but not all precautions
were taken to protect them: Court
WORKER WINS BENEFITS
FOLLOWING SURGERY YEARS
AFTER WORKPLACE INJURY
Continuity of symptoms and specialists'
opinions overrule WSIB consultants
pg. 6
INSIDE
Shifting the perception
of PSTD and workplace injuries
Efforts to recognize effects of post-traumatic stress disorder
on workers are being rewarded with provincial legislation
BY LIZ FOSTER
PERCEPTIONS AROUND what
constitutes a workplace injury
continue to change as the prov-
ince of Manitoba becomes the
latest to recognize post-trau-
matic stress disorder (PTSD)
as a work-related occupational
disease.
Changes to the Workers Com-
pensation Act in Manitoba came
into effect on Jan. 1. Moving for-
ward, when an employee who has
experienced a traumatic event on
the job is diagnosed with PTSD,
the Workers Compensation
Board (WCB) will presume the
condition was caused by the job
automatically.
"This is a big step forward in
SOME SAFETY RULES FOR
SELF-DRIVING CARS WAIVED
(Reuters) — The U.S. Transportation
Department may waive some ve-
hicle safety rules to speed up devel-
opment of self-driving vehicles.
Transportation Secretary Anthony
Foxx unveiled the new policy guid-
ance for self-driving vehicle testing
in Detroit.
Major automakers and technol-
ogy are racing to develop and sell
vehicles that can drive themselves,
but they have complained that state
and federal safety rules are imped
-
ing testing and ultimate deployment
of such vehicles.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) told
automakers it is willing to exempt
up to 2,500 vehicles industry-wide
from some auto safety standards for
up to two years.
Safety regulators will write best
practices guidelines for self-driving
cars within six months, Foxx said.
Regulators will set as a condition
that companies demonstrate that
their autonomous cars can operate
safely.
NHTSA is encouraging automak
-
ers to seek exemptions from safety
rules if needed to get driverless cars
on the road. NHTSA also plans to
work with states to develop uniform
state regulations on driverless cars.
Credit:
Shutterstock
PTSD > pg. 4
