Premium Holidays And Benefit Payments – How Ontario's Workers' Compensation System Is Addressing COVID-19

As governments respond on a daily basis to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant economic stresses placed upon employers and employees alike, we might not intuitively think of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) as a likely hotbed of related activity. Nevertheless, WSIB premiums remain a significant cost of employment for a great many businesses in Ontario, and every element of relief can only be of benefit. As well, workers across the province who continue to attend at work – our hard working health care providers and first responders in particular – face a new workplace hazard in the risk of infection that arises from close contact with patients and members of the public alike.