54. Safety in the workplace with Jordan Tesluk

A growing concern for many outdoor workers across the country is the risk of a tick encounter in their workplace. Fortunately there are steps that employers and employees can take to reduce the risk of tick bites and tick-borne illnesses. Increased awareness is an important first step, and creating and implementing policies in the workplace helps keep employees safe and businesses running efficiently. In this podcast, Sarah is joined by Jordan Tesluk, a Forestry Safety Advocate for silviculture and consultant forestry in British Columbia.

Working together for safety

Jordan works with a committee of company owners, employers, employees and regulatory agencies in the silviculture and consultant forestry industry. His role is to help these parties to work together to improve safety through educational initiatives, training programs and educational outreach programs in order to share and spread important safety information in the industry.

 “The change in awareness [of tick-borne diseases] within our industry really started about 10-12 years ago, and that was primarily due to a number of high profile people in the industry that were quite well known being diagnosed with Lyme disease, and secondly through some engagement with groups such as CanLyme, we made an effort to increase awareness…we’ve not only spread more information, we’ve been successful in getting rid of some of the false information that was out there.”

Jordan Tesluk

Jordan’s bio

Jordan conducts SAFE Companies audits under the BC SAFE Companies Program and Alberta Partners in Injury Reduction. His advocacy role involves meeting with employers to assist them in locating and adapting resources to improve health and safety in their workplaces. This work is supported by the BC Safe Forestry Program. Jordan has provided consultation and research services to the BC Forest Safety Council, the Western Forestry Contractors’ Association, and the BC Lodging and Campgrounds Association. He also worked at the University of British Columbia, conducting research under the Future Forest Ecosystem Science Council, Genome BC, and the UBC Core for Neuroethics.

Moving in the right direction

Over the past 10 years, Jordan has noticed an increase in the awareness of tick-borne illness in his industry. He believes that this increase in awareness has occurred in part because people in his industry have been diagnosed with Lyme disease, and also because of industry engagement with educational groups such as CanLyme. This has resulted in increased awareness and education, and a correction of false information regarding tick-borne illness. 

“[Employers] are already obligated to identify potential hazards to workers and conduct risk assessments. So this should be part of basic training when people are educated about their job and trained in the use of preventive measures…they could also provide more specific information based on seasonal windows, and based on specific geographical areas where it is known that ticks are more likely to be active at certain times of year.”

Jordan Tesluk

Creating safer workplaces

Although employers are obligated to identify hazards and conduct risk assessments, Jordan explains that preventing tick bites should be part of basic job training, including geographical and seasonal variations in risk of tick encounters. He notes that Health and Safety Committees should be consulted, so that workers are more aware of the safety measures, and have the opportunity to provide their own input as well.

Official channels that recognize safer workplaces

Although Jordan does not create safety protocols for those in his industry, he does audit them and provide feedback to help companies “fill in the gaps” related to safety. He notes that there are certification programs that businesses can apply for. These programs help companies to develop safety protocols and provide insurance rebates when certain safety standards have been demonstrated.

“When it comes to something such as ticks, for example and the risk of Lyme disease, there’s not necessarily a safe work procedure associated with ticks, but they should be identified as a hazard, that hazard should be assessed to determine what is the level of risk, and then preventative measures should be recommended by the company.”

Jordan Tesluk

The importance of daily tick checks!

Jordan notes that when an illness is recognized as an occupational illness, this leads to a lower threshold of proof that it is required to prove injury in the workplace. He also points out that certain criteria are required to link any illness, including tick-borne illness, to the workplace. One way to help determine if a tick bite was acquired on the job is to do tick checks every day, immediately after work. If a tick is found during such a check, this provides more evidence that the bite occurred at work. Having a CanLyme Tick Removal Kit on hand can help employees, first aid workers and co-workers remove an embedded tick in a safe and timely manner. Remember, if you find a tick…keep looking as you may have multiple ticks on your body, clothing or pet.

“The Health and Safety Committee should be consulted in the development of those preventative measures, so that workers are made more aware of those particular control measures, and that they have an opportunity to provide their own input to these measures that are designed to protect them.”

Jordan Tesluk

The role of tick testing

Although tick testing is available with Geneticks laboratory in Canada, Jordan finds that many people in the workplace and in healthcare are not aware of it. He suggests that employers could draft an agreement to pay for tick testing as a small investment that could make a big impact. He also notes that creating a standard protocol helps to ensure this measure would be adopted by employees while simultaneously increasing education and awareness.

 “When you recognize an illness or a disease as an occupational illness, you end up having a lower threshold to prove that this is linked to the workplace…there has to be something about the nature of the work, the nature of the workplace or the task being performed, that make it more plausible that the illness has occurred…with something like Lyme disease and, you know,  tick-borne illness, there has to be some sort of criteria or some sort of evidential burden that is satisfied so that the kinds of cases that occur can be genuinely linked to the workplace.”

Jordan Tesluk

Awareness and education is key

In closing, Jordan urges employers to recognize tick-borne illness by researching the topic, talking to their workers about it, and providing updated and current educational materials that include prevention. This information would include the type of clothing to wear, self-care and hygiene routines, tick identification, knowing the signs and symptoms of Lyme, and knowing where to look for additional information. 

Thank you Jordan!

Sarah informs listeners that CanLyme is creating a new brochure specifically for those who work and play in the outdoors. Thank you Jordan for increasing awareness and ensuring the best protocols are in place to help keep employees safe in their workplace!

“If you are concerned about an occupational illness and your ability to link it to the workplace, conducting a daily tick check would be part of that. If you don’t do that, it becomes more difficult to provide evidence that this occurred at work. So if you do a thorough job of checking yourself every day, and you find one you know, immediately after work, now you’ve got reasonable evidence to support that whereas if you just randomly happen to show that you’ve got a tick bite on any given week, how do you actually trace it back to the workplace?”

Jordan Tesluk