Saskatchewan health and safety conference pushes for late-night worker protection

Death of gas station attendant similar to that in B.C. that resulted in laws increasing protection for late-night workers

Attendees at a Saskatchewan occupational health and safety conference have proposed a law that would require retail employers to ensure at least two employees work together between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., or alternatively that employers would be required to provide protective barriers for lone workers. The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour says a majority of the nearly 200 delegates at the conference signed petitions in support of the proposed legislation, dubbed ''Jimmy's Law.''

The law was proposed after gas station clerk Jimmy Wiebe was killed while working alone at night at the Circle K Shell in Yorkton in June. Employers who operate retail operations that are open between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. should be aware of this proposed legislation as it would affect employment procedures and practices if it comes into force.

The proposed law would be modelled after Grant's law in British Columbia, a set of workers' compensation regulations passed in 2008 after a gas station attendant in that province was killed late at night while trying to stop someone from driving way without paying for gas.

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