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

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Recommendations: 3.5.2 Conflicting Medical Opinion1. The legislation should be changed to enable the Appeals Tribunal to require themedical assessment or examination of an injured worker.2. The legislation should be changed to require the selection of the health care providerfor a medical assessment or examination to be a joint decision of the ReviewCommittee or Appeals Tribunal and the injured worker.3.5.3 Independence of the Appeals TribunalThe Appeals Tribunal is appointed by the Minister and is composed of 2 members theMinister considers appropriate and additional members appointed in equal number on therecommendation of representatives of workers and employers. Members of the AppealsTribunal are appointed for terms up to 3 years and may be reappointed.The Minister appoints a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson on the recommendation of theAppeals Tribunal. Members of the WCB Board of Directors cannot be members of theAppeals Tribunal.The Appeals Tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction to hear appeals from decisions of theReview Committee about compensation and assessment. When making decisions, theAppeals Tribunal is required to apply the policy established by the WCB Board ofDirectors. The Appeals Tribunal may confirm, vary, or reverse a decision of the ReviewCommittee. If the WCB Board of Directors does not think the Appeals Tribunal hasproperly applied policy or has acted outside the provisions of the Acts, the WCB Board ofDirectors may direct the Appeals Tribunal to rehear an appeal.There are no time limits in the Acts for lodging an appeal, hearing an appeal, or issuing adecision. Within the provisions of the Acts, the Appeals Tribunal sets its own rules ofoperation. The WCB is required to provide the Appeals Tribunal with any documents ithas relating to the appeal.WCB Legislative Review Panel Report Page 41 of 128December, 2001
The Appeals Tribunal must give the appellant and other interested parties, such as theWAO, an opportunity to appear before the Tribunal and to present evidence.Stakeholders and the majority of respondents to the Stakeholder Questionnaire told usabout the importance of an independent Appeals Tribunal. That is, independence fromthe WCB Board of Directors and WCB administration. This independence is crucial tothe reality and perception of fair and objective consideration of appeals from workers,dependants, and employers. The Panel agrees.Stakeholders suggested that measures of independence include: Support staff and professional advisors who work for the Appeals Tribunal(and definitely not the WCB). Offices physically removed from those of the WCB. Final decision-making authority (in other words, no rehearing or stays ofAppeals Tribunal decisions). No restrictions on the conduct of appeals (in other words, no requirement toapply the policies of the WCB Board of Directors, or only apply policieswhere applicable).Some stakeholders linked the qualifications of Appeals Tribunal members toindependence. Their reasoning was that unless members have a good understanding ofadministrative law and legal principles which apply to an appeal process, such as naturaljustice, the Appeals Tribunal cannot make independent (and informed) decisions withoutdepending on the WCB administration. These are matters for the Minister to consider inhis appointment of members and for the Appeals Tribunal itself to consider when settingits rules and operational plans, such as training and development for members. The Panelfound several recommendations about the qualifications and training of Appeals Tribunalmembers made in the Friedman Report to be helpful in this regard. The Panel noted thatthe legislation was changed to make members of the WCB Board of Directors ineligiblefor appointment to the Appeals Tribunal. Subsection 7.7(4) appears to be left over from aprevious time and should be removed.WCB Legislative Review Panel Report Page 42 of 128December, 2001
Page 1 and 2: Accountable…to stakeholdersCompen
Page 3 and 4: Table Of Contents3.4.3 Employers’
Page 5 and 6: Table Of Contents5.0 A FINAL WORD 1
Page 7 and 8: The Legislative Review Directorate
Page 9 and 10: 3.0 Workers’Compensation Acts3.1
Page 11 and 12: 2.0 General ThemesDuring the course
Page 13 and 14: The Panel has generally adopted the
Page 15 and 16: The Panel did receive positive comm
Page 17 and 18: wanted was to return to work and st
Page 19 and 20: 2. Are there workers in specific in
Page 21 and 22: Panel feels legislation should be p
Page 23 and 24: 3.2 WCB Authority and Accountabilit
Page 25 and 26: WCB Board of Directors may chose to
Page 27 and 28: 3.2.6 Regular Reviews of the Worker
Page 29 and 30: Recommendations: 3.2.8 Liability Pr
Page 31 and 32: Legislation in 2 other jurisdiction
Page 33 and 34: The legislation in other jurisdicti
Page 35 and 36: ones held accountable for a decisio
Page 37 and 38: members may be reappointed to the W
Page 39 and 40: Some suggested that having a compen
Page 41 and 42: Recommendations: 3.4.2 Workers’ A
Page 43 and 44: The WCB Board of Directors made the
Page 45: esolutions committees, under the au
Page 49 and 50: The Panel considered the establishm
Page 51 and 52: Recommendations: 3.5.5 Time Limits
Page 53 and 54: are not familiar with some of the u
Page 55 and 56: The Panel was interested in the Ont
Page 57 and 58: Workers’ compensation payments ar
Page 59 and 60: 3.6.3 Year’s Maximum Insurable Re
Page 61 and 62: The Acts are very specific in some
Page 63 and 64: 3.6.5 Indexing Compensation by Comm
Page 65 and 66: 2. The legislation should be change
Page 67 and 68: The Panel considered whether the in
Page 69 and 70: The Panel heard from some stakehold
Page 71 and 72: The Acts require any employer, whet
Page 73 and 74: Respondents to the Stakeholder Ques
Page 75 and 76: The Panel agrees. We see prior cons
Page 77 and 78: 3.9.3 Authority to Make Investments
Page 79 and 80: Respondents to the Stakeholder Ques
Page 81 and 82: The duty to accommodate is not an o
Page 83 and 84: payments such as income tax or payr
Page 85 and 86: 3.13 Environmental ChangeThe Acts h
Page 87 and 88: construction permits is a matter of
Page 89 and 90: date sections, reordering the “pa
Page 91 and 92: The Panel has recommended changes t
Page 93 and 94: the WCB when it is contemplating ch
Page 95 and 96: 4. The legislation should be change
Page 97 and 98:
The Panel was asked to consider rec
Page 99 and 100:
No other jurisdictions regulate wor
Page 101 and 102:
4.2.5 Safety InspectionsSome stakeh
Page 103 and 104:
4.4 Employer Responsibilities4.4.1
Page 105 and 106:
The Panel feels that the instrument
Page 107 and 108:
Recommendation: 4.6.2 Consistency w
Page 109 and 110:
others have experience as employers
Page 111 and 112:
While the Panel heard positive comm
Page 113 and 114:
5. Operational versus Legislative I
Page 115 and 116:
3. The legislation should be amende
Page 117 and 118:
3. It is suggested that the first r
Page 119 and 120:
2. The legislation should be change
Page 121 and 122:
Recommendations: 3.5.5 Time Limits
Page 123 and 124:
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Recommendation: 3.7.3 Rewarding Saf
Page 127 and 128:
Recommendation: 3.12.4 Employer Rec
Page 129 and 130:
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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
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STAKEHOLDER QUESTIONNAIRE AND SUMMA
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SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PUBLIC HEARI
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Key:SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PUBLIC H
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Key:SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PUBLIC H
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smoke.Key:SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM PU
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SUMMARY OF FORMAL PRESENTATIONS AND
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SUMMARY OF FORMAL PRESENTATIONS AND
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