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Announcing the launch of our Virtual University

Compclaim Management Inc. is proud to announce the launch of our Virtual University. We offer self-paced courses in all vital areas of health and safety.

Chair's response to 2007 Ontario Budget
The Government of Ontario recently released proposals for changes to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act as part of its draft 2007 Ontario Budget. WSIB Chair Steve Mahoney responds (55k, pdf) to the proposed amendments and their effect on worker benefits.

2007 Budget Amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997

The 2007 Ontario Budget includes the following proposals to improve benefits for injured workers under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

· Increase benefits of approximately 155,000 injured workers by 2.5% on July 1, 2007, 2.5% on January 1, 2008 and 2.5% on January 1, 2009.

· Provide the WSIB with “greater flexibility” to review and determine injured workers' LOE benefits after the benefits are locked in at 72 months, affecting approximately 750 injured workers annually.

· Require that earnings be based on what the worker would "likely earn from suitable as well as available employment" (as opposed to “deeming”).

· Raise the threshold below which a lump-sum rather than a monthly retirement benefit payment is made, from $1,166.41 to $3,000.

· Add up to four more directors to the WSIB’s Board of Directors

In addition, the government is increasing funding to the Office of the Worker Adviser (OWA) by $1.4 million in 2007/2008. This amount will be fully recoverable from the WSIB.

New WSIB Forms

New Functional Abilities Form
The Functional Abilities Form for Planning Early and Safe Return to Work (2647A) has been revised. Find out more about completing the form, read the new Fact Sheet, and review reporting requirements for health professionals.

Benefit from our Experience

In 2005 the WSIB approved several updated forms, including the Form 7-Employer’s Report of Injury and Form 6-Worker’s Report of Injury. The Form 8, Physician’s First Report, was previously revised, and release of the long awaited revised Functional Abilities Form (FAF) is expected in April.

The transition period expired as of February 1, 2006. Failing to use the proper form will attract a $250.00 ‘late filing’ fine for each infraction. Don’t forget to provide a copy of the Form 7 to each and every worker.

The new forms are available from the WSIB in both hard and soft copy (http://www.wsib.on.ca/wsib/wsibsite.nsf/public/FormsEmployers), although electronic submission is still not possible.

Early and Safe Return to Work (ESRTW)

Policy Consultation

On October 27, 2005 the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) released eight (8) draft policies - consisting of 56 pages - for public consultation concerning Early and Safe Return to Work (ESRTW) Co-operation. The deadline for submissions was January 26, 2006.

Recent Decision of Note

Mandavia v. Central West Health Care Institutions Board and Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador, [2005] N.J. No. 69 (C.A.)

Duty of Care

The court found that workers’ compensation authorities and employers owed a duty of care when making representations to their workers. They both failed to fulfill this duty as it related to the facts of the particular case. In legal terms, this made them negligent and responsible for the worker’s subsequent financial losses.

This case was set in the context of whether or not it was desirable for a worker to retire early when he was confronted with a disability. The worker relied on the information and advice from the workers’ compensation commission and his employer in voluntarily retiring from his employment. This resulted in his disqualification from certain workers’ compensation benefits after voluntarily retiring from his employment.

This case demonstrates that employers should be very careful when giving out advice or information to their employees. An employer can be sued in court and held liable for an employee’s losses if it supplies untrue, inaccurate, or misleading information which is later relied upon by an employee to his or her own detriment.