Ontario HR Compliance · CLC Part II (occupational health & safety)
Work Refusals and the Internal Complaint Resolution Process (CLC Part II)
Federal employees can refuse dangerous work, and Part II routes health and safety problems through an internal resolution process before any outside escalation, with reprisal against an employee for exercising these rights prohibited.
An employee in a federally regulated workplace can refuse to work if they have reasonable cause to believe that a condition, a machine or thing, or an activity presents a danger to themselves or a co-worker. That refusal isn’t the end of the process — CLC Part II sets up an internal complaint resolution process (ICRP) designed to resolve health and safety problems inside the workplace first, before they escalate outside it. A refusal that isn’t resolved internally is investigated, and can ultimately reach an official of the Minister of Labour.
Pregnant and nursing employees have a related but distinct right: they can remove themselves from possible danger pending a medical certificate, without going through the same refusal process.
Reprisal against an employee for exercising any Part II right — refusing dangerous work, raising a complaint, participating on a committee — is prohibited.
This is general information, not legal advice; confirm current requirements at the Labour Program’s Part II summary before relying on them.
Source: Government of Canada — Labour Program, occupational health and safety summary ·
Last reviewed .
Confidence: Verified
Related notes
- The Internal Responsibility System and the General Duty (CLC Part II) — CLC Part II replaces the Ontario OHSA for federal employers and rests on the internal responsibility system — shared employer and employee responsibility for health and safety, anchored by the employer's general duty to protect every employee and a fixed hierarchy for preventing hazards.
- Health and Safety Committees and Representatives: Headcount Thresholds (CLC Part II) — Federal employers structure health and safety participation by headcount — a representative under 20 employees, a workplace committee at 20 or more, and an additional policy committee once the employer reaches 300 employees across Canada.
- Hazardous Occurrence Investigation and Reporting (CLC Part II) — Federal employers investigate every accident, occupational disease, and hazardous occurrence, report the serious ones by phone within 24 hours and in writing within 14 days, and file an annual report to the Labour Program even in a year with zero incidents.