- Reconsideration (clarification of decision)
- Right to sue (claim denied by Board)
In Decision No. 1916/07, the Vice-Chair found that the plaintiff's right of action against his employer was taken away. The plaintiff then applied for workplace insurance benefits but the claim was denied by the Board. The worker then appealed the decision of the Appeals Resolution Officer denying workplace insurance benefits to the Tribunal. The hearing panel for that appeal adjourned the hearing, with the consent of the parties, to obtain clarification of Decision No. 1916/07.
The worker submitted that Decision No. 1916/07 exercised jurisdiction both under s. 31(1)(a) of the WSIA to find that the right of action was taken away and under s. 31(1)(c) to find that the worker had entitlement to benefits under the WSIA.The Vice-Chair noted that, in Decision No. 1916/07, he proceeded on the assumption, as is typical in such right to sue cases, that the facts alleged in the statement of claim were presumed to be true. The Vice-Chair concluded in the original decision that the plaintiff could not maintain his law suit but could initiate a claim for workplace insurance benefits. However, he did not have evidence regarding the merits of a workplace insurance claim and never considered entitlement to workplace insurance benefits on the merits.The Vice-Chair clarified that Decision No. 1916/07 addressed only the application to remove the right to sue under s. 31(1)(a), and did not address entitlement to workplace insurance benefits.