Workplace safety amnesty program wraps up
Friday, March 28, 2008
by SUSAN MANN
That’s the day a one time only amnesty program introduced by the WSIB wraps up.
Employers who voluntarily sign up after March 31, can still catch a break: they won’t face penalties, prosecution, or interest on retroactive premiums for not registering. But they will have to pay premiums for the current year they registered plus one previous year.
The WSIB introduced the program in October, convinced employers are more likely to register if they aren’t penalized.
Under the program, employers who voluntarily register before the end of March aren’t prosecuted and they don’t have to pay retroactive premiums, interest or financial penalties. The premiums start on the day they register.
But if the WSIB catches an unregistered employer who should be registered none of the amnesty provisions apply.
Under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act an employer can be prosecuted for not registering, says WSIB chair Steve Mahoney. In addition to the fines they’ll get when convicted, the WSIB can recover premiums for both the year the employer is discovered plus previous years.
Most farm employers should know they have to register with the WSIB, says Mark Wales, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s representative on the agricultural industry’s Labour Issues Coordinating Committee.
But one of the challenges for farmers is they may start farming but not employ anyone for a while. “Then all of a sudden they start employing someone and then they may not employ very many people for very long,” he says.
As soon as you employ someone and pay wages you must have WSIB coverage on your employees.
“That’s a good thing because it ensures that employee is covered from the moment they’re being paid to work for you,” Wales says. “It also ensures that you as an employer can’t be sued because of an accident.”
By March 14, 1,660 employers registered under the voluntary program, including 69 in agriculture. Under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act the agriculture sector includes farmers and others in related industries, such as crop dusting, tree planting, landscaping, and water well drilling.
Since 2005, 553 of the 20,000 unregistered employers the WSIB has caught were from the ag sector.
Like all Ontario employers, farmers are required by law to sign up and pay premiums to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board if they have paid workers, either seasonal or working year round. This includes a family member or relative, such as a spouse or child, who works on the farm and receives a wage. It also includes farms owned and operated by Mennonites.
The WSIB promotes workplace health and safety and provides a workers’ compensation system for Ontario’s employers and workers. It is funded by employer premiums.
As of Dec. 31, 2007, there were 15,575 employers from the agricultural sector registered with the WSIB. A total of 11,348 employers are in a farming rate group.
For more information, visit the WSIB web site at http://www.wsib.on.ca or you can call an agriculture account representative in the Guelph office toll-free at 1-888-259-4228. BF