WCB Fair Practices Advocate Like an Ombudsperson

A highlight of the February meeting of the MFL Compensation Committee was a presentation by Pat Macgillivray, the Fair Practices Advocate with the Manitoba Workers Compensation Board. Following her presentation that responded to the issues and points the committee had enquired about, there was an open discussion and question and answer session.

Among the points discussed was an explanation that the WCB's Fair Practices office is a form of ombudsperson that has the ability and mandate to look into all complaints that are received. These complaints range from not having a phone call returned to delays in decision making.

Fair Practices Advocate Pat Macgillivray (right) met with the MFL Compensation Committee in February, including (from left) Jennifer Griffiths, Injured and Disabled Workers Center - Krista Wiebe, Manitoba Government Employees' Union - Bob Newman, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers - and Ken Kalturnyk, Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

The Fair Practices office can not overturn decisions due to the fact that they are not an appeal mechanism for claimants. Their decisions are advisory only, not compulsory, but their advice is routinely adopted. Advise is also given to department directors and senior vice-presidents on how claim handling could be improved throughout the system. Macgillivray gives a quarterly report of the types of complaints her office received to the WCB Board of Directors.

All investigations are completely confidential. No information is left on any individuals file by the Fair Practices Office about either their investigation, their findings or their recommendations. This is because they only investigate the file and the information it contains, there is no external investigation carried out or documentation generated. If a claimant wants their request for the Fair Practices Advocate inquiry into their issue noted, they must request in writing that their complaints be recorded to file.

The compliant process of the Fair Practices Advocate is informal. They will act upon a phone call from a claimant or employer to review the issue on file that has been identified.

One of the problems that they encounter that is difficult to solve is getting reports when doctors close their offices for vacation periods. This can sometimes be for many weeks at a time which can contribute greatly to the delays that injured workers face as reports and updates of treatment have to be received from the doctor by the WCB before they can process a claim.

The MFL Compensation committee often meets with members of the Manitoba Workers Compensation Board to discuss common issues of concern in the hopes of solving systemic problems. The committee meets once per once, except during July and August, usually on the first Monday of the month.