Worked to the bone: Ageism in the Workers' Compensation System

UFCW Locals 175 & 633 represents workers in almost all sectors and has witnessed the rise in the number of people working beyond traditional retirement years. While some continue to work for the joy of it and to be around other people, too often those older workers are forced to keep a job because of the high cost of living, little to no savings, and an eroded social support system.

As those workers rely on their own income generation to survive despite their advanced age, our government and legislation fail to address or keep up with changing demographics and the underlying causes.

A good example of this is the Workplace Safety & Insurance Act (WSIA), which was established in 1915. Life expectancy then was nowhere near what it is now. Yet there remains a section in the WSIA which ends access to Loss of Earnings (LOE) benefits from a workplace injury at the age of 65, or, if you are 63 years or older at the time of injury, LOE will end after two years.

In other words, the legislation treats two groups of workers differently solely based on their age. These laws also ignore the existing disadvantages and biases facing older workers.

In 2023, the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) passed a resolution committing to lobby the provincial government to amend the WSIA to provide full compensation benefits to all injured workers, including those over 63 years old. As an OFL member, your Union remains committed to this action so we can provide the best support for all of our members.

In June 2024, the Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic wrote an article in the Hamilton Spectator highlighting the discriminatory practice of using a worker’s age against them when determining a worker's eligibility for compensation benefits. Read the article: bit.ly/thespec-June24-2024

We must protect the dignity of all workers. Regardless of why someone chooses to work at an older age, they should be entitled to full workers’ compensation benefits when injuries arise out of and in the course of their employment.

From 2012 to 2023, lost time claims for workers aged 60 to 64 increased by 73.9%, and for workers 65 or older by 165.8%.1