On Tuesday, December 4, 2018 Sara Mojtehedzade, Work and Health Reporter published this information in Toronto Star.
The provincial workers’ compensation board has denied 94 per cent of chronic mental stress cases since new legislation extended benefits coverage to employees experiencing long-term trauma or harassment on the job, according to an internal Workplace Safety and Insurance Board audit obtained by the Star.
Previously, workers could only seek compensation for mental health injuries caused by a traumatic incident, not those triggered by ongoing trauma in their workplace — which labour advocates and legal experts described in a 2016 ombudsman complaint as unconstitutional and discriminatory. Subsequent legal changes mean workers can now file claims for work-related chronic stress issues.