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ARTICLE · 27 OCTOBER 2015

Additional WorkSafeBC Powers And Employer Obligations Come Into Effect

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Increased powers granted by the BC Government to WorkSafeBC, the provincial workers' compensation insurer, are now in effect.

CanadaEmployment and HR
Eric Ito
Eric Ito
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Increased powers granted by the BC Government to WorkSafeBC, the provincial workers' compensation insurer, are now in effect. Along with these changes, employers are now under additional obligations with respect to workplace incident investigation and reporting.

These changes come by way of the Workers Compensation Amendment Act, 2015 ("Bill 9") and enact several recommendations made to the provincial government in the wake of two tragic sawmill explosions which claimed the lives of four workers in 2012.

Bill 9 was introduced in two waves, with the first in effect on May 14, 2015, and the second in effect on September 15, 2015. An additional compliance measure, discussed below, is currently in force but is not expected to be implemented until early 2016. What follows is an overview of these changes and what they mean for employers.

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