The Workplace Safety Insurance Board (“WSIB”) has amended its Operational Policy Manual to implement changes in employer reporting obligations for work-related accidents. Including a new deadline for employers to file a report of workplace injury.
Under the new reporting deadline, employers must report any work-related accidents that occurred on or after September 29, 2023 within three business days of learning about the reporting obligation. This new three-day deadline replaces the previous seven-day deadline within WSIB policies. The deadline brings such policies into alignment with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 [WSIA], which requires employers to report an accident that necessitates health care or results in the worker not being able to earn full wages within three days.
The revised Operational Policy Manual further provides the following clarifying information regarding reporting requirements for employers:
- An employer must submit an accident report to the WSIB within three business days after learning about the reporting obligation. “Business days” fall between Monday to Friday, and excludes any day that falls on a statutory holiday;
- Employers must report a work-related accident to the WSIB upon learning that a worker requires health care and/or:
- Is absent from regular work;
- Earns less than regular pay for regular work (e.g. part time hours);
- Requires modified work at less than regular pay; or
- Requires modified work at regular pay for more than seven calendar days following the date of accident;
- Employers must report a work-related accident through one of the following methods:
- Form 7 (Employer’s Report of Injury/Disease);
- A WSIB-approved accident reporting form created by the employer; or
- A WSIB-approved electronic reporting form.
Failure to meet the reporting deadline could result in a fine of $250 to the employer, and in circumstances where an employer reports a work-related accident more than 30 calendar days after the after the reporting obligation takes effect, a fine of $1,000 may be issued.
Employers should ensure that they promptly report work-related accidents to the WSIB, in compliance with the new three-day deadline.
If you have questions regarding these changes or require assistance navigating WSIB processes generally, a member of our team would be happy to assist.
This blog is provided as an information service and summary of workplace legal issues.
This information is not intended as legal advice.
