Deck 3: Workers Compensation

Question 1

What is the numeric basis on which workers' compensation rate group premiums are calculated and published?

A)dollars per $100 of insurable earnings
B)dollars per $1,000 of insurable earnings
C)dollars per 100 full-time employees
D)dollars per 1,000 full-time employees

Answer 1

dollars per $100 of insurable earnings

Question 2

According to collective liability, employers in a class or other rate group are liable for which of the following costs?

A)costs of net earnings
B)costs of both accidents and occupational diseases
C)costs of just accidents
D)costs of just occupational diseases

Answer 2

costs of both accidents and occupational diseases

Question 3

If you develop a lung disease because of working in a bakery, which is most likely to happen first?

A)rehabilitation
B)vocational counselling
C)compensation while you receive treatment
D)litigation or legal recourse

Answer 3

compensation while you receive treatment

Question 4

Which of the following countries had the greatest influence on the Canadian worker's compensation system?

A)Japan
B)Germany
C)England
D)France

Question 5

In general, after how many years of lower than annual injury costs might a Canadian employer receive a rebate on their annual assessment?

A)after two years
B)after three years
C)after four years
D)after five years

Question 6

You are required to estimate your company's WCB premiums. You must first identify which of the following?

A)your company's experience with WCB injury/illness claims
B)industry classification code (or SIC)
C)the previous year's average
D)changes to WCB legislation

Question 7

Helen worked in a fireworks factory for 25 years. After she took early retirement, her doctor told her that her long-standing health issues were due to lead poisoning from materials that are now banned. What factor will be given serious consideration in assessing her WCB claim?

A)how old and how sick she is
B)whether the employer told her of the risk
C)the latency period between exposure and illness
D)whether she is already getting a retirement pension

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of principle collective liability?

A)all companies within logging paying the costs for any and all accidents and diseases that occur for employees in that industry
B)all companies within logging pay into a fund to support prevention initiatives
C)all companies within logging pay based on only their experience
D)all companies no matter the industry pay into WCB for any and all workplace accidents or illnesses

Question 9

When a worker is injured, which parties are needed to provide information in order to process a workers' compensation board (WCB) claim?

A)employer, employee, and coworker
B)employer and employee
C)employer, employee, and physician
D)employee only

Question 10

Which of the following is an example of earnings loss payment?

A)a worker who does not return to work, but receives a disability pension following injury
B)a worker who receives payment for vocational counselling services while off work
C)a worker who receives a lump-sum payment following return to work
D)a worker who returns lower-paying job, and receives payment to supplement their new wages

Question 11

What is the cost of the penalty when an employer discourages an employee from filing a claim or punishes the worker for filing the claim?

A)$4000
B)$40
C)$400
D)$4

Question 12

What defines an experience rating system?

A)an industry's experience with injury or illness claims
B)a company's experience with injury or illness claims
C)an employee's experience with injury or illness claims
D)a profession's (e.g.electricians, nurses etc.) experience with injury or illness claims

Question 13

Ivan lost an eye in an industrial accident, and is just starting a new job. How does the second injury provision work if he loses sight in the other eye?

A)The total disability cost is borne by his current employer.
B)The total disability cost is shared between his former and current employers.
C)The total disability cost is borne entirely by the Workers' Compensation Board.
D)The total disability cost is borne by all employers in his employer's industry rate group.

Question 14

Which of the following reflects how workers' compensation boards view the social benefit of compensation?

A)Compensation gets reluctant workers back to work.
B)Compensation makes up for your pain and suffering.
C)Compensation is a cost that must be tightly managed.
D)Compensation helps you remain active in your community.

Question 15

Workers in nursing homes regularly experience a number of physical and psychological health and safety issues. Incidents can involve twisting and/or lifting injuries, contact with viruses and bacteria, as well as stress-related illnesses from dealing with very sick and dying patients. At Restwell Manor there are 80 employees who work an average of 6 hours per day for 250 days a year. In the past year, the employer reported a total of 8 injuries for a total lost time of 50 days.
What is the common denominator in the equations that you would use to calculate the injury frequency and severity rates for Restwell Manor?

A)average hours worked
B)total hours worked
C)average time off work
D)total time off work

Question 16

Via Rail is Canada's passenger railway, whereas CN Rail is a freight/cargo railway. What WCB liability do these organizations face?

A)They both have individual liability for injuries/illnesses.
B)They both have collective liability-the same as all other organizations.
C)Via Rail has collective liability, whereas CN has individual liability.
D)Via Rail has individual liability, whereas CN has collective liability.

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT an example of an experience rating program in Ontario?

A)New Experimental Experience Rating Program (NEER)
B)Workplace Safety Insurance Appeals Tribunal (ESIAT)
C)Merit Adjusted Premium (MAP) Plan for Small Business
D)CAD-7

Question 18

Complete the following analogy: social rehabilitation is to coping as vocational rehabilitation is to

A)employment
B)physical function
C)provision for second injuries
D)wage loss earnings

Question 19

How are safety associations different from workers' compensation boards?

A)They are financially independent from the WCBs.
B)They develop their own regulations for OH&S.
C)They only provide industry-specific safety training.
D)They offer fee-based safety audits to their members.

Question 20

In Canada, the majority of workers who receive compensation will receive ____________________

A)90% of net earnings
B)75% of net earnings
C)75% of average earnings
D)90% of average earnings

Question 21

Providing services intended to prevent injuries or to reduce the psychological impact of injuries when they occur is one of the social goals of workers' compensation.

