Law
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (the Act) provides:
s.118(1)
The WSIB has exclusive jurisdiction to examine, hear and decide all matters and questions arising under this Act, except where this Act provides otherwise.
s.126(1)
If there is an applicable WSIB policy with respect to an appeal, the Appeal Tribunal shall apply it when making its decision.
s.131(1)
The WSIB shall determine its own practice and procedure in relation to applications, proceedings and mediation. With the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the WSIB may make rules governing its practice and procedure.
Guidelines
Jurisdiction
The WSIB has full and exclusive jurisdiction to determine
- how the Act should be interpreted, including whether an injury, disease, or death is work-related
- whether benefits are payable
- whether an industry falls within the scope of the Act
- the amount of premiums to be paid by employers
- whether a worker is co-operating in reaching his or her maximum medical recovery
- whether workplace parties (worker and employer) comply with their duty to
co-operate in the worker's early and safe return to suitable and available work - whether an employer has fulfilled his or her obligation to re-employ a worker, and
- whether to provide a worker with a labour market re-entry (LMR) assessment plan.
The WSIB has the power to determine its own policies, practices and procedures. It is not bound by legal precedent, legal rules of evidence, or the Statutory Powers Procedures Act. It must make its decisions based on the merits and justice of a case. (See 11-01-03, Merits and Justice.)
A policy for the purpose of s.126, is any information contained in the Operational Policy Manual (OPM) or Employer Classification Manual (ECM), and if approved after July 1, 2001, it must be minuted.
The decisions of the WSIB are final, and there is no recourse to the courts for matters which are covered by the Act. However, the WSIB also has the power to reconsider and change any of Its decisions at any time it considers it appropriate to do so. See 11-01-14, Reconsiderations of Decisions.
Decisions may be appealed to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT) after the WSIB's internal appeal mechanisms have been exhausted. WSIAT must apply the WSIB's policies to their decision-making. There is no further appeal of WSIAT decisions to the courts.
Application date
This policy applies to all decisions made on or after December 1, 2001, for all accidents.
Document history
This policy replaces 11-01-12 dated December 14, 2001.
This document was previously published as:
01-01-04 dated June 1989.
References
Legislative authority
Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, as amended
Sections 118(1), (2), 131(1), (3)
Workers' Compensation Act, R.S.O. 1990, as amended
Sections 69(1), (2), 72(1)
Minute
Administrative
#7, June 30, 2004, Page 386