Occupational Health & Safety - local70 - Ontario Nurses' Association

3. Oral hearing: After the hearing, the ARO provides all parties with her/his
written decision.
The second level of appeal is normally an oral hearing before either a single vicechair
or a panel of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Tribunal. The tribunal
can, however, suggest – or the parties can agree to – alternate means of resolution.
These include mediation, decisions without hearings, etc.
If all goes smoothly, it usually takes about one to two years to appeal a decision
through all the stages.
Does the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA) Impose Time Limits to
Appeal an Adverse Decision of the WSIB
Yes. Depending on the issue, a worker has only 30 days or six months to appeal
an adverse WSIB decision.
Authority
• Section 120 (1) (a) of the WSIA states a worker has 30 days to appeal a
board (WSIB) decision regarding Return to Work (RTW) or Labour
Market Re-entry (LMR).
• Section 120 (1) (b) of the WSIA states a worker has six months to appeal
all other board (WSIB) decisions.
• Section 120 (2) states the notice of objection must be in writing and must
indicate why the decision is incorrect or why it should be changed.
Failure to object to an adverse decision within these deadlines, will likely result
in the worker forfeiting her/his rights to receive the WSIB benefits that she/he
would otherwise have likely been entitled. Failure to object could also affect
future benefits for new injuries or recurrences that the worker might sustain, and
WSIB entitlements.
ONA Representation for WSIB Appeals
Will ONA Appeal a Member’s WSIB Decision
Due to the new legislative time limits that were imposed in Bill 99 legislation,
effective January 1, 1998, ONA developed criteria for representation. It states
that ONA will represent workers in their appeals to the WSIB if they meet our
notification time limits set out below and other representation criteria.
ONA’s Notification Time Limits for Representation
Members who want ONA to represent them, must contact their Bargaining
Unit/Local/Labour Relations Officer within:
• One week if it is a 30-day WSIB appeal.
• Four weeks if it is a six-month WSIB appeal.
• One week of hearing, or being notified, of an employer appeal.
If ONA is unable to represent a member because she/he did not meet the criteria,
staff will advise her/him to still appeal the decision in writing on her/his own to
meet the WSIB time limit and at least secure her/his legislated right to appeal.
When a Member Misses Time Limits to Appeal
If a member has, for some reason, entirely missed the time limit to appeal, we
advise that she/he still sends the WSIB a notice of intent to object to the WSIB
decision. This is because Section 22 (3) of the WSIA dealing with an extension
of time limit states, “The board may permit a claim to be filed after the six-month
period expires if, in the opinion of the board, it is just to do so.”
See diagram 1 on next page, for a flow chart of the appeal process.
How Will a Member Know What the Time Limit is to Appeal the WSIB
Adverse Decision
The WSIB normally indicates the time limit to appeal in the last paragraph of the
last page of the WSIB decision letter.
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