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Sections 86 and 207 of the Workers’ Compensation Act describe employers’ injury reporting obligations and the consequences if the obligations are not met. What are my injury reporting obligations? Employers must complete a WCB Accident Report for all injuries or illnesses that require medical attention and/or where there is time lost as a result of a workplace injury. If no time is lost from work, no wages are lost and no medical attention is sought, then it is not necessary to report the injury to the WCB at that time. However, the employer should record the injury information (the worker's name, date of injury, a description of how the injury happened, and the type of injury) in the event of a future time loss for this injury. The WCB Accident Report must be sent to the WCB within five business days from the date the employer is notified that an injury or illness has occurred and received by the WCB within eight business days. To help speed up this process, the WCB encourages employers to send reports by facsimile. There are two dedicated fax lines for this purpose: in mainland Nova Scotia dial 902-491-8001 and in Cape Breton 902-563-0512. To obtain a supply of WCB Accident Report forms, simply call 902-491-8999 in Halifax, or toll free in Nova Scotia at 1-800-870-3331. The WCB Accident Report may also be downloaded. Alternatively, the WCB can provide an electronic copy by email or disk on request. What are the penalties for late reporting? A graduated penalty structure now is in place. It allows for a base penalty of $100 for each time an injury is reported late. An additional $25 is levied for each day the report is late, up to the date it is received, to a maximum of $500 per claim. Under Section 207, the WCB may levy additional penalties where injury reporting obligations are continuously breached. Who should I call for more information? If you have questions about your injury reporting obligations, or if you require assistance with improving your reporting processes, please contact your Regional Manager, or call toll free (outside Halifax) 1 800 870 3331 and (in Halifax) 491 8999. If your company is located in Cape Breton, please call toll free (outside Sydney) 1 800 880 0003 and (in Sydney) 563 2444. Regional Managers: Cape Breton - Cathy McKillop 563 2083 |
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