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David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
#nbpoli#cdnpoli
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/worksafenb-claims-auditor-general-report-1.4981326
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WorkSafeNB says it accepts all the auditor general's recommendations to improve its injured worker claims management. (CBC)
WorkSafeNB says it accepts all of the auditor general's recommendations to improve deficiencies in the Crown corporation's handling of injured worker claims.
Kim MacPherson's report, which focused on claim management, found the process lacks a return-to-work focus, creates unnecessary delays, needs new claim management software and suffers from a general lack of communication.
Those deficiencies are preventing injured workers from returning to work sooner, she said.
"What we found is that generally the policies and the practices within WorkSafe are in line with other workers' compensation organizations across the country," MacPherson told reporters Wednesday.
"But when it comes to managing injured worker claims, there is a lot WorkSafe can do to reduce the time the injured worker is off by ingraining in their processes this focus on return to work."
That focus will reduce the duration and cost of the claim, she said.
WorkSafeNB said in a statement Wednesday the recommendations are an "opportunity to improve the medical treatment and return to work outcomes."
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WorksafeNB CEO Doug Jones said the recommendations will help the organization better service clients. (Ed Hunter/CBC)"[The recommendations] fully align to the objectives of our business transformation that is currently underway to significantly improve process efficiencies and outcomes for injured workers and employers," the statement said.
Doug Jones, president and CEO of WorkSafeNB, thanked MacPherson in a tweet.
"The recommendations will help us be a better organization and provide the highest level of service to our clients," he said.
Daniel Theriault, chair of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Tribunal, agreed with MacPherson's statement that the recommendations will be "mutually beneficial" to injured workers and employers.
"Anytime you can speed up the process and try to get the injured worker back to work, it's good for the injured worker and it's certainly good for the employer," he said.
"[WorkSafeNB] should consider these complex cases going to the rehab centre earlier in their treatment plan, rather than waiting until after they've exhausted every other opportunity," she said.
The report, released Wednesday, is the second of two from the auditor general's office on WorkSafeNB in the past seven months. In June, MacPherson found the corporation is plagued by poor governance and lack of oversight.
The cost of claims has also skyrocketed in recent years. The figure soared more than $300 million since 2013, reaching $486 million in 2017, the report stated.
And New Brunswick employers are feeling the brunt in the premiums they pay. Starting Jan.1, they are paying $2.65 for every $100 of payroll — almost double what they were paying two years earlier.
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Auditor General Kim MacPherson made 29 recommendations to improve WorkSafeNB's claim management process. (CBC)Most, including MacPherson in her report, point to the Workers' Compensation Appeals Tribunal, a quasi-judicial tribunal that's independent of WorkSafeNB, as the reason for the ballooning costs.
Critics say the scope of its powers were too broad and that led to a high number of decisions being overturned.
MacPherson's report recommended amending legislation so that appeals go the issues resolution office before the tribunal.
Theriault, the tribunal chair, said it makes sense to consider the appeal internally before sending it to the independent body.
In an effort to tackle rising premiums, the Higgs government passed legislation in December ending the tribunal's power to overrule WorkSafeNB policies when hearing claim cases.
Theriault, the tribunal chair, said he was consulted on the auditor general's first WorkSafeNB report, but not the second one. If he had been, Theriault said he would have clarified some of MacPherson's findings.
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Daniel Theriault is the chair of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Tribunal. (CBC)"I'm assuming she received her information mainly from WorkSafe ... and didn't challenge it," he said.
For instance, the report stated WorkSafeNB, due to WCAT decisions, continues to pay benefits for non-compensable injuries — something that's inconsistent with the rest of Canada.
Theriault said the tribunal is only following case law that dates back two decades.
The new legislation has changed that, he said, and WorkSafeNB will be introducing new policies.
![David R. Amos]()
David R. Amos
Methinks the time has come to talk of many things so said the Walrus N'esy Pas?
and Chucky said
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/worksafe-premiums-new-brunswick-premiums-1.4923562
The new Progressive Conservative government introduced legislation Tuesday that could see rates start to come down by the end of January, after three years of increases in the premiums paid by employers.
Charles Murray, who as ombud has had a longtime interest in workplace fairness in New Brunswick, said those increases were needed because WorkSafeNB ran irresponsible deficits, giving employers hundreds of millions of dollars in premium rebates and setting unrealistically low rates.
