Act Now - The Report of the WCB Legislative Review Panel to the

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STAKEHOLDER QUESTIONNAIRE AND SUMMARY OF RESPONSESAdditional Comments Thank you for the opportunity to comment in this questionnaire. A couple of brief comments. Some questions were very difficult toanswer:Q2(h) – it is unclear whether they would have to TAKE the advice of the groups or ACT upon the advice taken from the groups.Q43 is a loaded question. I think the question should be whether employees can be penalized for not working safely when an employerHAS provided a safe workplace.There also is a thread throughout this questionnaire suggesting that the employees of the WCB cannot be trusted to fairly represent aworker’s interest (See question 9). Given that the mandate of the WCB includes erring on the side of workers, I find that thinkingunsubstantiated. Many employers would argue convincingly that employees of the WCB are unable (or unwilling) to fairly representtheir interests.Finally, I would offer a strong caution on what the WCB’s role in society is meant to be. It is to compensate for the lost wages, andassist in returning workers to the workplace. IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE AN ALL-ENCOMPASSING SOCIAL PROGRAM. Whatfollows is a brief excerpt from a CAODC response to the Alberta WCB’s suggestions that the EI earnings be part of insurable earnings:Employment Insurance Earnings (EI) should not be included. EI is already an income replacement program. WCB benefits shouldreplace actual employment earnings, not replace income from another income replacement program.Severance packages should likewise not be eligible for WCB benefits.We believe that straight wages and salary should be used to calculate benefits. Other benefits typically come through the normal coursework. It is a reasonable expectation that the WCB is a replacement mechanism for gross wages and salaries and that this expectationshould include overtime pay and commissions.A very important general comment needs to be made: DO NOT REPLACE EARNINGS THAT DO NOT EXIST. This is especiallyimportant, as funding for the WCB comes from actual payroll amounts.Thank you again for the opportunity to comment. I think the WCB should not interfere with any ongoing therapy of a worker, unless it is deemed unnecessary by an outside medicalspecialist. WCB should use a doctor specific to the worker’s case and not one who is guessing what is best for the worker after “consultation” withanyone. WCB should not force a worker to ‘heal’ within a time limit that is unreasonable; or, cut off support therapy because they only ‘help’you for a maximum of six months! I will forever after be in “ pain management.” WCB can cut me off help, decide if they will take the "employer" to court (or when) torecover all moneys used to "help" the injured workers; but not give the injured any further help in or with their permanent disability. WCB has no way of knowing how debilitating an injury is, because they either don’t care or cannot be of assistance because of timelimits they must follow.Appendix C Page C32 of C33WCB Legislative Review Panel Report December, 2001
STAKEHOLDER QUESTIONNAIRE AND SUMMARY OF RESPONSESAdditional Comments For all the progress I started to make, I would be ‘cut off’ therapy (without notice usually) and set back to the beginning again. Thishappened twice. Now I cannot even get the therapy I need. WCB does not commit itself to the "worker" but the bottom $$. They will recover their funds in court. I will be this way for the rest ofmy life! And with no guarantee of a satisfactory settlement. Because what they can’t “see” does not constitute disability. We are attaching a completed copy of the Stakeholder Questionnaire circulated with your letter to stakeholders of July 16 th , 2001. ThisAssociation represents the interests of the service and manufacturing sector of the upstream petroleum industry. We have over 250member companies, whose approximately 34,000 employees account for almost 80% of the total number in the service sector of the oiland gas industry. Many of our members operate in the Northwest Territories and pay employer premiums to the Worker’sCompensation Board. We want to take this opportunity to thank you for the invitation to complete the Stakeholder Questionnaire. Ifthis Association can be of any further assistance in your review process, or if you require clarification of any of the answers we haveprovided on the Questionnaire, please contact us. We would appreciate being provided with a copy of the recommendations the Panelwill be making to the Ministers.Appendix C Page C33 of C33WCB Legislative Review Panel Report December, 2001
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Accountable…to stakeholdersCompen
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Table Of Contents3.4.3 Employers’
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Table Of Contents5.0 A FINAL WORD 1
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The Legislative Review Directorate
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3.0 Workers’Compensation Acts3.1
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2.0 General ThemesDuring the course
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The Panel has generally adopted the
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The Panel did receive positive comm
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wanted was to return to work and st
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2. Are there workers in specific in
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Panel feels legislation should be p
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3.2 WCB Authority and Accountabilit
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WCB Board of Directors may chose to
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3.2.6 Regular Reviews of the Worker
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Recommendations: 3.2.8 Liability Pr
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Legislation in 2 other jurisdiction
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The legislation in other jurisdicti
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ones held accountable for a decisio
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members may be reappointed to the W
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Some suggested that having a compen
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Recommendations: 3.4.2 Workers’ A
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The WCB Board of Directors made the
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esolutions committees, under the au
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The Appeals Tribunal must give the
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The Panel considered the establishm
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Recommendations: 3.5.5 Time Limits
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are not familiar with some of the u
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The Panel was interested in the Ont
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Workers’ compensation payments ar
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3.6.3 Year’s Maximum Insurable Re
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The Acts are very specific in some
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3.6.5 Indexing Compensation by Comm
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2. The legislation should be change
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The Panel considered whether the in
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The Panel heard from some stakehold
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The Acts require any employer, whet
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Respondents to the Stakeholder Ques
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The Panel agrees. We see prior cons
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3.9.3 Authority to Make Investments
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Respondents to the Stakeholder Ques
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The duty to accommodate is not an o
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payments such as income tax or payr
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3.13 Environmental ChangeThe Acts h
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construction permits is a matter of
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date sections, reordering the “pa
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The Panel has recommended changes t
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the WCB when it is contemplating ch
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The Panel was asked to consider rec
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No other jurisdictions regulate wor
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4.2.5 Safety InspectionsSome stakeh
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4.4 Employer Responsibilities4.4.1
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The Panel feels that the instrument
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Recommendation: 4.6.2 Consistency w
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others have experience as employers
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While the Panel heard positive comm
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5. Operational versus Legislative I
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3. The legislation should be amende
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3. It is suggested that the first r
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Recommendations: 3.5.5 Time Limits
Page 123 and 124: 3. The legislation should be change
Page 125 and 126: Recommendation: 3.7.3 Rewarding Saf
Page 127 and 128: Recommendation: 3.12.4 Employer Rec
Page 129 and 130: 2. The legislation should be change
Page 131 and 132: Regulations (see also Recommendatio
Page 133 and 134: 5.0 A Final WordThe Panel has recom
Page 135 and 136: Glossary and DefinitionsAccident Fu
Page 137 and 138: Glossary and DefinitionsNet annualr
Page 139 and 140: WCB Legislative Review Panel Terms
Page 141 and 142: WCB LEGISLATIVE REVIEW PANELTERMS O
Page 143 and 144: STAKEHOLDER QUESTIONNAIRE AND SUMMA
Page 173: STAKEHOLDER QUESTIONNAIRE AND SUMMA
Page 177 and 178: SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PUBLIC HEARI
Page 183 and 184: Key:SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PUBLIC H
Page 193 and 194: Key:SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PUBLIC H
Page 199 and 200: smoke.Key:SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PU
Page 203 and 204: SUMMARY OF FORMAL PRESENTATIONS AND
Page 205: SUMMARY OF FORMAL PRESENTATIONS AND
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