Employer Community – this is an unacceptable business practice, and definitely not a ‘worker-centred’ approach with respect to dealing with inquiries injured workers

Just one of a number of business and industry associations in BC, the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) signed on to an employer community submission to the Workers’ Compensation System (WorkSafeBC) Review, a number of weeks back. At the time, the submission was endorsed by 46 sectoral and cross-sectoral business organizations representing small, medium and large businesses in virtually all aspects of the B.C. economy.

“Balanced WorkSafeBC policies and practices support healthy, safe and productive workplaces for all,” said Fiona Famulak, VRCA president. "A review of a system such as WorkSafeBC, which is integral to the operations of every business in the province, needs to be clearly defined and given sufficient time for industry and public consultation." 

A July 19^th letter to Ms. Janet Patterson, Reviewer for the Workers’ Compensation System Review, Famulak indicated however that ... we are 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.

Additionally, the Employer Community Submission to the Workers’ Compensation System Review, prepared for Janet Paterson, stated:

... the Reviewer did not provide any insight regarding any specific focus or issue ... we do not perceive what input or assistance we could provide by way of a response ... should ... a specific focus or issue come to the Reviewer’s mind upon which she would like to receive our input and comments, please advise us and we would provide a response within a reasonable time frame from the receipt of the request (pg 14)

The submission, from the Employer Community included a wide range of concerns and recommendations which included:

• Policies and Practices Relating to Supporting Injured Workers Return to Work 
• Evaluation of Current WorkSafeBC Policy and Practices through a Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) Lens 
• Modernizing WorkSafeBC’s Culture to reflect a Worker-Centric Service Delivery Model 
• Recommendations Dealing with Improved Case Management of Injured Workers 
• Specific Steps Required to Increase Confidence of Workers and Employers in the Workers’ Compensation System (Including, but not limited to the Fair Practices Office 
• as well as other Urgent Compensation Issues not addressed in the Final Report to the Board of Directors of WorkSafeBC on the Unappropriated Balance in the Accident Fund ....

It seems the Employer Community also had concerns about several recurrent themes raised in response to recommendations dealing with improved case management of injured workers (pg 14 & 15). 

The most frequently raised concerns by the Employer Community related to the adequacy of the timing and/or contents of communications between an Employer representative and a Board Officer with respect to some aspect of Board case management of the Employer’s injured worker.

In that Employer Community Submission to the Workers’ Compensation System Review, concerns were raised that Board Officers often do not answer their phones or return the calls in a timely manner, if at all, or leave recorded messages saying they will return your call in 3 – 4 business days.

... the timeliness of communications was raised as a particular concern by Employers who were seeking information from and/or the assistance of Board Officers in order to develop an early Return to Work plan for the injured worker. In the view of the Employer Community, this is an unacceptable business practice, and is definitely not a “worker-centred” approach with respect to dealing with inquiries involving the case management of injured workers.

The Employer Community suggests that the use of email by Board Officers, who are involved in the case management of injured workers, to communicate with injured workers and their Employers would be one potential resolution to this concern.

Turning to the Independent Contractors and Business Association (ICBA), another of the Employer Community Member, they indicated that the group was withdrawing for a number of reasons, including the fact that;

... Janet Patterson, appointed by NDP Labour Minister Harry Bains, was previously an advisor to the BC Federation of Labour had co-authored a BC Fed report entitled “Insult to Injury – Changes to the BC Workers’ Compensation System”, and that she was undertaking an extensive system-wide review of WSBC based on the work she did for the BC Fed in 2009 ... and that ... Patterson and her co-authors had drafted 24 recommendations for the BC Fed for radical changes to WorkSafe BC, and that in outlining the focus of her review, all but one of those recommendations were included!

Quoting the ICBA:

In the view of the Employer Community, the list of “selected issues” completely alters the scope of the “focused review” to a comprehensive examination of all aspects of the workers’ compensation system. It is important to recognize that recent comprehensive system reviews have taken much longer. Because of the need for extensive consultation one took almost a year to complete and the other two years. The employer community was given less than a month to prepare constructive input into what has become a system-wide review.

What the review had, or was becoming, definitely does NOT sound like what Labour Minister Harry indicated it was to be, when he announced (Apr 2019) the appointment of a retired labour lawyer, Janet Patterson, to undertake the independent review, to assess:

• the system’s policies and practices that support injured workers’ return to work;
• WorkSafeBC’s current policies and practices through a gender and diversity-based analysis (commonly referred to as GBA +);
• modernizing WorkSafeBC’s culture to reflect a worker-centric service delivery model;
• the case management of injured workers; and
• potential amendments to the Workers Compensation Act arising from this focused review.

Bains went on to state that the ... formal review being undertaken by Patterson builds on work undertaken by WorkSafeBC over the past year to identify areas for improvement.

Placing an individual (such as Janet Patterson) who appears to have a definite pro-labour stance, seems kind of like putting the fox in charge of the hen house. No wonder then the statement from the ICBA indicated that:

As a result, the Employer Community has lost confidence that the current Review can be conducted in an “independent, impartial and balanced manner” as was provided for in Ms. Patterson’s original Review’s Terms of Reference. The Employer Community has decided not to participate further in this review.

A June BC government news released reported that ... engagement on British Columbia’s workers’ compensation system and how to shift the system to become more worker centred, as well as how to increase worker and employer confidence, is open for feedback.

It certainly seems like the employers community has definitely made bit known that it has no confidence in the process ... and they have indeed given their feedback as to why.