Canadian Safety Reporter - sample

7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 News | November 2018 | CSR earnings benefits, which stated "if the nature or seriousness of the injury completely prevents a worker from returning to any type of work, the worker is en- titled to full loss of earnings ben- efits, providing the worker co- operates in health care measures as recommended by the attend- ing health care practitioner and approved by the WSIB." The tribunal found that the term "competitively unem- ployable" wasn't defined in the province's workers' compensa- tion legislation or any WSIB policy documents, so the issue was whether the worker was "unable to earn any income in suitable employment due to the compensable condition." How- ever, it noted that it had found in a 2008 decision that "a worker may be competitively unem- ployable if he or she has no real prospect of being able to obtain or maintain employment in the labour market." The tribunal also found that the worker spent his entire working life in a mill, primarily as a pipefitter, and had no expe- rience in a retail setting or deal- ing with the public. As a result, his transferable skills regarding a retail sales position were "non- existent" and his age further limited his "competitiveness in a relatively competitive field." In addition, the worker was un- able to stand, sit, or walk for an extended period of time, so an occupation that required those abilities would be unsuitable, said the tribunal. The tribunal pointed out that the WSIB and labour market re-entry provider determined in 2008 that there was no SEB the fit the worker's limitations and that he was entitled to full loss of earnings benefits until age 65. When the WSIB decided in 2010 that the worker now had an SEB, there had been no material changes in the worker's circum- stances or significant improve- ments other than less numbness in the worker's hands after his carpal tunnel surgery. In addi- tion, the worker had been out of the workforce for four years and had already accepted that he would be unable to work again. The tribunal determined that the labour market re-entry as- sessment in 2008, the worker's medical limitations, his age, and lack of transferable skills made him unable to earn income from employment. It overturned the WSIB and appeals resolution of- ficer decisions that the worker had an SEB of retail clerk and re- instated loss of earnings benefits to age 65. "It also appears unjust of the (WSIB) to suddenly determine that a worker who has previously been found to be unemployable has suddenly become employ- able despite no medical evidence of significance indicating that his physical condition had im- proved in the intervening time," said the tribunal. "A worker who has been arranging their life to suit a physical impairment, a loss of occupation, and ongoing benefits cannot reasonably be expected to suddenly return to the workforce absent sufficient reasons such as an improvement in their condition." For more information see: • Decision No. 2493/18, 2018 CarswellOnt 14868 (Ont. Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Trib.). No material change in worker's condition after surgery Worker deemed < pg. 3 e worker's transferable skills for a retail sales position were 'non-existent' and his age further limited his competitiveness. Every month Canadian HR Reporter hits the desks of HR management decision-makers across Canada. Human resources professionals, more than ever, are under pressure to drive performance, increase productivity and streamline processes. By providing real-world solutions to perplexing HR situations, Canadian HR Reporter gives you the tools and information to make more calculated decisions. You'll get well-researched advice on the latest trends and insights, including key metrics, to help make the business case for investing in HR. To order your subscription call 1.800.387.5164 | 416.609.3800 www.hrreporter.com/subscribe PM40065782 RO9496 September 5, 2016 INSIDE FIGHTING FRAUD Insurance fraud prevention requires a joint approach between plan sponsors and insurers CCHRA partners up Agreements with SHRM, CERC formalize relationships page 2 Pink hair Starbucks' relaxed dress code part of growing trend page 3 Mental health More integrated approach needed to help people page 13 page 15 ENFORCEMENT > pg. 8 Pokemon GO presents challenges for employers But risks can be managed eff ectively: Experts BY LIZ BERNIER POKEMON GO, the mobile game that's sweeping smartphones of the nation, has seen a meteoric rise in popularity. And just as the game has blurred boundaries be- tween public and private space, it has also blurred boundaries be- tween work and play. Many employees are taking the mobile game — among oth- ers — to work with them, and that has the potential to create issues for employers, according to Erin Kuzz, founding member of law fi rm