"I'd say WorkSafe has become a cautionary tale about what happens when an agency of government runs irresponsible deficits year after year and then is suddenly forced to face the reality of those decisions," he told Information Morning Fredericton on Wednesday.
Murray said that in the past 20 years there has been a "very stable system in the province, where rates hovered around $2."
But in recent years, he said, "huge" rebates on premiums were given to employers, and the fund for compensating injured workers was "drained of literally hundreds of millions of dollars."
"We took the fund from 140 per cent protection to 110 per cent protection in just a couple of years and surprise, surprise now the piper has to be paid. ... Now the money has to go back into the system."
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Daniel Rawlins
![David R. Amos]()
![Daniel Rawlins]()
![Rosco holt]()
![David R. Amos]()
David R. Amos
![Harold Benson]()
Harold Benson
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![Emilien Forest]()
Emilien Forest
![David R. Amos]()
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/worksafe-nb-premiums-1.4944325
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Labour Minister Trevor Holder thanked all parties in the house for quick passage of the bill, which made the lesser premium increase possible. (CBC)
![David Amos]()
David Amos
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/worksafe-premiums-new-brunswick-premiums-1.4923562
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Employers say premiums to WorkSafeNB are costing their businesses too much money. (Dan McGarvey/CBC)
David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Methinks the Auditor General would be the first to agree that everything is political and its always about the money N'esy Pas?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/worksafenb-claims-auditor-general-report-1.4981326
WorkSafeNB claims process preventing injured workers from returning sooner: AG report
WorkSafeNB needs focus on return-to-work outcomes, says report
WorkSafeNB says it accepts all of the auditor general's recommendations to improve deficiencies in the Crown corporation's handling of injured worker claims.
Kim MacPherson's report, which focused on claim management, found the process lacks a return-to-work focus, creates unnecessary delays, needs new claim management software and suffers from a general lack of communication.
Those deficiencies are preventing injured workers from returning to work sooner, she said.
"What we found is that generally the policies and the practices within WorkSafe are in line with other workers' compensation organizations across the country," MacPherson told reporters Wednesday.
"But when it comes to managing injured worker claims, there is a lot WorkSafe can do to reduce the time the injured worker is off by ingraining in their processes this focus on return to work."
WorkSafeNB said in a statement Wednesday the recommendations are an "opportunity to improve the medical treatment and return to work outcomes."
Doug Jones, president and CEO of WorkSafeNB, thanked MacPherson in a tweet.
I’d like to thank Kim MacPherson, Auditor General, for her work on both phases of WorkSafeNB’s audit. The recommendations will help us be a better organization and provide the highest level of service to our clients. #nbpoli
"The recommendations will help us be a better organization and provide the highest level of service to our clients," he said.
Daniel Theriault, chair of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Tribunal, agreed with MacPherson's statement that the recommendations will be "mutually beneficial" to injured workers and employers.
"Anytime you can speed up the process and try to get the injured worker back to work, it's good for the injured worker and it's certainly good for the employer," he said.
29 recommendations
The report outlined 29 recommendations to be implemented before the end of 2021. They include:- Automate the claim management software to improve efficiency and tracking;
- Develop detailed case plans with return-to-work goals, proposed treatments, forecast recovery date;
- Have case managers speak with injured workers about their abilities and limitations in forming the return-to-work plan;
- Follow up with injured workers and health care providers about treatment and closely monitor claims;
- Train case managers to better understand specific types of injuries and refer those claims to them;
- Develop key performance indicators and targets for internal processes;
- Promote early referrals to the Workers' Rehabilitation Centre.
"[WorkSafeNB] should consider these complex cases going to the rehab centre earlier in their treatment plan, rather than waiting until after they've exhausted every other opportunity," she said.
Skyrocketing claims
The report, released Wednesday, is the second of two from the auditor general's office on WorkSafeNB in the past seven months. In June, MacPherson found the corporation is plagued by poor governance and lack of oversight.
The cost of claims has also skyrocketed in recent years. The figure soared more than $300 million since 2013, reaching $486 million in 2017, the report stated.
And New Brunswick employers are feeling the brunt in the premiums they pay. Starting Jan.1, they are paying $2.65 for every $100 of payroll — almost double what they were paying two years earlier.
Critics say the scope of its powers were too broad and that led to a high number of decisions being overturned.
MacPherson's report recommended amending legislation so that appeals go the issues resolution office before the tribunal.
