Legislation and fines relating to abuse of workers’ compensation system

Legislation

Unlawful deductions—where an employer has unlawfully deducted premiums from a worker’s wages, WCB-Alberta may repay the worker and collect that amount from the employer.

Agreement to waive workers’ compensation—no person shall enter into an agreement to waive entitlement under the Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA).

Impeding a report of accident—no employer may intimidate a worker into not reporting a claim.

Claim offences—no person shall provide false or misleading information to WCB-Alberta in connection with a claim or fail to report a return to work.

Employer account offences—no person shall provide false or misleading information to WCB-Alberta in connection with an employer account, or possess/use a forged or false clearance certificate.

Service provider offences—no person shall knowingly make a false or misleading statement or representation to WCB-Alberta for the purpose of obtaining payment for goods and services.

Possible charges and fines

Those who choose to intentionally abuse the system face the possibility of criminal and civil proceedings and fines. In past cases, those convicted have faced outcomes that have included:

• time in jail
• a permanent criminal record
• probation
• community service
• additional fines by the court
• orders to repay WCB-Alberta
• loss of employment
• loss of reputation in the community
• administrative penalties

Although criminal prosecution investigations make up less than one per cent of total investigations, more than 90 per cent of them result in conviction.

Fraud convictions

March, 2006 - Fraud under $5,000
March, 2006 - Providing false or misleading information to WCB-Alberta