Injured workers are under threat again …
The WSIB Operational Review report (2020) found that the appeals process can be slow and complicated, and that the delay between filing a claim with the Board and achieving a hearing at the Tribunal can create a real financial challenge for injured worker.
Recommendations of the Board’s subsequent 2022 KPMG Value for Money Audit of the Dispute Resolution and Appeals Process , in particular drastic reductions in time limits to appeal, if implemented would further reduce fairness in the system. Many of the most vulnerable injured workers won’t be able to appeal their decisions and will not receive full compensation under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act… [read legal clinics’ concerns on access to justice]. (The WSIB recently announced consultation will accept written submissions until July 21, 2023 – both the proposed changes and undemocratic consultation process have been widely critiqued )
The right to a fair and speedy hearing
Injured worker appeals and wait times increased with the rise in claims denials that followed changes in benefit policies and decisionmaking practice. Changes to the appeals process at the Board have added complexity, stress and delays, as clearly shown in a 2012 Appeals Modernization consultation and the current 2023 new Pre-hearing Process consultation.
The opening in 2019 of a hearing centre in Hamilton helped reduce wait times at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal, with the Tribunal also moving during COVID-19 primarily to electronic or written hearings.
The current appeal structure
Most decisions can be appealed to the WSIB’s internal Appeal Services Division. If the injured worker or employer disagrees with the decision of the Appeal Services Division, that decision in turn can be appealed to an independent review body, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (formerly the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal). That is the final level of appeal, although the WSIAT can reconsider its own decisions. The Ontario Ombudsman can also request a reconsideration. The Supreme Court of Ontario can judicially review a decision of the WSIAT on very limited legal grounds. Though rare, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled on issues of jurisdiction and constitutionality – such as the 2003 chronic pain appeal decision (Nova Scotia (Workers’ Compensation Bard) v Martin & Laseur).
- Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups. 2023 Jul. 21. Media release: ONIWG Demands Openness and Fairness in Consultation Process that Proposes Sweeping Changes
- Ontario Legal Clinics’ Workers’ Compensation Network. 2023 Jun. 5. Commentary re KPMG Value for Money Audit (VFMA) Dispute Resolution and Appeals Process.
- Coates, Patty, John Bartolomeo, Chris Grawey & Maryth Yachnin. 2023 Jun. 2. “Injured workers are under threat again.” Hamilton Spectator
- Thunder Bay & District Injured Workers Support Group, IWC. 2023 Apr. 25. Complaint to the Ombudsman regarding WSIB Drastically Reducing Time to Appeal Decisions
- IWC. 2023 Jan. 13. Submission to WSIAT’s New Pre-Hearing Process Consultation.
- Mojtehedzadeh, Sara. 2016, Apr. 6. “Fair Appeals for Injured Workers Under Threat, Experts Warn” (Toronto Star)