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Document name

Occupational Disease Reserve

Document number

POL 05/2014

Effective date: December 1, 2014

Application: All new injury claims on or after the effective date.

Policy subject: Employer accounts – Claims costs adjustments and cost relief

Purpose:

To establish guidelines for the Occupational Disease Reserve.

BACKGROUND

Under Section 20 of The Workers’ Compensation Act, 2013 (the “Act”), the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) will determine:
1. Whether a condition or death was a result of an injury, and
2. Whether an injury has arisen out of or in the course of employment.
Section 145 of the Act allows the WCB to create a fund to help meet the demands of any disaster or other circumstances that might unfairly burden employers. The Occupational Disease Reserve serves this purpose.

POLICY

The Occupational Disease Reserve covers the high costs for latent occupational diseases. The amount of the Occupational Disease Reserve is set under POL 14/2017, Funding.
There are latent occupational diseases that have a cause and effect link to work known at exposure. The WCB will charge all or a portion of the costs to the Occupational Disease Reserve when:
1. The disease results from exposure at work:
  1. With an employer who no longer reports to the WCB.
  2. With two or more employers, where one is reporting to the WCB, or
  3. In an industry under the Act, but there is no confirmation of the employer, or
2. The disease is partly caused by exposure at work under the Act and the work exposure was combined with:
  1. Exposure at work not covered by the Act.
  2. Exposure at work covered by other jurisdictions, or
  3. Non-work exposure.
There are latent occupational diseases that do not have a cause and effect link to work known at exposure. Rather, the link establishes from future scientific evidence. The WCB will charge all costs for these claims to the Occupational Disease Reserve.

Conditions

The WCB will charge costs to the Occupational Disease Reserve after considering:
1. Recoveries (for example, Third party recoveries), or
2. Relief under the Second Injury and Re-employment Reserve.

Experience Rating

When the WCB provides cost relief, an employer may request to have their previous years’ experience rating reviewed (POL 27/2016, Experience Rating Program – Discounts or Surcharges).