Workers' Compensation What do WSIB appeals hearings look like now? As workplaces and offices shutdown earlier this year, organizations had to rethink and rework how they performed their day-today functions. To support efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB) and Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT) postponed all in-person hearings. During the last few months, both the Board and Tribunal have been using alternative hearing methods such as teleconference, videoconference, written submissions, alternative dispute resolution, and mediation, to prevent undue delays in resolving matters. The WSIB has made no announcements as to any changes to these altered procedures. Internally, however, the Workers’ Compensation Department has heard that the WSIB offers three options: • Postpone until in-person hearings are available (though Members should keep in mind that there are NO guarantees on when this will happen); • Teleconference; and, • Videoconference.
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By mid-August, on a limited basis, the WSIAT resumed some in-person hearings which falls in line with the Province’s Framework for Reopening. With the health and safety of their employees in mind, as well as hearing participants, the WSIAT is scheduling in-person hearings only for time-sensitive matters that are not suitable for the alternative methods. These in-person hearings will take place in the WSIAT Toronto location. As stated on the WSIAT website : Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the WSIAT’s operational decisions have been guided by the following values and commitments: 1. Protecting the health and safety of employees, OICs (Order In Council adjudicators) and stakeholders; 2. Ensuring access to justice; and 3. Delivering excellence in adjudication, which includes conducting fair hearings in accordance with the principles of natural justice and issuing well-reasoned decisions in an efficient manner.
Regardless of which method a worker chooses, a worker can make a request for accommodation related to their hearing at any point in the adjudicative process. Accommodation requests should be made as early as possible and should include as much specific information as available.
Moving Forward Your Workers’ Compensation Representative will continue to work on Members’ workplace injury appeals. They will discuss availability and how comfortable each injured Member is with the methods available for hearings. Your Workers’ Compensation Representative will gather and distribute all pre-hearing information so that each participant has the same documents that will be relied on at the hearing. On the next page, you'll find some things* that the WSIAT recommends to those having tele/videoconferencing hearings.
