How to add $150K to your bottom line
WCB savings and group benefit discounts can be a boon for operating profits Question from reader: I pay $160K/yr in WCB premiums, and about the same amount in group benefits. This is money I need to make my business work. I also have a WCB decision I’d like appealed and have been looking around for […]
Do this before hiring a WCB lawyer
A Blue Collar Follower Wonders: Should I Hire a WCB Lawyer? When faced with the complexities of challenging a WCB decision, many workers in Alberta find themselves at a crossroads: Should they hire a WCB lawyer to advocate on their behalf? At Blue Collar Consulting, we advise that you think long and hard before starting […]
Sue WCB?
Worker wants to sue WCB after perceived mishandling of claim causes his life to spiral. Dear Blue Collar, Ten years ago I suffered a severe primary shock that threw me off a scaffold. Life has spiraled ever since. Chronic pain led to a painful divorce, the depletion of my life savings, and has pretty much […]
Pet-therapy for mental injury?
Dear Blue Collar, One of our injured workers brings his pet to the office as part of a modified work arrangement. The man in question is presently on WCB for PTSD caused by a confrontation with his supervisor. He reluctantly agreed to recover at work, but only on condition that his pet ferret join him. […]
Advent of the Exosuit
Two technical innovations that will have an impact on construction health and safety in the near future are wearable technologies and exoskeletons. Exoskeletons, or exosuits, are metal frameworks fitted with motorized or spring loaded ‘muscles.’ The frameworks are modeled on the wearer’s internal skeletal structure and enable improved performance of repetitive tasks such as squatting, […]
Escalate WCB appeal to Court of Queen’s Bench?
Dear Blue Collar, The Appeals Commission sided with WCB in refusing to reverse my claim decision. I’ve been advised against hiring a WCB lawyer to take this to The Court of Queen’s Bench because, so I’ve been told, courts don’t often overturn a tribunal’s decision. True? Answer: Judicial deference to tribunal determinations is on the […]
Governor General shown the door after allegations of abuse
On Oct 22, 2018, former governor general Julie Payette gave enthusiastic assent to a Labour Code amendment intended to help prevent violence and harassment in the workplace. And now, little more than two years later, Payette has resigned due to 43 allegations of mental and physical abuse levelled against her.— In the wake of an […]
Long COVID driving WCB claims
Of 236,379 patients who survived a diagnosis of COVID, the incidence of neurological or psychiatric sequelae at 6 months was a staggering 33.6% according to the University of Oxford. Diagnostic categories included stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, dementia, and psychotic disorders. These findings show substantial neurological and psychiatric morbidity following COVID-19 infection. The full study here: https://lnkd.in/gUtGQVC […]
When it comes to WCB claims, details matter
Dear Blue Collar, The other day a worker made himself a cup of instant coffee. He put a cup of water in the lunchroom microwave, nuked it for a couple minutes, took it out, dropped in the coffee powder, and the whole thing exploded like somebody slipped dynamite into the Nescafe jar. The worker was […]
Apply KISS principle to workplace investigations
Workplace investigations needn’t be outsourced to ‘expert’ adjudicators. The vast majority of interpersonal conflicts may be solved by a company’s internal resources and a dose of common sense. Conflict resolution is as simple as: · Interviewing the complainant· Interviewing witnesses· Interviewing the offender for their side of the story Unless the workplace conflict is highly […]