Theriault, the tribunal chair, said it makes sense to consider the appeal internally before sending it to the independent body.
New legislation
In an effort to tackle rising premiums, the Higgs government passed legislation in December ending the tribunal's power to overrule WorkSafeNB policies when hearing claim cases.
For instance, the report stated WorkSafeNB, due to WCAT decisions, continues to pay benefits for non-compensable injuries — something that's inconsistent with the rest of Canada.
Theriault said the tribunal is only following case law that dates back two decades.
The new legislation has changed that, he said, and WorkSafeNB will be introducing new policies.
Comments
David R. Amos
Methinks the time has come to talk of many things so said the Walrus N'esy Pas?
and Chucky said
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/worksafe-premiums-new-brunswick-premiums-1.4923562
The new Progressive Conservative government introduced legislation Tuesday that could see rates start to come down by the end of January, after three years of increases in the premiums paid by employers.
Charles Murray, who as ombud has had a longtime interest in workplace fairness in New Brunswick, said those increases were needed because WorkSafeNB ran irresponsible deficits, giving employers hundreds of millions of dollars in premium rebates and setting unrealistically low rates.
"I'd say WorkSafe has become a cautionary tale about what happens when an agency of government runs irresponsible deficits year after year and then is suddenly forced to face the reality of those decisions," he told Information Morning Fredericton on Wednesday.
Murray said that in the past 20 years there has been a "very stable system in the province, where rates hovered around $2."
But in recent years, he said, "huge" rebates on premiums were given to employers, and the fund for compensating injured workers was "drained of literally hundreds of millions of dollars."
"We took the fund from 140 per cent protection to 110 per cent protection in just a couple of years and surprise, surprise now the piper has to be paid. ... Now the money has to go back into the system."
Daniel Rawlins
David R. Amos
@Daniel Rawlins Methinks they also have a mandate to hang on to the money that is meant to compensate the workers for their injuries N'esy Pas?
Daniel Rawlins
@David R. Amos
Which is something they seem to do poorly. Workers ... and lawyers would be better off if workers compensation boards were dissolved and employers had to provide their own employee injury, disability and death insurance through a private insurer.
Which is something they seem to do poorly. Workers ... and lawyers would be better off if workers compensation boards were dissolved and employers had to provide their own employee injury, disability and death insurance through a private insurer.
Rosco holt
@Daniel Rawlins
There's businesses that insures their employees in case of death, but it's the business cashes the benefits.
There's businesses that insures their employees in case of death, but it's the business cashes the benefits.
@Daniel Rawlins I agree
Harold Benson
Should just about balance out with the employer hounding you to get back when you aren't ready.
Daniel Rawlins
@Harold Benson
I hear you, I find it interesting that employers are concerned with higher rates,$2.65 for every $100 of payroll seems quite high but instead of crying about the cost employers should be driving Safe Work Practices and putting their focus on providing safe workplaces for their employees. Employers fail to see Workplace Safety as a cost saving mechanism. Injured workers cost employers production, delays, and often damage costs for repairs, modifications to workplaces, job-site shutdowns and even Department of Labour code violation charges.
We work 'AT OUR JOBS', but we don't work for our employer (unless your self employed) we work for ourselves, so we must do everything we can to go home in one piece at the end of every day.
I hear you, I find it interesting that employers are concerned with higher rates,$2.65 for every $100 of payroll seems quite high but instead of crying about the cost employers should be driving Safe Work Practices and putting their focus on providing safe workplaces for their employees. Employers fail to see Workplace Safety as a cost saving mechanism. Injured workers cost employers production, delays, and often damage costs for repairs, modifications to workplaces, job-site shutdowns and even Department of Labour code violation charges.
We work 'AT OUR JOBS', but we don't work for our employer (unless your self employed) we work for ourselves, so we must do everything we can to go home in one piece at the end of every day.
David R. Amos
@Daniel Rawlins "Employers fail to see Workplace Safety as a cost saving mechanism."
Methinks the Auditor General would be the first to agree that everything is political and its always about the money N'esy Pas?
Methinks the Auditor General would be the first to agree that everything is political and its always about the money N'esy Pas?
Emilien Forest
With the salary Jones et al are getting, one would think he, (they) would be able to come up with a few ideas on their own. Appointments like this are the issue to New Brunswick's financial woes, Liberal or Conservative, everyone of them costs us a lot of money.
