Hefty fine for Vernon School Board

The Vernon School District has been slapped with a $628, 034.57 penalty from the Workers’ Compensation Board for violating safety regulations.

The penalty relates  to work done on a leased property that was being renovated in May 2016 to house the District’s Open Door Learning Centre.

The property contained asbestos material, which the District says it was unaware of.

The District says it had not been informed by the landlord that asbestos material was present. The District was told, however, that the property had previously been renovated, leading it to believe that no asbestos material should remain.

WorkSafeBC determined that the District violated occupational health and safety regulations by failing to take sufficient precautions for the prevention of work-related injuries or illnesses, did not maintain a safe workplace or safe working conditions, and did not exercise due diligence to prevent the circumstances.

In a news release, the District says  it’s very disappointed in WorkSafeBC’s decision. The District says it and all its employees take worker and student safety extremely seriously.  It adds that the School District has developed and implemented a comprehensive and fully compliant asbestos management program and asbestos exposure control plan, has retained a qualified person to conduct asbestos surveys, hazard assessments and prepare inventories of all asbestos materials in all buildings operated by the District, and has undertaken comprehensive asbestos training of its maintenance workers.

The District considers the fine to be excessive and will be working with lawyers to review the penalty.