The British Columbia government is introducing changes to the workers’ compensation system (WorkSafeBC) intended to better support injured workers and enhance WorkSafeBC\u2019s ability to investigate workplace incidents.<\/p>\n
Since 2008, B.C. Labour Minister Harry Bains has commissioned no fewer than five reports reviewing the employer-funded compensation system. The reports have been authored by Jeff Parr, Janet Patterson, Lisa J. Helps, Terrance J. Bogyo and Paul Petrie.<\/p>\n
On July 14, 2020, Minister Bains introduced Bill 23, Workers\u2019 Compensation Amendment Act, 2020<\/em><\/strong>, stating the changes are an important step in modernizing the Workers Compensation Act, ensuring workers and their families get the support they need, while also increasing everyone\u2019s confidence in the system.<\/p>\n Meantime, WorkSafeBC\u2019s Board of Directors, following a brief consultation, decided on July 22, 2020 to add COVID-19 to the list of communicable diseases considered workplace diseases per Schedule 1 of the Workers Compensation Act<\/strong>. The addition is currently scheduled to come into effect in October 2020. UPDATE<\/span>: The waiting period required for additions to Schedule 1 was waived with the passage of Bill 23 in August 2020.<\/p>\n Also in July 2020, Minister Bains asked WorkSafeBC\u2019s Board of Directors to consider changes to the Occupational Health & Safety Regulation (OHSR) Part 8, Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment (Hard Hats)<\/strong>. Under the current regulation, safety headgear must be worn by a worker in any work area where there is a danger of head injury from falling, flying or thrown objects, or other harmful contacts.<\/p>\n The Sikh community has raised concerns employers are effectively applying this section as a blanket requirement, resulting in turban-wearing Sikh workers not being able to fully participate in the workforce. WorkSafeBC is considering amendments the OHSR to continue to protect the health and safety of turban-wearing Sikhs, while providing accommodation where there is no risk of head injury.<\/p>\n The latest proposed changes come at a time when employers are still awaiting the release of the Workers Compensation System Review<\/strong> report written by Janet Patterson, who was appointed in March 2019. Her review, which was submitted to government in fall 2019, was to assess:<\/p>\n VRCA is opposed to proposed changes to the Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health & Safety Regulation, specifically:<\/p>\n Bill 23, Workers\u2019 Compensation Amendment Act, 2020<\/strong> Inclusion of COVID-19 in Schedule 1 (Presumption)<\/strong> As of September 23 , 2020, WorksafeBC had accepted only one claim for COVID-19 from the construction industry<\/a> while 10 had been disallowed and three required no adjudication. By adding COVID-19 to Schedule 1, WorkSafeBC will be dismissing the tremendous efforts made by everyone within the industry to operate safely as an essential service and position our province for economic recovery.<\/p>\n The waiting period to add COVID-19 to Schedule 1 will be waived if Bill 23 is passed into law, allowing COVID-19 presumption to come into immediate effect following a decision by the WorkSafeBC Board of Directors.<\/p>\n Occupational Health & Safety Regulation Part 8, Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment (Hard Hats)<\/strong> While VRCA respects religious freedom for all Canadians, the proposed changes are ill-informed, impractical and irresponsible changes that undermine the universal requirement to wear a hard hat on site that has been a fundamental part of site safety for decades.<\/p>\n Workers Compensation System Review by Janet Patterson<\/strong> The employer community lost confidence in the Patterson Review after it was learned that the \u201cselected issues\u201d identified by the Reviewer for further consultation with key stakeholders encompass 23 of the 24 recommendations set out in a report commissioned by the BC Federation of Labour in 2009 entitled \u201cInsult to Injury \u2013 Changes to the BC Workers\u2019 Compensation System.\u201d Ms. Patterson co-authored the \u201cInsult to Injury\u201d report.<\/p>\n The list of \u201cselected issues\u201d indicates to the employer community that the Patterson Review is broad and far-reaching and calls into question the Reviewer\u2019s ability to deliver her review in an independent, impartial and balanced manner.<\/p>\n Initially, VRCA and the employer community was concerned that the Terms of Reference of the Review were vague and open to speculation in their interpretation.<\/p>\n We were also concerned that the compressed timeline set for the Review may compromise the ability to have proper examination and full and meaningful consultation with industry stakeholders such as ourselves.<\/p>\n Bill 23, Workers\u2019 Compensation Amendment Act, 2020<\/strong> Inclusion of COVID-19 in Schedule 1 (Presumption)<\/strong> Occupational Health & Safety Regulation Part 8, Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment (Hard Hats)<\/strong> Workers Compensation System Review by Janet Patterson<\/strong>\n
Issue<\/h2>\n
\nBill 23 will add significant costs to B.C. employers who fund WorkSafeBC and will introduce changes that will put at risk the financial stability of the workers\u2019 compensation system. It is ill-timed, ill-considered, and ignores broad-based and repeated requests from the business community to government to \u2018do no harm\u2019 as we focus on COVID-19 recovery and getting British Columbians back to work safely. Specifically:<\/p>\n\n
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\nThe COVID-19 pandemic is a public health crisis, not a workplace health crisis. By adding COVID-19 to the list of communicable diseases that WorkSafeBC presumes was caught at work, public health costs will be transferred to the Workers\u2019 Compensation system which is funded by employers.<\/p>\n\n
\nConstruction sites are complex and ever-evolving environments. Hard hats are universally required because there is always a risk of head injury on site. If hard hat exemptions are implemented, it will result in unnecessary confusion for employers and workers, require significant monitoring and administration and expose organizations and their workers to legal liability.<\/p>\n\n
\nThe 46 employer community partners, which includes VRCA, formally withdrew from the Patterson Review on Aug. 14, 2019 after losing confidence that the review can be conducted in an independent, impartial and balanced manner.<\/p>\nCurrent Status<\/h2>\n
\nBill 23 – Workers Compensation Amendment Act – received Royal Assent on August 14, 2020.<\/p>\n
\nThe WorkSafeBC Board of Directors decided on July 22, 2020 to add COVID-19 to the list of communicable diseases considered workplace diseases per Schedule 1 of the Workers Compensation Act. The waiting period required for additions to Schedule 1 was waived with the passage of Bill 23 in August 2020<\/p>\n
\nWorkSafeBC will be holding a public hearing on proposed amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The virtual public hearing will be streamed live on September 30, 2020, in two sessions. The first will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the second from 3 to 5 p.m. Details on how to view or participate in the virtual public hearing will be posted on WorkSafeBC\u2019s website<\/a> by September 1, 2020. UPDATE<\/span>: WorkSafeBC postponed the public hearings scheduled in this matter following the announcement of the provincial election forOctober 24, 2020. A new public hearing date has not been set.<\/p>\n
\nJanet Patterson submitted her report to Minister Bains in October 2019. The report<\/a> was released in August 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div>