Education and Training

At the time of their interviews and/or focus group meetings, approximately one-third of study participants were participating in WCB-funded education or training, or had received education/training in the past. Three to five participants—mostly high wage earners—had completed or were enrolled in multi-year community college and university programs. The most common kind of training, however, were various introductory computing courses, typically six to twelve months long. Some involved classroom instruction, but many were self-directed programs with little or no classroom instruction.

Three to five low wage earners described short-term courses that provided them with what they felt was only a basic introduction to a new occupation. Following a brief and unsuccessful job search period, more than half of the participants in this situation were deemed as capable of earning the average wage for that occupation. Deeming reduced their benefits substantially, eliminating their benefits completely in some cases.

One participant who was earning approximately $10 an hour when she was injured reported that the WCB provided her with introductory training on computers and Windows to prepare for employment as an entry-level office worker.

“It’s not enough, even for an [entry-level office job]. I kind of compare my training in computers to somebody who gets sent for a first aid course, then gets told to get a job as a doctor. When I look in the paper for [entry-level office jobs], all the different [software] programs that you’re supposed to know, I have no idea what these things are.”

Deeming at the wage for an entry-level office worker subsequently reduced her benefits to approximately $100 a month. Another participant described a similar experience.

“Everything I’ve ever done was pretty physical, so I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. They finally broke down and decided they would do some training, but they didn’t want to do a lot of training—whatever minimum amount they could get away with. The course I wanted was a three year program at [community college]. But they wouldn’t go for that. And they wouldn’t go for any two year training. So I ended up at the bottom of the line.”

He agreed to enroll in a self-directed business administration course offered by a for-profit school. He didn’t complete the program, but managed to find a job with the assistance of a WCB Employment Specialist. The WCB provided the employer with a wage subsidy for several months, but the injured worker was let go when the wage subsidy ended, and was unemployed at the time of his interview for this study.

“It [the training] counts for very little, because it was just the basics.”

One participant who was enrolled in a six to twelve month course at a technical school reported that he had learned of a WCB study that found that most employers were not hiring graduates of the course.

“Nobody’s hiring any WCB claimants who are taking [course] at [technical school]. They’re hiring all the people from [community college].”

Self-Employment

Three to five participants reported that they had expressed interest in pursuing self-employment as a vocational goal. Two who were earning high incomes at the time of their injuries reported that the WCB was considering supporting their self-employment ideas. Two participants who expressed interest in self-employment reported that WCB support for their business ventures might require them to relinquish any claim for future WCB benefits and services if their business ventures are not successful.

“It’s a scary thing to sign your cheque away. It’s a gamble. If it [business] fails, then I’m stuck, I’m on my own. I don’t agree with that. I would think that if they were to give you that money, that maybe there might be something in case it fails. But they’re telling me there isn’t. They must have had some deals gone bad in the past. I’m sure that’s what happened. And now they cover their tracks by saying ‘here’s a contractual agreement you need to sign, so that if it fails, we’re not obligated to continue to pay you.’”

Another participant reported that his self-employment idea was not being supported by the WCB.

“They’d tried that [self-employment] years ago [with other claimants], and spent some pretty big money, but it never seemed to work out. People would go into business, and right away they’d be in financial trouble. So now they just shoot down the idea.”

Employment Services

About one-third of the injured workers who participated in the study had received services from the WCB Employment Services department. More than half of them were not employed at the time they were interviewed for this study. Approximately half of them had been deemed or expected to be deemed in the near future.

Approximately ten participants were working at the time they were interviewed. Approximately half reported having some contact with Employment Services staff and/or programs. All of them felt that they had obtained their jobs on their own, or with limited assistance from WCB Employment Services. Three to five, however, reported that Employment Services provided wage subsidies to their new employers during some portion of the first year of employment.

More than half of the study participants who had received WCB Employment Services and were not employed when interviewed were disappointed with the assistance they received. Three to five didn’t understand the purpose of the courses they took, and didn’t find the information useful.

“I didn’t understand what I was there for. And the person who was running the course couldn’t tell me why I was there. But I did the program as best I could. They show you how to write resumés and go through the computers to find out what kind of work you’re suited for. For me, it came up with [injury occupation], farmer, and truck driver, all the stuff I couldn’t physically do.”

“They sent me on the resumé writing course where there’s a cheerleader pumping you up, saying ‘you can go to university, you can do anything you want,’ and then at the end of the week…they take away everything and tell you that you have to be realistic.”

“When I went on the WCB career seminar, I found it really difficult. I was really afraid about having to decide what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

More than half of the participants outside Winnipeg who had received job search assistance from WCB Employment Services indicated that they had received individualized assistance and/or their Employment Specialists had marketed them as candidates to local employers. Three to five Winnipeg participants, however, were disappointed that their Employment Specialists did not actively market them as candidates to the WCB’s employer contacts. Instead, more than half of the Winnipeg participants reported that the individualized job search assistance provided by their Employment Specialists consisted primarily of lists of potential employers and access to the Employment Services resource centre.

