Toronto Workers’ Health & Safety Legal Clinic

Welcome to our website.

The Toronto Workers’ Health & Safety Legal Clinic is funded by LEGAL AID ONTARIO (www.legalaid.on.ca) to provide free information, legal advice and representation to low income  workers who face health and safety problems at work.    We are one of the speciality  community legal clinics  within LAO's system of ~80 general and speciality clinics.

Our Clinic's activities are under three main headings:

• casework -- we act as legal counsel to represent individuals with workplace-related issues -- this might include complex matters, or merely summary advice.
• law reform.
• outreach -- including networking, community organizing & education.

We act for workers to promote health and safety in the workplace, and for those who have been penalized for raising health & safety concerns.  Our services are intended for workers who don't have union membership for protection;  although we also try to provide informational assistance to unionized workers and their unions and organizations.

One of our most significant areas of legal assistance is to represent workers who are disciplined or fired because of raising health or safety concerns, or for refusing unsafe work.  For this, our Clinic's lawyers are experienced in advocacy, before the Ontario Labour Relations Board, and in seeking remedies under Occupational Health & Safety Act, s.50.

We also provide summary advice and representation in other areas of workplace law including employment standards, wrongful dismissal, human rights, Canada Pension Plan disability, employment insurance sick benefit, WSIB.

As an LAO Community Legal Clinic, we have two separate functions:   •Public advocacy and community organization related to our interests;  and •private representation of individual clients by our staff lawyers, which necessarily has the appropriate level of confidentiality required for a lawyer-client relationship.   Although it should attract clients for private actions, this website is essentially directed only towards our Clinic's public functions.  Our lawyers are licensed by the Law Society of Upper Canada and are subject to its requirements and discipline. 

We employ two lawyers, a community legal worker, and an office manager;  and we are assisted by volunteers.  Our staff is overseen by a volunteer Board of Directors elected at our Annual General Meeting, by our membership from the community we serve.  Clinic members share an interest in the goals of the Clinic and are committed to addressing the needs of our community of interest.

We also provide community education in several areas of workplace law to groups, schools and organizations.  If we can't help you we may be able to refer you to a source of help in your community.

Please contact us for information, or about receiving our services, or to join or volunteer: 

TWH&SLC,             

416 971 8832,   fax 416 971 8834,  

  www.workers-safety.ca          This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it     

180 Dundas Street West,  

Suite 2000,  Box 4,

Toronto,  Ontario,     Canada.   M5G 1Z8

If English is not your first language, we should be able to arrange for an interpreter.

Our Clinic's A Workers' Guide...,is designed as a basic plain-language description and introduction to workplace health and safety law and concepts, with particular regard to workers' rights.    → accessible from the "Main Menu" on this Home page.

In addition to A Workers' Guide..., our other publications, are viewable on this website and downloadable --    → accessible from "publications=..." in the "Main Menu" on this Home page. 

This archive follows our Clinic's evolution from 1991 to now, and includes our A Workers' Guide...., FACT SHEETS, newsletter, various reports, etc.;     → see "keywords" in the "Main Menu" on this Home page.     

While some of this literature is also plain-language, some of it delves into issues more deeply with more detailed referencing to particular topics of interest.

©MMX  MMXII.   TWH&SLC.