Canadian Safety Reporter

9 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 News | April 2018 | CSR rity person in June 2013. He filed an objection to the denial of loss- of-earnings benefits following the completion of his LMR pro- gram, arguing that he was only capable of earning minimum wage and not $19 per hour. He also said he should have received full loss-of-earnings benefits for a period longer than the two months following his June 2012 surgery — to Sept. 18 of that year. The tribunal noted that the WSIB's policy document on de- termining suitable occupations stipulated that SEBs were "a cat- egory of jobs suited to a worker's transferable skills that are safe, consistent with the worker's functional abilities, and that to the extent possible, restores the worker's pre-injury earnings." The SEB must also be available with either the worker's injury employer or in the labour mar- ket. The labour market can be expanded if necessary to identify opportunities and present the possibility of relocation. The tribunal found that while the worker had limits on walk- ing and standing when he started his LMR, his foot became worse while he was participating in his LMR program and he had addi- tional surgery that further limit- ed him. This increased the work- er's physical restrictions to the point where he needed "a mostly sedentary job," the tribunal said. While the worker successfully completed his training and an unpaid work placement for a wa- ter and waste plant operator, the tribunal found that there wasn't a reasonable prospect for the worker to find such a position. This was because the market for the job was weak, the worker was unable to get even one interview even though he performed a "diligent job search" and did well in his training, and the LMR ser- vice providers were also unable to provide the worker with any leads. In addition, the job itself was specialized — only munici- palities operate water and waste treatment plants — and there were only so many municipali- ties, especially within a reason- able distance of his home. The only success at finding jobs came for the worker when he looked for those outside of his SEB, such as a security guard position. However, his physical restrictions came into play and he couldn't stay at the job. When he found work at a call centre, the worker found it didn't fit his abilities well. The tribunal determined the SEB that had been assessed to the worker was not available within the meaning of the WSIB policy document and the pro- vincial legislation, and therefore wasn't reasonable. His only suc- cessful job search was as a Com- missionaire. His hourly pay at the jobs he found — $10.75 at the call centre, $12 as a security guard, and $13.06 as a Commis- sionaire — were all under the $19 per hour that his SEB was estimated at, so the tribunal adjusted the worker's earning ability to the Commissionaire rate. As a result, the worker was entitled to loss-of-earnings ben- efits for the difference between $13.06 and his pre-injury rate. The tribunal also found that the worker didn't return to work after his final surgery until Nov. 2, 2012. Since he didn't have a job waiting for him after his surgery, his claim for full loss-of-earnings benefits post-surgery to Sept. 18, 2012, was reasonable. The WSIB was ordered to pay the worker full benefits from the date of his last surgery until Sept. 18, 2012, then partial loss- of-earnings benefits based on his ability to earn $13.06 per hour at 40 hours per week. For more information see: • Decision No. 3408/17, 2018 CarswellOnt 2591 (Ont. Workplace Safety & Appeals Trib.). Medical restrictions increased during LMR training Suitable accommodation < pg. 7 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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