“An Employment Specialist gave me a list of [over 100] places [employers]. This list must have been at least five years old. I went to places that didn’t exist anymore…But I put in a resumé or application at every single place I went to. I didn’t get any phone calls, so I called up my [Employment Specialist] and asked ‘now what do I do?’ And [Employment Specialist] just said ‘just wait and see what happens’. But I said ‘you guys are going to cut me off!’”

After completing a multi-year community college program, one participant reported that he was provided with group sessions on resumés, cover letters, and job search skills, then was directed to Employment Services’ resource centre. He felt that the resource centre’s directory of employers was out of date and was no more useful than the Yellow Pages. He felt that his new skills combined with his knowledge of his pre-injury industry would make him a strong candidate for jobs in that industry, but he reported that he did not receive any individualized assistance identifying potential employers (“Nobody did any door-knocking for me”).

Two participants whose Employment Specialists did market them to employers felt that this may have hindered their employment opportunities.

“I applied at so many places, and [Employment Specialist] would go in and talk with them. I sometime wonder if that hurt my chances of getting a job, because she’s with Workers Comp, and employers just don’t want to deal with Workers Comp.”

Three to five participants commented that they felt they didn’t have adequate access to individual assistance from Employment Services.

“At the WCB job finding club, they [facilitators] were busy afterwards, they didn’t have time to answer questions, or they’d say ‘we’re not supposed to discuss that with you’. We weren’t even supposed to talk to each other.”

Three to five participants told of being provided with work experience placements they felt were unsuccessful because the placements were poor matches for the injured workers’ skills, interests, and/or physical limitations. For example, a woman over 45 told of being placed in a customer service position with a retail store that caters to and generally employs young women.

One participant described difficulties he experienced when WCB Employment Services placed him with an employer that did not have WCB coverage for its employees. When his injury became aggravated, he was not eligible to receive WCB benefits and services. He subsequently also had difficulty claiming benefits from his employer’s private disability insurer.

Deeming

The practice of reducing some claimants’ benefits even if they have not managed to return to work is controversial. Proponents of deeming—particularly employers and others concerned with the costs of worker’s compensation—argue that deeming is a necessary tool to ensure that WCB wage loss benefits are not a disincentive to working. For example, they argue that some claimants who are capable of working would choose to continue receiving wage loss benefits rather than working. Similarly, some claimants may not cooperate in their vocational rehabilitation, also extending the period they are receiving wage loss benefits.

Others argue, however, that deeming can unfairly penalize injured workers who are eager to work but do not have jobs, yet have their wage loss benefits reduced because they are deemed to be “employable”.

“While there is certainly a need for such a procedure in cases of last resort, significant potential exists for overuse of the ‘deeming process’ in situations where the policy focus is on developing employability rather than actual placement.” (Hunt, Barth, and Leahy, 1991: 93-94)

“The primary advantage of deeming is that compensation does not serve as a disincentive to return-to-work for those capable of working. The primary disadvantage is that workers who would choose to return to work but are unable to do so, may not receive compensation to cover their economic loss.” (Royal Commission on Workers’ Compensation in British Columbia, 1999: Vol. 1, Chapter 6: 25)

Three to five of the injured workers who participated in this study had had their benefits reduced by deeming, and three to five others had IWRP’s that provided for deeming if they were not able to find employment in the near future. All of these participants had PPI awards of approximately 10 per cent.

“Why would they send me on a course where I’m only going to make half the wage I was making when I got hurt? Why wouldn’t they…send me on a [longer] course where I’d be able to make the same wage I was making before?…It’s a cheap fix for WCB, a quick out. After [approximately one year] for the course and six months for job search they can pretty well cut my benefits in half, even if I don’t have a job…They should choose a vocational goal that will get you back to the full wage you were earning [at time of injury] instead of just a quick fix course that allows them to deem you if you can’t find a job in six months.” ^[40]

One participant began a brief (less than six months) training course, but problems related to his disability prevented him from completing the course. Since then, he has received little further vocational rehabilitation assistance from WCB. He has been informed that he will be deemed capable of earning approximately $10 an hour at the conclusion of his IWRP.

"With the training that I supposedly had, I’m supposed to be able to make ten dollars an hour, and they say I should be able to work eight hours a day. So they’re going to cut me down to [less than $100] a "With the training that I supposedly had, I'm supposed to be able to make ten dollars an hour, and they say I should be able to work eight hours a day. So they're going to cut me down to [less than $100] a week...I've never even come close to going back to work full-time...Now they're just waiting for the clock to run out. If they're going to deem me, they should deem me at the number of hours [a day] I might be able to work...I can't go back to work in this condition. Besides, who's going to employ me? I can't see any employer putting up with my restrictions."

Two participants who had been deemed had completed vocational plans but were not fully employed. Following the completion of their vocational plans, they had experienced significant improvements in their health, and had requested additional vocational rehabilitation services from the WCB. They were disappointed that the WCB declined to provide additional vocational rehabilitation assistance.

"I wanted Workers Compensation to help me find work again. I said 'I'm feeling better, can you guys help me find a job?' But they said no. They wouldn't do it. Even with all the letters from my doctors saying 'you should help this guy find work'...It seems like, after you get deemed, that's it, they kind of wash their hands of you."

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