Partnerships has confirmed that there are two notable upcoming changes to the COR program, both of which will come into effect on January 1, 2023.

Effective January 1, 2023, the use of all audit validation techniques (documentation, interviews and observations) must again be followed.

As part of this change:

• The use of on-site data gathering will not be restricted.
• Documentation may be reviewed remotely and/or on-site.
• Interviews may be conducted remotely and/or on-site.
• Observations must be conducted.

For three-year COR certification, a minimum of 12 months of health and safety system documentation is required. Employers with less than 12 months of documentation may be eligible for a one-year certificate.

The remaining temporary audit measures, which were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, will end on December 31, 2022.

Partnerships in Injury Reduction will continue to monitor any future situations declared as public health emergencies, and will respond should measures be implemented that would affect COR auditing.

Starting January 1, 2023, all Certifying Partners will implement new audit instruments designed to improve the audit process and make the revisions necessitated by the current Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The improvements include the following:

• The audit questions for Joint Health and Safety Committee/Health and Safety Representative have been updated and simplified.
• The number of audit questions on violence and harassment has been reduced to align with legislation.
• For Small Employer COR holders, the audit content has been modernized and aligned with the regular COR instrument.
• The audit process for owner/operators has been simplified, and the number of audit questions has been reduced by about one-third.

If you have any questions, please email audits@amhsa.net or contact Shannon Thomas or Jessica Meyer.

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