- Dependency benefits (common law spouse)
- Dependency benefits (survivor)
The worker passed away from a workplace accident on March 21, 2019. His girlfriend was attending a university program where she lived during the week, and she visited him on weekends. The issue to be determined in this appeal was whether she was a spouse of the late worker and thereby entitled to survivor benefits.
The Panel denied the appeal.To satisfy the legislative definition of "spouse", it must be established that she was "living in a conjugal relationship outside marriage" and had "co-habited for at least one year" at the time of the worker's death. The evidence did not support that the worker and his girlfriend were in a conjugal relationship cohabitating for at least one year at the time of the worker's passing in March 2019. Prior to the worker purchasing his home in late June 2018, his girlfriend would go home every weekend and spend her time with the worker staying either at his parents' home or at her parents' home. This period of the relationship up to June 2018 was more similar to a person visiting someone at their parents' home, rather than an indicator of cohabitation. There was no evidence to support that during this time, either the worker or his girlfriend shared a home address, but rather, their home addresses remained the same as their parents'. There was also no indication that either the worker or his girlfriend was responsible for regular household duties or maintenance, finances, or costs associated with maintaining the other's parents' home. The time spent at the worker's own home from late June 2018 to late March 2019, fell short of at least one year of cohabitation. As the Panel noted in Decision No. 2621/07, "the cases are consistent that a conjugal relationship does not depend merely on the question of whether the parties are boyfriend and girlfriend or whether they are living together or whether they are in a sexual relationship. All the evidence must be considered". In finding that the parties were not in a conjugal relationship cohabitating for at least one year, several factors were noted, including that the worker's girlfriend was not listed on the title for the home, she did not contribute to any of the operating expenses of the home, they did not have joint bank accounts, she was not responsible for funeral costs, and there was no evidence of significance that they were financially interdependent.