First aid at work: what the rules say in California, Washington, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and New Zealand

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The United States federal rule and the United Kingdom rules are on the guide to first aid in the United States and United Kingdom. The sources below are general workplace rules. None of them is written only for tree work, and each text says which workplaces it covers.

Side by side

Place	What the source says
California, Title 8 section 3400	Employer ensures medical advice is available. Where no clinic or hospital is in near proximity, "a person or persons" adequately trained, with training "equal to that of the American Red Cross or the Mine Safety and Health Administration". Adequate materials approved by the consulting physician, readily available on every job, inspected often and replenished. Records: not in this section.
Washington, WAC 296-800-150	"You must make sure first-aid trained personnel are available". The training wording is that of 29 CFR 1910.151(b). Readily available, and appropriate to the occupational setting and the response time of emergency medical services. Records: not in this section.
Alberta, OHS Code Part 11	Prime contractor or employer provides first aiders, supplies, kits and a first aid room as the Schedule 2 tables require. Training by an approved agency to CSA Z1210-17. Kits equipped to CSA Z1220-17. Injury and illness records kept 3 years.
British Columbia, OHS Regulation Part 3	Employer provides what Schedule 3-A requires, and more if a written assessment shows it is needed. Attendant at least 16 years old, with a first aid certificate in good standing at the required level. Equipment and supplies suitable, clean, dry, ready for use and readily accessible. First aid records kept at least 3 years.
Manitoba, Regulation 217/2006 Part 5	Employer supplies first aid services, with a minimum number of first aiders set by workers per shift, hazard and distance. Basic, intermediate or advanced first aider under CSA Z1210-17. First aid kits and rooms under sections 5.12 to 5.15. Illness and injury records kept 5 years.
New Zealand, WorkSafe guide	Persons conducting a business or undertaking provide first aid for workers. Certificate generally valid for two years. At least one kit per workplace, with extra items for remote workers. The guide suggests a notebook in the kit for dates, times and observations; no record period is stated.

California

Section 3400 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations has six lettered paragraphs on the Department of Industrial Relations site. Beyond the table, it says stretchers and blankets or other adequate warm covering may be required by the Division unless ambulance service is available within 30 minutes under normal conditions. It also requires "effective provisions" made in advance for prompt medical treatment of serious injury or illness, by one or a combination of three means: a communication system for contacting a doctor or emergency medical service such as 911 that can direct services to the location, readily available on-site treatment facilities suitable for reasonably anticipated injury and illness, and equipment for prompt medical transport where needed.

Washington

The state's general first aid chapter is WAC 296-800-150. Its note lists industries that follow separate first aid rules in their own chapters: agriculture, compressed air, construction, firefighting, logging, sawmill, and ship building and repairing. The sub-section on supplies says they must be easily accessible, stored in clearly marked containers that are not locked, and able to be moved to the location of an injured or acutely ill worker. The chapter does not name tree work.

Alberta

Part 11 of the Alberta OHS Code says the first aiders, supplies and kits are located at or near the work site and readily available during all working hours, that signs or other means tell workers how to contact first aiders, and that an emergency communication system is in place. Before sending workers to a work site, the prime contractor or employer must make and carry out a plan to transport ill or injured workers to the nearest health care facility. The plan covers weather exposure, vehicles that take a stretcher and an accompanying person, and communication with the facility. The Code says an ill or injured worker who needs company during transport is accompanied by at least one first aider, except where 3 or fewer workers are at the work site. The tables by hazard level are in Schedule 2 of the Code and are not reproduced here.

British Columbia

Sections 3.14 to 3.21 of the OHS Regulation Part 3 are the first aid rules. Section 3.16 asks the employer for a written assessment covering the number and locations of workers, the risks, the types of injuries likely, any barriers to first aid, and the time to get transport to treatment. The assessment is reviewed within 12 months of the previous one and whenever a significant change occurs. Section 3.17 asks for written procedures, posted in the workplace, and for drills at least once each year and whenever procedures change. Section 3.19 says first aid records are confidential, open to inspection by a WorkSafeBC officer, and that a worker may request access to their own.

Manitoba

Part 5 of Regulation 217/2006 (the text read on October 9, 2026 covers September 1 to October 7, 2026) sets the minimum number of first aiders present during working hours in three tables. The tables run by number of workers per shift, whether the work is low hazard, and how far the workplace is from a medical facility. The regulation defines a close workplace as one from which an ill or injured worker can be transported to a medical facility in 30 minutes or less, a distant workplace as two hours or less, and an isolated workplace as one that is reached only by air or where transport takes more than two hours. For work other than low hazard work at a close workplace, the table shows no first aider for 1 to 10 workers and one intermediate first aider for 11 to 40. At a distant workplace the same range of 1 to 10 workers needs one basic first aider. The regulation says a first aider certificate ceases to be valid three years after it was issued, and that the employer keeps a list of first aiders by name and work location and posts it in a conspicuous place. Section 5.6 asks the employer to let a first aider give prompt first aid with no loss of pay or benefits. Section 5.8 asks the employer to pay for transport of a seriously ill or injured worker to a medical facility.

New Zealand

WorkSafe New Zealand's guide to first aid at work says that under the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 a person conducting a business or undertaking has a duty to provide first aid for workers, and may not charge workers for it. It lists forestry operations among work environments with a high risk of injuries needing immediate medical treatment. It says the training provider issues a certificate generally valid for two years, and that the Australian and New Zealand Committee on Resuscitation recommends CPR skills be refreshed at least annually. For remote or isolated workers it says the business provides a basic kit plus extra equipment where required, and a plan for how they get help. The New Zealand material on this page is adapted from WorkSafe New Zealand and credited to WorkSafe New Zealand.