Sherrard Kuzz in Toronto. Chief among the risks are safety and security concerns, and pro- ductivity challenges, he said. "When I turn my mind to the workplace issues that are raised by Pokemon Go and some of these related apps and games, two things are particularly glaring," said Kuzz. "Number one is the security is- sues where people are download- ing any kind of app or external game onto their phone, and that could be a phone that is used for work purposes — whether it's an employer-owned device or a BYOD (bring-your-own device) that's been approved for use in the workplace — it creates security issues." With Pokemon Go, there are counterfeit or non-genuine ver- sions that have been found to con- tain malware, she said. "When you have employees po- tentially exposing the employer's system to malware… it's an issue," she said. "Employers have to think about how they want to tackle this very quickly. "My advice would be to prohibit use of anything like that on a work device — because you just can't control what happens if someone downloads malware." Many of the risks are around cyber security, said Leah Fochuk, consulting services manager at HR consulting fi rm Salopek & Associ- ates in Calgary. "Because you sign up through Google, the app is really capturing a lot of sensitive data," she said. Companies that use BYOD of- ten deal in sensitive or confi dential information and defi nitely need to be aware of those risks. "Even when you're downloading it, if people are downloading the app not from offi cial vendors, the risk of introducing malware could potentially aff ect your entire net- work," said Fochuk. "On the IT side, there are some pretty big risks that would need to be managed." Also, there are potential safety hazards when it comes to distrac- tion or trespassing. "Players are practising distract- ed walking: eir heads are down, they're not necessarily seeing where they're going," said Fochuk. "As a company, you would hate to have something happen on your Ontario looking to make changes to labour laws Card-based certifi cation, precarious work, better enforcement among concerns BY JOHN DUJAY IN a massive undertaking, the On- tario government is looking to up- date not one but two labour laws with its Changing Workplaces Review. First proposed in 2015, the re- view would see the province's 1995 Labour Relations Act and 2000 Em- ployment Standards Act updated. "It's important our laws refl ect the realities of the modern econ- omy, and that's why we're consult- ing with people in communities across the province and reviewing our legislation," said Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn. Led by lawyer Michael Mitchell and former justice of the Ontario Superior Court John Murray, the review received more than 300 written submissions and met with various labour and employer groups. e co-chairs released an interim report in July. e 312-page report touches on a variety of issues relevant to em- ployers and labour groups. e Ontario Federation of La- bour (OFL) has been waiting quite some time for the changes, said OFL president Chris Buckley. "It's a springboard for a once-in- a-generation opportunity to bring sweeping changes to Ontario's employment laws and to make it fair for every worker across the province." If the exercise was to poke at as many of the issues as possible, it's achieved that goal, said labour and employment lawyer Craig Rix at Hicks Morley in Toronto. "What I see mostly in the re- port is a longstanding list of like- to-have proposals that have largely come from organized labour." Slap on the wrist for TTC's social media account Greater care needed: Arbitrator BY SARAH DOBSON THE Toronto Transit Commis- sion (TTC) found itself in hot water recently when an arbitrator ruled one of its Twitter accounts contributed to the harassment of employees and needed to be changed — but not shut down. In his decision, arbitrator Rob- ert Howe said social media sites operated by the TTC could be considered to constitute part of the workplace. And a number of the tweets on @TTChelps consti- tute harassment. "It is clear from the totality of the evidence that the TTC has failed to take all reasonable and practical measures to protect bar- gaining unit employees from that type of harassment by members of FIXED > pg. 6 INAPPROPRIATE > pg. 10 Pavlo Farmakidis (left), recruitment co-ordinator at Woodbine Entertainment Group in Toronto, and Mark Diker, senior manager of recruitment and talent planning, ran a job fair using Pokemon Go that attracted about 500 candidates. See page 18. Subscribe Today! CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-387-5164 ONLINE AT www.employmentlawtoday.com/subscribe Emplo y ment Law Today Canad a ian www.employmentlawtoday.com Subscribe today for only $175 Order No. 20610-18 YOUR PROFESSION. YOUR NEWS. YOUR ADVANTAGE.

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