VDLC Education Workshop - The New Provisions on Duty to Accommodate in the Workers' Compensation Act / Bill 41 - April 25

VDLC Education Workshop - The New Provisions on Duty to Accommodate in the Workers' Compensation Act / Bill 41

Thursday April 25 from 1:00pm to 4:00pmFacilitators: Sarah O'Leary and Janet PattersonVia Zoom

Did you know..........In November 2022, Bill 41 introduced two new Duties into the Workers’ Compensation Act - a Duty to Co-operate for both workers and employers, and the Duty to Maintain Employment (of injured workers) for employers. Both Duties came into force on January 1st, 2024.

There is now new policy and a detailed Practice Directive about both new Duties, but there are still a lot of questions, including how these Duties overlap with Collective Agreements and with the human rights/collective agreement duty to accommodate.

This course will cover the content of both new Duties and address some key questions::

· What do workers need to know about first steps after an injury?

· How will WCB officers investigate suitable duties and what evidence is needed?

· How are injured workers going to deal with employers who are demanding they come back to work to inappropriate jobs?

· How will the dispute be resolved if a worker says they can do certain modified job duties and the employer disagrees?

· Is the WCB obligated to involve the union in this process? What is the union’s role in both Duties?

We are all just learning how WorkSafeBC officers are going to deal with these situations. It’s crucial that unions be on top of this process in order to prevent their members from being ill-treated by employers and the Board with the threat of termination of benefits hanging over them.

Demand has been high for this workshop so we have made more space available! You can register on our Education page HERE or our Events page HERE.

You can also find out more information on all courses being offered this Spring at our Education page on the VDLC Website.