We’re committed to protecting the personal information you provide us under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to administer the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.
The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act provides for:
- a right of public access to general records relating to the activities of government
- privacy protection of personal information held by government institutions and the right of individuals to request access to their own personal information
Our corporate access and privacy statement is based on the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, the WSIB Enterprise Privacy Policy and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code Ten Principles.
1. Accountability:
Protecting the confidentiality of personal information is a shared responsibility. We protect the personal information held by us through policies, procedures, education and awareness programs and ongoing privacy reviews.
Under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the WSIB Chair, as head of the agency, is accountable for the personal information in our custody. All our employees have the same accountability, and our roles and responsibilities for privacy protection are outlined in the WSIB Enterprise Privacy Policy and reinforced through the WSIB Code of Business Ethics and Conflict of Interest policies. Contracted service providers and vendors are also bound to confidentiality by contract.
Our Privacy Office develops, delivers and maintains the Enterprise Privacy Program, which sets our privacy requirements, identifies and assesses any privacy risks and makes sure we're compliant with privacy legislation.
2. Purpose of collection:
We collect personal information to use in the administration of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act. We do this:
- to promote health and safety in the workplace
- to prevent and reduce workplace injuries and occupational diseases
- to help people recover and return to work after a workplace injury or illness
- to provide compensation and other benefits to injured or ill people and survivors
- to ensure the quality of our products and services through third party researchers
3. Limiting collection:
We limit the collection of personal information to only what is required to fulfill the authorized purposes of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, and we state the reason for collecting the information at the time of collection.
4. Notice and consent:
Notice:
The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act permits us to collect, use and disclose personal information necessary to administer the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act. At the time of collection, a notice is provided containing information regarding the:
- legal authority for the collection
- principal purpose(s) for which the personal information is intended to be used
- title, business address, and business telephone number of an individual who can answer your questions about the collection
The Workers Report of Injury or Illness (Form 6) provides the notice of collection to injured or ill people claiming benefits under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act. A more detailed notice is provided in the privacy statement for workers. An electronic notice of collection is provided to the subscriber of the service when personal information is collected through an electronic channel.
Consent:
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Act authorizes us to request medical information from health care providers, hospitals, or health care facilities providing health care to someone claiming benefits without consent.
There may be times, such as in a decision letter, or a non-economic loss medical assessment, where confidential information including personal health information related to your claim may be disclosed to your employer without your consent. This is covered under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
There are additional limited case specific situations where consent is required for the collection, use and/or disclosure of personal information. You must provide consent to allow health care practitioners to disclose functional abilities information directly to your employer when making a claim for benefits. Prior to the individual surveys being conducted, we or a contracted third party will contact you to get your consent for participation in the survey.
5. Limiting use, disclosure and retention:
We use and disclose personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required or permitted by law. We keep personal information only as long as necessary to comply with legislative or business requirements.
6. Accuracy:
We make reasonable efforts to keep personal information as accurate and complete as possible to be used for the purposes it was collected. We'll amend records where appropriate to ensure the accuracy of personal information.
7. Safeguards:
We make every effort to ensure our security measures protect against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, use, or modifications of information. Such measures vary depending on the sensitivity of the information, amount, format, nature and storage of the information. We use physical, organizational, technical and contractual measures to safeguard the information entrusted to us. Claim files are an example of sensitive information we guard in this way. We have procedures in place to authenticate individuals requesting confidential information.
Online safeguards
We continuously monitor and enhance our security practices to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of customer information and our systems. We use up-to-date security safeguards to protect our networks and online services from misuse, alteration, copying, disclosure, destruction, monitoring or unauthorized sharing of information and damage. Safeguards include the use of security software and encryption protocols and involve physical, technical and procedural controls.
8. Openness:
We provide easy access to information about our policies and practices regarding management of personal information on our website:
- Operational Policy Manual (includes specific policies on confidentiality)
- Privacy statement for workers
- Code of Business Ethics
- Directory of Records listing all personal information and general corporate records under our control.
Learn more about our personal information and privacy resources or call our Privacy Office at 416-344-5323 for hard copy resources and general information.
9. Individual access:
I. Under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, both claimants and their employer have an interest in a claim and have similar rights to receive fair and equal treatment. When either party objects to a decision, both the claimant and their employer can obtain a digital copy of the relevant claim file documents at no charge to assist them in the appeal process. Before an employer receives the relevant claim file documents, claimants have 21 days to object to the release of any health care information not relevant to the adjudication of the claim. Businesses have a duty to keep the information received from the WSIB confidential.
You can get a digital copy of your claim file by writing to your decision-maker and submitting the
. You must submit a separate form for each claim where information is requested. You can call us at 1-800-387-0750 if you have problems receiving a copy of your claim file.
If you’ve previously received a copy of a claim file, you’ll receive updates that have been added to the file from the date of your last request. Please provide your current email address when you make a request. If the email address you provide is different from the one on file, we’ll update our records for you.
II. Everyone has the right to request access to a record under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, unless it falls within one of the exemptions described in the Act.
Freedom of information requests may be submitted by mail, or online along with a $5 application fee.
We’ll respond to requests within 30 calendar days from the receipt date, or within any approved extended time limit. Decisions on access to records and fee estimates can be appealed to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.
10. Challenging compliance:
We investigate all challenges regarding the collection, use or disclosure of personal information. If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy statement, including the handling, use, or disclosure of your personal information, please contact your decision-maker. If you’re not satisfied with the response from your decision-maker, please contact our Privacy Office.
Address:
Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
Privacy Office
200 Front Street West,
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3J1
Telephone:
Telephone: 416-344-1000
Toll free: 1-800-387-0750
TTY: 1-800-387-0050
Privacy Office: 416-344-5323
If you're still concerned about how your personal information has been handled, you may contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.
11. When visiting our website or submitting information through our electronic channels
Collection, use, and disclosure of personal information
Visiting our website does not identify you in any way. Our web servers collect domain names, not the email addresses of visitors to our site. We use information like the number of visits, the average time spent on the site, pages viewed, etc., to measure the effectiveness of our site, improve its content, and be more responsive to your needs. This statistical collection of non-identifiable information may be used by us or be provided to others for marketing, advertising, or research purposes.
If you make a specific request through our website, we may use your personal information to respond to your request.
Cookies and IP addresses
A cookie is a piece of information that a site transfers to an individual’s computer. A cookie is generally used to enhance your browsing experience. There are two types of cookies: persistent cookies and session cookies. We may use one or both types of cookies. Persistent cookies are stored on a computer’s hard drive where they remain until they’re either deleted or they reach a predetermined expiry date. Persistent cookies are most commonly used to provide users with a customized experience by recording preferences. Session cookies do not permanently record data and aren’t stored on a computer's hard drive. They’re stored in memory and are only available during an active session. Once the session ends the cookie disappears. Session cookies are used primarily for technical reasons to allow seamless navigation.
The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario provides more details on cookies.
Security
Certain areas of the website employ Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption technology and other resources to enhance data privacy and help prevent loss, misuse or alteration of the information that is provided to us through your use of those systems. When you’re in an area of the website employing SSL, the web address of the page will begin with “https”. Please note that the personal information you submit may not necessarily be secure even if using SSL and we don’t make any guarantee regarding the effectiveness of the security measures it has put in place.
If you have any questions about the security of the transmission and storage of information from your computer to us, you should read your user manual or contact your internet service provider.
Third-party pages
Our website pages may embed third-party web pages, content or components. If you select any such third-party pages, content or components, please be advised that they may not be subject to the same statutory privacy protections as our WSIB web pages.