REGINA, Sask. — The provincial government has introduced amendments to The Workers' Compensation Act, 2013, that it says will enhance support for workers and help keep the workers' compensation system sustainable.
The bill received first reading Tuesday and will return for second reading at the next sitting.
Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board Ken Cheveldayoff told reporters the bill will “highlight rehabilitation and return to work and make sure that we have compliance issues dealt with as well. Workers' Compensation Board has been a leader in the country when it comes to listening to workers and being at the leading edge, and I'm happy to introduce the legislation.”
Among the changes outlined in the government's news release are the following:
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100 per cent wage reimbursement for time missed to attend injury-related medical treatment;
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A two-year appeal time limit;
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Clarifying eligibility requirements for psychological injury claims;
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Recognizing additional health-care professionals as eligible diagnosing providers;
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Allowing other qualified medical professionals to sit on panels;
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Modernizing eligibility criteria for the WCB's annuity program;
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Ensuring surviving dependent spouse benefits align with the core purpose of the workers' compensation system;
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Clarifying benefit entitlements for workers who experience recurrences of older workplace injuries;
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Clarifying Board Appeal Tribunal quorum requirements; and
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Improving employer access to information while maintaining appropriate privacy safeguards.
WCB CEO Phil Germain said the board received feedback through its annual general meeting, Workers' Comp Institute and annual rate-setting meetings. He also pointed to regular meetings with employer associations, the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour and building trades.
“We've gathered all that feedback over the last few years to think about what are the value-added changes that we could make in serving injured workers and helping employers serve those workers, and making sure that the system remains compliant overall, and making sure that there's fairness across the system.”
Germain said some of the changes are about “trying to improve, make sure that workers are fully supported when they attend medical treatments. We're trying to expand care coverage in terms of expanding the ability for workers to get their psychological claims diagnosed quicker, sooner.”
He said timely rehabilitation and return to work are in the best interests of both workers and employers, and delays can have negative consequences for injured workers.
As for the compliance changes, when asked during a media scrum whether the amendments were intended to catch people gaming the system or making false claims about hard-to-detect ailments, Germain said that “wasn't really part of our consideration.”
He said the focus is on improving rehabilitation and return-to-work outcomes, ensuring timely reporting and information gathering, and allowing workers and employers to raise concerns.
As for costs, Germain said the board does not anticipate any major financial implications from the changes.
