Changes to the Workers Compensation Act are expected to provide better support for injured workers and their families. While also enhancing WorkSafeBC’s ability to investigate incidents.
The proposed changes focus on improving supports for injured workers while also advancing workplace safety. The changes include, raising the maximum annual salary amount on which workers’ compensation benefits are based, authorizing WorkSafeBC to provide preventative medical treatment before a claim is accepted, giving courts the power to issue WorkSafeBC search and seizure warrants that are appropriate for investigating safety infractions and giving people a voice by using victim impact statements in serious workplace prosecutions.
The legislation will also strengthen the way occupational diseases caused by viral pathogens contracted on the job are handled.
Harry Bains, Minister of Labour says, “For too many years, we have heard from injured workers in B.C. that the system lacks fairness and doesn’t work for them or support them through their injuries. Today’s 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’s confidence in the system.”
The amendments are informed by three expert reviews completed during 2018 and 2019 by Lisa Jean Helps, Paul Petrie and Terry Bogyo.
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