Worker's Compensation and COVID-19 - KNOW YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND RIGHTS!

TO: ALL CENTRAL REGION LOCALS

Sisters and Brothers:

I thought it was important to share important information on your rights and responsibilities concerning workers’ compensation when dealing with COVID-19 exposures in the workplace.

If you or anyone you know believes they contracted COVID-19 at work it is essential that they file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).

If is it proven that a worker became infected at work, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) provides compensation such as wage-loss benefits, medical coverage and professional support to help people recover and get back to work.

CLAIMING WORKERS’ COMPENSATION FOR COVID-19:

If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and believe you may have contracted this illness in the course of your employment, you must take the following three steps to claim for compensation.

1) SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION

Go to a healthcare professional.  Make sure to inform the treating healthcare professional that you may have been exposed at work. The treating healthcare professional will complete a Health Professional’s Form (Form 8) which they will send immediately to the WSIB.

Discuss options for alternative work, modified work or use of appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), if applicable, with your healthcare professional.

Follow your healthcare professional’s advice.

2) REPORT TO YOUR EMPLOYER

Report to your employer if: 

• You needed medical attention (this includes being screened for COVID-19).
• You are not able to go to work (if you have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and have been advised by your healthcare professional to adhere to strict self-quarantine protocol or if you are hospitalized)
• You have some symptoms but are able to work from home while in quarantine.
• Your employer is required to complete an Employer’s Report of Injury/ Disease Form (FORM 7) which they must send to the WSIB within 3 days.

3) FILE A CLAIM WITH THE WSIB

You must report your illness to the WSIB by completing a Worker’s Report of Injury/Disease Form, known as a Form 6.

The Form 6 is available on the WSIB’s website. https://www.wsib.ca/sites/default/files/2019-02/0006a_fs_09_15.pdf

You can print the form and fax or mail it to the WSIB. Alternatively, you can call the WSIB and have one mailed to you.

The WSIB also provides an option to file your Form 6 online. https://eservices.wsib.on.ca/portal/server.pt/community/eform_6/209

You can get assistance from a union representative to help you complete the Form 6, file your claim and report to the employer.

WORKPLACE EXPOSURE TO CORONAVIRUS

If you believe that you may have been exposed to the coronavirus while performing your work duties, you should complete a WSIB Worker’s Exposure Incident Form (FORM 3958A).

When to complete this form: 

• Intended for voluntary use when an unplanned workplace incident exposure has occurred or is believed to have occurred .
• No diagnosis nor symptoms are required to complete this form.
• The purpose of this form is to obtain information about the exposure incident experienced by a worker should an illness or disease occur in the future.
• Instructions on where to send this form are indicated on the form.

Where to find this form:

The Worker’s Exposure Incident Form (FORM 3958A) is available on the WSIB’s website: https://www.wsib.ca/sites/default/files/documents/2018-12/3958a_07_16_fs.pdf

For more helpful information concerning your workers’ compensation rights, please visit the “Prevention Link” website at: https://www.preventionlink.ca/

Remember…there is NO DOWNSIDE to filing a workers’ compensation claim or reporting a workplace exposure.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Please stay safe…

In Solidarity

Peter Denley
Regional Education and Organization Officer-Central Region
Dirigeant régional de l’éducation et de l’organisation-Région du Centre