ST 2

Question 1

List 2 of the legal duties and functions assigned to joint health and safety committees in Section 130 of the BC Workers Compensation Act

Answer 1

(a) to identify situations that may be unhealthy or unsafe for workers and advise on effective systems for responding to those situations;
(b) to consider and expeditiously deal with complaints relating to the health and safety of workers;
(c) to consult with workers and the employer on issues related to occupational health and safety and occupational environment;

Question 2

A group of employers is notified that the workers compensation insurance premium applicable to their group is as follows. Briefly explain what is meant by the term “2015 Rate $1.02”

Answer 2

“Rate” is short for WCB premium Base Rate for this CU. “$1.02”is the actual premium rate and means $1.02 per $100 of assessable payroll.

Question 3

3.5 General requirement
Every employer must ensure that ___ inspections are made of all workplaces, including buildings, structures, grounds, excavations, tools, equipment, machinery and work________, at intervals that will prevent the development of ____working conditions.

Answer 3

regular
method and practices
unsafe

Question 4

List one accepted HR best practice for each of the following:

a. sharing copies of a completed Form 7 with the employee
b. maintaining a copy of a completed Form 7

Answer 4

a. No copy of a completed Form 7 is shared with anyone, including the employee
b. Generally a single copy is maintained by HR in a secure location

Question 5

List the full and complete name of one of the 2 appeal bodies that exist to hear appeals of workers compensation claims in BC.

Answer 5

Either one of: Review Division or Workers Compensation Appeals Tribunal

Question 6

Currently the WCB of BC ____ Rating System for employer insurance provides for a maximum reward/discount of __ and a maximum penalty/surcharge of___of the base rate.

Answer 6

Experience
50%
100%

Question 7

Workers whose claims are allowed by WCB are eligible for benefits from 5 different categories. One is death benefits. List 2 of the other 4 using the correct WCB of BC terminology

Answer 7

Any 2 of:

• Wage Loss
• Medical
• Vocational Rehabilitation
• Permanent Disability Award

Question 8

List one key benefit of writing complete and effective terms of reference for your company’s joint health and safety committee.

Answer 8

The Terms of Reference for a JHSC is a job description for the JHSC. A job description will clearly indicate to JHSC members and others what the requirements of the job are.

Question 9

The acronym COR is now commonly heard in OHS practice in BC and elsewhere. Write one point that would help to effectively explain what COR is.

Answer 9

WorkSafeBC-sponsored program for financially rewarding companies with effective OHS and disability management programs and management systems

Question 10

List one key difference between a true Industry Safety Association and an association like BCHRMA.

Answer 10

The key difference is that a true Industry Safety Association is employer-funded through a levy on the employer WCB premium.

Question 11

What does RSCM stand for and explains the value of the RSCM to HR practitioners.

Answer 11

Rehabilitation Services and Claims Manual

The key value of the RSCM is that it is the POLICY used in the Law/Policy/Facts system of WCB claim adjudication

Question 12

How much employer- paid educational leave are members of joint health and safety committees in BC entitled to under the WCA?

Answer 12

(1) Each member of a joint committee is entitled to an annual educational leave totalling 8 hours, or a longer period if prescribed by regulation, for the purposes of attending occupational health and safety training courses conducted by or with the approval of the Board.

Question 13

What should be one key goal that is achieved when members of the joint health and safety committee have completed their latest educational leave?

Answer 13

The key goal should be to enhance the strength of the JHSC in carrying out the duties and functions assigned to it in the WCA

Question 14

WCB premiums are based on assessable payroll rather than just “payroll.” List one key point that would help to explain the concept of “assessable” payroll to a new manager.

Answer 14

Employers pay premiums to WCB on several “payroll” categories: wages and salaries, earnings of company principals and certain contractor earnings.

