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Air Canada employee who fell on stairs in her home eligible for workers compensation

Air Canada employee who fell on stairs in her home eligible for workers compensation

Old Dec 21, 2021, 6:00 am
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Air Canada employee who fell on stairs in her home eligible for workers compensation

Interesting arguments.

National Post - Dec 21 2021

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada...ensation-judge
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 6:08 am
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Sounds reasonable.
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 7:37 am
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Agreed - that seems completely fair. But it will raise questions about how home environments measure up in terms of compliance with safety standards and such. Lots of lawyers will get new cars out of this.
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 8:02 am
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I actually find this a little odd. My immediate response was going to be along the lines of an actual quote from the article:

This ruling clarifies that even within your home, if you experience an injury during your transit to and from your workplace, then it is considered like you were at your formal workplace.
So if I fall down the stairs at a TTC station (or an equivalent in Quebec) on my way to the office, my employer is responsible?
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 9:03 am
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I've worked at home for years for an online division of my university. The employer definitely pays workman's comp premiums for me, so that should mean that I am eligible when working at home or even working on the road. As far as I know it has never been tested, though, and I can't see how it would apply to COVID.
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 9:14 am
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Originally Posted by canadiancow
I actually find this a little odd. My immediate response was going to be along the lines of an actual quote from the article:



So if I fall down the stairs at a TTC station (or an equivalent in Quebec) on my way to the office, my employer is responsible?
Yes, probably, it seems that commute to and from work counts....
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 9:21 am
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Originally Posted by canadiancow
I actually find this a little odd. My immediate response was going to be along the lines of an actual quote from the article:



So if I fall down the stairs at a TTC station (or an equivalent in Quebec) on my way to the office, my employer is responsible?
You don't even have to leave your house

https://netherlandsnewslive.com/germ...e-work/306107/
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 9:26 am
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Originally Posted by RetiredATLATC
You don't even have to leave your house

https://netherlandsnewslive.com/germ...e-work/306107/
That jurisdiction (Germany) had already determined "commuting" counts for these claims.

As far as I know, no Canadian jurisdiction had made the same determination.
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 10:12 am
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There are circumstances in the US (likely state by state) where if the employee is traveling to/from work and is in a collision or like event, worker's comp applies, although it is a fairly narrow range of circumstances.
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 11:20 am
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Tried to do a quick search on Canlii but didnt find anything. The court document would be helpful in telling us on what factors were presented and what led to this decision.
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 11:56 am
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How about if you stop at the grocery store on the way home from work and have an accident there, is that still work commuting, my guess is not...
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 1:09 pm
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This does seem bizarre.
If you trip down the stairs in the office, it's usually because someone has been negligent. Poor design, an item placed in the wrong spot, etc. It's likely that company policies or lack of enforcement led to that negligence.
If you trip down the stairs in your own home, what could your employer have done to prevent the incident? What can they do differently so that it doesn't happen again?
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 1:18 pm
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It doesn't matter, you got injured on the job, regardless the reason...
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 1:29 pm
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As I said upthread, reading the court document would clear up lots of confusions.

Based on what I read in the news article and my (very limited) understanding of employment laws, the case wasnt about AC being responsible for the workers injury, its about whether AC should offer workers compensation to the employee. Being ordered to offer workers compensation doesnt mean AC is fully responsible for workers injury.
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Old Dec 21, 2021, 1:36 pm
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I think the limitation is that you were performing a work function in an approved environment (not drunk or at the beach)
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