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Workers’
Compensation changes on the horizon?
In
2003 the provincial government made changes to the Workers Compensation Act which resulted in
diminished compensation to workers. Those changes included the
elimination of lifetime disability pensions based on actual loss of earnings
with reduced pensions based on outdated disability charts that end at age 65,
the virtual elimination of the WCB’s vocational rehabilitation program that
used to help injured workers return safely to the workplace, the replacement of
three levels of external appeal with one internal WCB review and one external
appeal, and a worsening “culture of denial” throughout the adjudicative and
appellate processes. The direct impact on BCTF members includes the following:
- increased costs to the BCTF’s Health and
Wellness plan in providing the services of occupational therapists and
rehabilitation consultants to members to ensure a safe return to the workplace
- increased costs to the BCTF’s Salary
Indemnity plan to cover a worker’s gradual return to the workplace
- members working even though they have not
fully recovered from their injuries
- members using more of their sick leave to
“top-up” their salary because of lower WCB wage loss benefits
- members using their sick leave instead of
filing a claim because they do not want to deal with the WCB process
Board of
Directors Launch Policy Review in 2018
In January, 2018, the WorkSafeBC
Board of Directors retained Paul Petrie to review the Rehabilitation and Claims Services Manual (RSCM) the binding set of
policy which inform compensation decisions. The purpose of the review was to
determine whether any policies could be amended to ensure a worker-centred
approach wherever practical. Over a six-week period, Mr. Petrie consulted with
worker and employer stakeholders and WorkSafeBC staff. His report, “Restoring the Balance – A Worker-Centred
Approach to Workers’ Compensation Policy”, contains 41 recommendations.
Some key recommendations from the
report include:
- Establishing an independent
medical exam process to assist in resolving medical disputes
- Study the presence and
prevalence of claim suppression in the workers’ compensation system
- Improving the adjudication
process for activity-related soft tissue disorder claims, such as hand/wrist
tendinopathy
- Amending definitions under the
mental disorder policy to remove the requirement that traumatic events or
work-related stressors be unusual and to include a subjective element to the
definitions, to improve rates of claim acceptance
- Implement a policy for responsible
use of video surveillance to meet Board responsibilities without causing
unintended harm to the worker
Workers’
Compensation System Review Underway in 2019
An independent review is underway to
advise government on how to shift the workers’ compensation system to become
more worker-centred. The review is being led by retired labour lawyer Janet
Patterson, who was appointed by the BC Government’s Ministry of Labour in April
2019.
The review will assess:
- the system’s policies and practices that support
injured workers’ return to work;
- WorkSafeBC’s current policies and practices
through a gender- and diversity-based analysis (commonly referred to as
GBA +);
- modernization of WorkSafeBC’s culture to reflect
a worker-centric service delivery model;
- the case management of injured workers; and
- any potential amendments to the Workers
Compensation Act arising from this focused review.
People
are invited to share their views by email or mail on ways to improve the
workers’ compensation system for the people who use, access or work within it.
The
independent reviewer will hear from people from all over B.C., including
injured workers, employers, representatives, medical practitioners, Indigenous
people and First Nations, and the legal community.
Janet Patterson’s
report is expected to be released in September, 2019.
Luke Olver
Assistant Director—WCB Advocacy
Income Security Division
British Columbia Teachers' Federation
ph. 604-871-1890, fax. 604-871-2285, lolver@bctf.ca Toll free: 1-800-663-9163, local 1890