David R. Amos
@Emilien Forest Oh So True
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/worksafe-nb-premiums-1.4944325
Employers to pay smaller WorkSafe premium increase than expected
Province promises other changes in law governing WorkSafeNB
New Brunswick employers will be getting a small break on the premiums they pay to WorkSafeNB New Brunswick in 2019.
Labour Minister Trevor Holder said in the legislature Thursday that the rate on Jan. 1 will increase to $2.65 on every $100 of payroll, not the higher $2.92 announced by WorkSafe earlier this fall.
"We suspect that future rates will continue to be more predictable for employers," Holder said.
The premium was $1.11 in 2016, $1.48 in 2017 and $1.70 this year.
The reduction is the result of passage of a bill earlier this week that changes the law governing the Crown corporation. Lt.-Gov. Jocelyne Roy Vienneau gave royal assent to the legislation Wednesday.
Holder thanked all parties in the house for quick passage of the bill, which was introduced Nov. 27.
Employers pay premiums to WorkSafe to cover the Crown corporation's operations, including benefits to workers injured on the job.
With the original 2019 increase, WorkSafe estimated the 7,000 smallest employers in the province would be forking over an additional $700 each.
The legislation ended the Workers Compensation Appeal Tribunal's power to overrule WorkSafe policies when hearing claim cases. That power was created by legislation passed in 2014 by the previous Progressive Conservative government.
An independent task force made up of employers and workers concluded earlier this year that the new powers for the tribunal, and its rewriting of WorkSafe policies, drove up the costs of benefits, forcing the board to raise premiums.
The legislation passed this week implemented only some of the task force's recommendations. Holder said Thursday the government would work with WorkSafe to put the others in effect.
CBC's Journalistic Standards and PracticesLabour Minister Trevor Holder said in the legislature Thursday that the rate on Jan. 1 will increase to $2.65 on every $100 of payroll, not the higher $2.92 announced by WorkSafe earlier this fall.
"We suspect that future rates will continue to be more predictable for employers," Holder said.
The premium was $1.11 in 2016, $1.48 in 2017 and $1.70 this year.
The reduction is the result of passage of a bill earlier this week that changes the law governing the Crown corporation. Lt.-Gov. Jocelyne Roy Vienneau gave royal assent to the legislation Wednesday.
Holder thanked all parties in the house for quick passage of the bill, which was introduced Nov. 27.
Employers pay premiums to WorkSafe to cover the Crown corporation's operations, including benefits to workers injured on the job.
With the original 2019 increase, WorkSafe estimated the 7,000 smallest employers in the province would be forking over an additional $700 each.
The legislation ended the Workers Compensation Appeal Tribunal's power to overrule WorkSafe policies when hearing claim cases. That power was created by legislation passed in 2014 by the previous Progressive Conservative government.
An independent task force made up of employers and workers concluded earlier this year that the new powers for the tribunal, and its rewriting of WorkSafe policies, drove up the costs of benefits, forcing the board to raise premiums.
The legislation passed this week implemented only some of the task force's recommendations. Holder said Thursday the government would work with WorkSafe to put the others in effect.
Comments
David Amos
Methinks the Irving Clan won't be satisfied with the reduction N'esy Pas?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/worksafe-premiums-new-brunswick-premiums-1.4923562
Injured workers will pay price for lower WorkSafeNB premiums, ombud says
The PC government introduced legislation Tuesday which aims to reduce premiums
New Brunswick's ombud says injured employees will pay the price if WorkSafeNB premiums are lowered.
The new Progressive Conservative government introduced legislation Tuesday that could see rates start to come down by the end of January, after three years of increases in the premiums paid by employers.
Charles Murray, who as ombud has had a longtime interest in workplace fairness in New Brunswick, said those increases were needed because WorkSafeNB ran irresponsible deficits, giving employers hundreds of millions of dollars in premium rebates and setting unrealistically low rates.
Murray said that in the past 20 years there has been a "very stable system in the province, where rates hovered around $2."
"We took the fund from 140 per cent protection to 110 per cent protection in just a couple of years and surprise, surprise now the piper has to be paid. ... Now the money has to go back into the system."
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Ombud Charles Murray warns that any reduction in the rates will mean less protection for workers and higher costs elsewhere in the government. (CBC)Murray said trying to maintain fairness will be "extremely difficult" because of pressure on the government to lower the premiums, and a weak counter-voice from injured workers.
