5.12. WSIB Assignment

POLICY

Authority OW Act: Sec. 7(1), 7(2), 7(3), 13, 16(1), 19(2) & OW Directives:  5.2

The following procedure is in place to ensure that payment of assistance made by Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB to persons who have claimed but not yet received Workplace Safety and Insurance Benefits may be reimbursed by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board to the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB.

Note:  As with Employment Insurance Benefits, reimbursement is made directly to the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.

Every time a Case Manager completes an assignment, a copy must be filed in the electronic filing system. Case Managers must input a task in the social assistance computer system for 3 months to follow up if the assignment has been paid. If the assignment has not been paid, Case Managers should follow up with clients to determine why the assignment was not honoured. 

Where assignments are not honoured or reimbursement is not received, an overpayment is established.

If a third party or person acting on behalf of a benefit unit member fails to deduct and remit money to the delivery agent, the benefit unit member remains eligible for assistance. However, if money is received that has been assigned and is not repaid to the delivery agent, an overpayment is established.

When payment is received by the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB finance department from any external source (i.e. WSIB, CPP, EI, OSAP, etc.) A copy of the payment is sent to the Administrative Assistant who then posts it to the client’s file in the social assistance computer system.
 

PROCEDURE 

METHOD OF PAYMENT 

The Assignment of Workplace Safety and Insurance Benefits is completed and sent to the local office of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.
 

COMPLETION OF ASSIGNMENT FORM 

It is essential that the claim number is accurately transcribed to the appropriate area on the form and the effective date clearly visible. The claimant’s name and address must be clearly printed. 

The WSIB form must be fully completed before submission to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. The following points should be noted. 
 

CLAIM 

Each accident, for which a worker claims compensation, is assigned a unique claim number. This means that if a participant has made claims for three different accidents, each will have a separate claim number. The number consists of one letter followed by eight digits. Since a person may confuse claim numbers, it would be useful to note the date of the accident and the name of the employer in the space provided at the top of the form. If the claim number is not available, full details are required in this section.
 

WHEN AN ASSIGNMENT IS APPROPRIATE 

Assignments are appropriate when a person receives short-term Ontario Works while waiting for a decision which could result in a retroactive WSIB.  

Specific situations would include: 

• awaiting the approval of an initial claim;
• awaiting the decision on an appeal of reduced or cancelled compensation. 
   

DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT ASSIGNED

The amount assigned is the lesser of either the Ontario Works or the WSIB, paid during the period specified in the assignment. For example, a person is entitled to $600 granted retroactively covering a period of three months. This payment is based on WSIB of $200 per month. For Example: The client has only been on OW for 2 of the 3 months where WSIB was paid. the client received $733/month for these 2 OW months. In this case, WSIB would forward $400 to the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB and the remaining $200 to the client. Using the same example, if the client only received $100/month OW, WSIB would forward $200 to the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB and the remaining $400 to the client. The portion received by the client would not be considered income but assets.  
 

REFUSAL OF APPLICANT TO ASSIGN BENEFIT 

If the applicant refuses to sign the WSIB Assignment Form, the Case Manager may refuse assistance or reduce the amount of assistance by the estimated amount of the WSIB.