The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced today that amendments to the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Act will be introduced in the House of Assembly during the upcoming session, enhancing benefits available to injured workers and their families. If the amendments are passed, the income replacement rate (IRR) for injured workers in Newfoundland and Labrador, or their dependents, will increase from 80 to 85 per cent. The IRR is the percentage of a worker’s pre-injury net income that is covered by the workers’ compensation system.
Wage-loss benefits will be calculated at 85 per cent of an individual’s net (after tax) earnings. The individual’s gross (before tax) income is capped at the Maximum Compensable Assessable Earnings (MCAE), which is $64,375 for 2018. Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest MCAE in Atlantic Canada. The higher IRR will help improve benefits to injured workers and dependent spouses, without increasing the average assessment rate charged to employers.
Serving approximately 13,000 injured workers and 19,000 employers, WorkplaceNL administers an employer-funded, no fault insurance system that promotes safe and healthy workplaces, provides return-to-work programs and offers fair compensation to injured workers and their dependents.
In keeping with the focus on safe and healthy workplaces, Advancing a Strong Safety Culture in Newfoundland and Labrador, is also being launched by the Provincial Government and Workplace NL. The five-year workplace injury prevention strategy was developed in consultation with injury prevention partners and stakeholders, and represents an opportunity for everyone to help protect workers from hazards in the workplace.
The strategy can be found online at: www.workplacenl.ca/download.aspx?ID=61103199-f420-4425-bd94-cedbd68fa882
Quotes
“Workplace injuries greatly impact many individuals and families throughout our province. As a government, making these improvements helps ensure the workplace injury compensation system is meeting the needs of clients. We must also ensure we maintain our continued focus on a culture of safety in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Honourable Sherry Gambin-Walsh
Minister of Service NL
“The workplace injury compensation system in our province is now able to provide an increase to benefits for injured workers in a period where the cost for employers has declined. We will continue to work collaboratively with safety associations, industry, workers, labour groups and employers to evolve our safety culture through focusing on the priorities in the new five-year prevention strategy, while maintaining a financially sustainable system.”
Dennis Hogan
CEO of WorkplaceNL
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Learn more
Lower Injury Costs Leads to Lower Workers’ Compensation Rates for Employers – workplacenl.ca/news.whscc?newsID=3e4f784a-32c6-4e1a-b13b-a6ca85d17a95
Occupational Health and Safety Act – assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/o03.htm
Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Act – assembly.nl.ca/Legislation/sr/statutes/w11.htm
Follow us on Twitter: @GovNL and @ServiceNL_
Media contacts
Gina MacArthur
Service NL
709-729-4748, 730-2977
GinaMacArthur@gov.nl.ca
Carla Riggs
Workplace NL
709-778-1590
carla.riggs@workplacenl.ca