Question 22

Workers in nursing homes regularly experience a number of physical and psychological health and safety issues. Incidents can involve twisting and/or lifting injuries, contact with viruses and bacteria, as well as stress-related illnesses from dealing with very sick and dying patients. At Restwell Manor there are 80 employees who work an average of 6 hours per day for 250 days a year. In the past year, the employer reported a total of 8 injuries for a total lost time of 50 days.
Using a factor of 200,000, what was Restwell Manor's severity rate last year?

A)83.30
B)13.30
C)0.200
D)0.003

Question 23

Describe the current roles and responsibilities of a typical provincial/territorial workers' compensation board. Then extend the discussion by giving two examples of how provincial/territorial boards can differ from each other in terms of policy and/or practice.

Question 24

Workers in nursing homes regularly experience a number of physical and psychological health and safety issues. Incidents can involve twisting and/or lifting injuries, contact with viruses and bacteria, as well as stress-related illnesses from dealing with very sick and dying patients. At Restwell Manor there are 80 employees who work an average of 6 hours per day for 250 days a year. In the past year, the employer reported a total of 8 injuries for a total lost time of 50 days.
What type of rehabilitation might have been provided to enable an injured worker to make the change from heavy-duty to light-duty nursing?

A)vocational and social
B)vocational and physical
C)physical and social
D)vocational, physical, and social

Question 25

Experience programs offer financial incentives to companies that reduce workplace injuries but no illnesses.

Question 26

Compensation for stress-related disabilities can be provided only when mental stress results in a physical disability or traumatic occurrence.

Question 27

Explain why a large restaurant chain (e.g. McDonald's, Mandarin, Boston Pizza) might pay
a) the same WCB premium as other large restaurant chains.
b) a lower premium than other large restaurant chains.
c) a higher premium than other large restaurant chains.

Question 28

Workers in nursing homes regularly experience a number of physical and psychological health and safety issues. Incidents can involve twisting and/or lifting injuries, contact with viruses and bacteria, as well as stress-related illnesses from dealing with very sick and dying patients. At Restwell Manor there are 80 employees who work an average of 6 hours per day for 250 days a year. In the past year, the employer reported a total of 8 injuries for a total lost time of 50 days.
What would workers' compensation be most likely to pay for if a Restwell Manor worker is physically attacked by a patient and suffers post-traumatic stress disorder?

A)none
B)counselling
C)disability pension
D)retraining

Question 29

Discuss the employer reporting requirements and documentation required for reporting all workplace injuries to the Workers' Compensation Board.

Question 30

Workers in nursing homes regularly experience a number of physical and psychological health and safety issues. Incidents can involve twisting and/or lifting injuries, contact with viruses and bacteria, as well as stress-related illnesses from dealing with very sick and dying patients. At Restwell Manor there are 80 employees who work an average of 6 hours per day for 250 days a year. In the past year, the employer reported a total of 8 injuries for a total lost time of 50 days.
What assistance would workers' compensation be most likely to pay for if a Restwell Manor worker develops chronic depression after working with Alzheimer/dementia patients for three years?

A)none
B)anti-depression medication
C)professional counselling
D)leave of absence

Question 31

Employees cannot sue their employer in criminal court in addition to claiming workers' compensation.

Question 32

Workers' compensation is driven by two main social goals.

Question 33

List the three groups of stress-related occupational disabilities identified in the text. Discuss the probability of obtaining compensation in each case, then contrast the current practice of workers' compensation boards with how the courts and human rights tribunals in Canada view stress-related occupational disabilities.

Question 34

The adjudication of stress claims is currently receiving a great deal of attention from all insurance parties.

Question 35

Employees can always expect to return to their old job following injury or illness.

Question 36

Describe the relationship between workers' compensation boards and government departments as it relates to a mandate of injury prevention and the OH&S aspects of compensation.

Question 37

In 2018 the province of Alberta amended its WCB act.

Question 38

Workers in nursing homes regularly experience a number of physical and psychological health and safety issues. Incidents can involve twisting and/or lifting injuries, contact with viruses and bacteria, as well as stress-related illnesses from dealing with very sick and dying patients. At Restwell Manor there are 80 employees who work an average of 6 hours per day for 250 days a year. In the past year, the employer reported a total of 8 injuries for a total lost time of 50 days.
What type of loss is incurred by a Restwell Manor worker who has to switch to light-duty nursing due to a back injury that prevents him/her from bending over a patient's bed?

A)occupational capacity
B)range of motion loss
C)functional capacity
D)occupational injury

Question 39

The WCB premium for a given organization is always the same as other organizations in the same industry classification.

Question 40

Without a provision for multiple injuries employers might be temped to discriminate against workers with impairments?

Question 41

Duane is a long-haul truck driver who specializes in transporting oversize loads across Canada and the U.S.A. for his Markham, Ontario-based company. The nature of his work requires: long hours due to specialized loading, driving, and delivery procedures; driving at a slower than normal speed, often at night to avoid peak traffic; taking longer routes to avoid obstacles such as low height or low weight bridges, and crossing the Canada-USA border. Truckers in this occupation are often under tight deadlines to deliver on time, or their employer will face financial penalties.
a) Identify three possible work-related injuries and illnesses/diseases that might result from working in this occupation and discuss the workers' compensation coverage that would apply in each case.
b) Discuss how his employer would obtain the necessary information to complete the employer and incident analysis reports.
c) Compare and contrast the Canadian compensation system with the compensation available to an American-based trucker doing similar work.