WSIB invites stakeholder input on appeals program improvements

Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is updating its appeals program to ensure timely, fair and transparent final resolutions of objections, as part of the agency's goal to continue to improve service delivery.
"To achieve this, we need to improve processes from initial front-line decisions to the final decisions of the WSIB’s Appeals Services Division," according to the WSIB's consultation paper for modernizing the appeals program.

The WSIB has released a consultation paper for stakeholders to review and comment.

The proposed improvements will mean:

Workers and employers who are ready and available to proceed with their objections can expect more timely responses;

WSIB's Appeals Services Division will resolve worker and employer objections faster, supporting better return-to-work and recovery outcomes;
   
WSIB front-line decision-makers will provide fuller explanations for their decisions; and,
   
Oral hearings will be retained for complex entitlement decisions.

The modernization changes are expected to be implemented by September 2012, according to the WSIB.

The consultation paper is available on the WSIB's website. Interested parties must submit their input in writing by July 13, 2012.