Question 15

In the following information from the WCB of BC “CU” is the acronym for

Answer 15

classification unit

Question 16

. In the above information from the WCB of BC the term “Rate” refers to the ___ Rate for the CU

Answer 16

Base

Question 17

List one widely recognized best practice in regards the following aspects of managing a joint health and safety committee:
A. Selecting worker representatives to the committee

Answer 17

(1) The worker representatives on a joint committee must be selected from workers at the workplace who do not exercise managerial functions at that workplace, as follows:
(a) selected according to the procedures established or agreed on by the union or unions;
(b) if none of the workers are represented by a union, the worker representatives are to be elected by secret ballot;

Question 18

B. Selecting management representatives to the committee

Answer 18

Any one of:

• mix of levels of seniority and experience
• one or more having significant decision making authority

Question 19

List one widely recognized best practice/key role for each of the following in regards to OHS-focused inspections of the workplace
A. workers

Answer 19

Constant “inspection” of their own tools/machines and work station

Question 20

B. Frontline supervisors

Answer 20

Constant “inspection” of the work methods and practices of the employees they supervise

Question 21

List any 2 of the true Industry Safety Associations that are currently active in prevention work in BC.

Answer 21

Any 2 of: ACTSAFE, BC ARC, ENFORM, FARSHA, BCCSA, BCFSC, BCMSA, GO2, FMIOSA and TSCBC/SAFETY DRIVEN

Question 22

As if speaking to an injured employee: “No, I cannot help you fill in your Form 6 mainly because

Answer 22

doing so may leave the impression that as an employer rep I am trying to influence what you write in your report.”

Question 23

Employees are entitled to compensation for wages lost due to workplace injury but the amount is limited by the Maximum Wage. Briefly explain the concept of Maximum Wage.

Answer 23

Maximum Wage is a dollar amount set annually by each Canadian WCB. The Maximum Wage limits the amount of wage loss benefits payable to workers and limits the amount of premium owed to WCB

Question 24

Briefly explain what a Decision Letter is in the workers compensation system.

Answer 24

The document prepared by a WCB claim adjudicator that lays out the adjudicator’s decision on a claim and the law, policy and facts that were used to make that decision.

Question 25

. There are 20+ Subsectors in the WCB of BC classification system. One of them is Agriculture. List any one of the other Subsectors.

Answer 25

Fishing

Forestry

Oil & Gas or Mineral Resources

Question 26

Thinking about the Historic Compromise and the Meredith Principles:
a. What key advantage did workers gain out of the Historic Compromise?

Answer 26

The right to claim benefits for injuries or diseases arising out of and in the course of employment regardless of fault and without the need to sue their employer

Question 27

b. What key advantage did employers gain out of the Historic Compromise?

Answer 27

Protection against lawsuits from injured or diseased employees where it could be proved that the injury or disease was the fault of the employer

Question 28

One very common reason that joint health and safety committees fail is:

Answer 28

JHSC fail for the key reasons that any small organization fail.

One of:

• inadequate structure and focus (no job description)
• lack of ongoing effective management
• failure to read and follow any legal directions that prescribe the operation of the JHSC

Question 29

Compensation for personal injury
5 (1) Where personal injury or death arising ___ and ______ OF the employment is caused to a worker, compensation must be paid by the [Workers Compensation] Board

Answer 29

Out of

in the course of

Question 30

hen list one specific SKILL (something you can do, not just something you know) that you have learned in this course that you could offer as evidence that you are developing this capability:

RPC:180 Establishes a joint Health & Safety Committeeas required by law

Answer 30

as required by law

skills that take into account the extensive amount of law regarding JHSC in the WCA and other OHS laws (all of Part 3 Division 4 of the BC WCA)

Question 31

RPC:186 Establishes and implements strategies to minimize workers’ compensation costs.

Answer 31

on skills that take into account the 2 systems that specifically relate to “workers compensation costs” and which can be used to reduce the costs: Experience Rating and COR (eg. it is fine to point to skills in improving OHS programs but unless the improvements lead to reduction in WCB claim costs there will be no reduction in “workers compensation costs.”