- Earnings basis (contract worker)
- Executive officers
- Personal coverage (actual earnings)
A truck driver suffered a compensable injury in October 2012. The driver appealed a decision of the Appeals Resolution Officer regarding the earnings basis for calculation of benefits.
The driver was employed by a corporation owned by his spouse. The driver had been listed as the president of the corporation since 1983. The driver had personal coverage since 1993. After the accident, there appeared to be an attempt to cancel his optional insurance retroactively. The Vice-Chair concluded that the driver was an executive officer at the time of the accident. He was also an employee of the corporation but these positions were not mutually exclusive. He was both an executive officer and a worker.According to Board policy, the average earnings used to calculate LOE benefits for a person with optional insurance are the lower of the optional insurance amount or actual employment earnings at the time of the accident. The driver had optional insurance in the amount of $16,000. This had not been increased since 1994. An auditor advised in 2011 that the amount of optional insurance was inadequate. However, no steps were taken to increase the coverage.The driver was entitled to LOE benefits based on the amount on earnings of $16,000, which was the amount of his optional coverage.The appeal was dismissed.