canada labor-law british-columbia
Must employer do something about aggressive customers?
<p>I work in a liquor store where often times I am the only employee. Today a customer acted aggressively and said he wanted me to come outside with him (presumably to fight). He was also swearing at me. I told two managers and they didn't care. I asked to pull the video surveillance so we can ban the customer for the store but they said this usually doesn't happen. When this happened there was another coworker scheduled to be on, but he was in the storage room. Also we are supposed to have a panic button but it was broken and removed.</p>
<p>Does an employer have a responsibility to provide a safe work environment to the extent of doing something about aggressive customers?</p>

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<p>Does an employer have a responsibility to provide a safe work environment to the extent of doing something about aggressive customers?</p>
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<p>Yes. Your description reflects that the employer's/managers' recklessness or gross negligence is in violation of the <a href="https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/296_97_00" rel="nofollow noreferrer">British Columbia Occupational Health and Safety Regulation</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/296_97_02#division_d2e5284" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Sections 4.27 <em>et seq</em></a> of the Regulation require the employer to assess and eliminate/minimize the &quot;<em>risk of injury to workers from violence</em>&quot;. The statutory definition of <em>violence</em> &quot;<em>includes any threatening statement or behaviour which gives a worker reasonable cause to believe that he or she is at risk of injury</em>&quot;.</p>
<p>Likewise, <a href="https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/296_97_01#section2.8" rel="nofollow noreferrer">section 2.8</a> provides that &quot;<em>contravention by the employer [or supervisor] will make that employer liable for any penalty prescribed by the Workers Compensation Act</em>&quot; (brackets added to consolidate items (1) and (2) of the statute).</p>