Starting Jan.1, employers will pay an average of $2.92 for every $100 of payroll — a figure that's almost double what they were paying just two years earlier.
But if the PC bill passes quickly, there's a narrow legislative window that would allow WorkSafeNB to partially roll back the increase before Jan. 31.
Murray warned that any reduction in the rates will mean less protection for injured workers and a shift in costs to other taxpayer-funded programs, such as New Brunswick's health-care system.
"New Brunswickers have to recognize there's no such thing as a free lunch," he said.
"You can't decrease premiums, decrease the money going into the WorkSafe system without decreasing benefits if you're going to seek some sort of balance."
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Krista Ross, CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, says she wants the system to be fair to workers but also affordable. (CBC News)WorkSafeNB has said that as a result of decisions by the Workers Compensation Appeal Tribunal's over the last four years, the cost of future benefit payouts is projected at $800 million, a cost that premiums must cover.
The premium was $1.11 in 2016, $1.48 in 2017 and $1.70 this year.
"We — over the past few years — have literally drained the fund of hundreds of millions of dollars rebating that to employers and now our rates are going back to where they need to be to maintain protection," Murray said.
Krista Ross, CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, said there's been no suggestion of taking away benefits from workers and injured workers will be protected.
Ross said she wants the system that protects workers to be fair but also affordable.
"We couldn't agree more that it needs to be fair but it needs to be fair to both sides," she said.
"The best way to protect employees is to have a system that's sustainable. Businesses have to be able to afford it."
Ross is pleased with the move to lower the rates employers pay for workers' compensation and said there's widespread support for the change.
"What we were seeing was a potential projection of huge increase year over year and with these changes that hopefully won't be taking place."
The new Progressive Conservative government introduced legislation Tuesday that could see rates start to come down by the end of January, after three years of increases in the premiums paid by employers.
Charles Murray, who as ombud has had a longtime interest in workplace fairness in New Brunswick, said those increases were needed because WorkSafeNB ran irresponsible deficits, giving employers hundreds of millions of dollars in premium rebates and setting unrealistically low rates.
- New legislation on the way to curb soaring WorksafeNB premiums
- WorkSafeNB premiums continue to soar to cover 'ever-increasing costs'
- Proposed WorkSafeNB rates could reach highest in Canada
Murray said that in the past 20 years there has been a "very stable system in the province, where rates hovered around $2."
New Brunswickers have to recognize there's no such thing as a free lunch.-Charles Murray, ombudBut in recent years, he said, "huge" rebates on premiums were given to employers, and the fund for compensating injured workers was "drained of literally hundreds of millions of dollars."
"We took the fund from 140 per cent protection to 110 per cent protection in just a couple of years and surprise, surprise now the piper has to be paid. ... Now the money has to go back into the system."
Starting Jan.1, employers will pay an average of $2.92 for every $100 of payroll — a figure that's almost double what they were paying just two years earlier.
But if the PC bill passes quickly, there's a narrow legislative window that would allow WorkSafeNB to partially roll back the increase before Jan. 31.
Less protection for workers
Murray warned that any reduction in the rates will mean less protection for injured workers and a shift in costs to other taxpayer-funded programs, such as New Brunswick's health-care system.
"New Brunswickers have to recognize there's no such thing as a free lunch," he said.
"You can't decrease premiums, decrease the money going into the WorkSafe system without decreasing benefits if you're going to seek some sort of balance."
The premium was $1.11 in 2016, $1.48 in 2017 and $1.70 this year.
"We — over the past few years — have literally drained the fund of hundreds of millions of dollars rebating that to employers and now our rates are going back to where they need to be to maintain protection," Murray said.
A system that's sustainable
Krista Ross, CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, said there's been no suggestion of taking away benefits from workers and injured workers will be protected.
Ross said she wants the system that protects workers to be fair but also affordable.
"We couldn't agree more that it needs to be fair but it needs to be fair to both sides," she said.
"The best way to protect employees is to have a system that's sustainable. Businesses have to be able to afford it."
Ross is pleased with the move to lower the rates employers pay for workers' compensation and said there's widespread support for the change.
"What we were seeing was a potential projection of huge increase year over year and with these changes that hopefully won't be taking place."
With files from Information Morning Fredericton, Jacques Poitras
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
Giving the consideration of appeals to Worksafe for approval or denial is an illustration of justice for workers denied and the only alternative (civil litigation) for workers has been denied them by government decree.