Policy
Members of municipal volunteer fire brigades, volunteer ambulance brigades, and auxiliary members of a police force generally operate under the authority of a municipality. Members of these forces are workers under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (WSIA), and the WSIB considers the employer of these volunteer workers to be one of the following
A hospital may be the deemed employer of a volunteer ambulance brigade or service.
The WSIB deems the following as employers of volunteer forces in territories with no municipal organizations
If an Indian Band Council with a volunteer force obtains Schedule 1 coverage for all council operations, the Band Council is deemed the employer of the force.
Selected earnings
Every year, Schedule 1 employers must give the WSIB a statement setting out the total wages earned during the preceding year by all workers, and such other information as the WSIB may request.
The statement by a deemed employer of a municipal volunteer fire brigade or a volunteer ambulance brigade or of auxiliary members of a police force must set out the number of members of the brigade or the number of auxiliary members and the amount of their earnings, fixed by the deemed employer, to be attributed to each member for the purposes of the insurance plan.
The amount of earnings selected by the deemed employer must be the same for each member of the volunteer force. The amount selected cannot be greater than the maximum earnings ceiling set annually by the WSIB.
The selected amount must be at least half the annual maximum earnings ceiling.
If a deemed employer has more than one type of volunteer force, the employer selects an annual amount of earnings for each force.
Accident costs
Accident costs resulting from injuries covered under this policy are the responsibility of the deemed employer.
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to set out who the employer is for volunteer forces, when volunteers are covered, what the obligations of both the deemed and regular employer are, and the earnings used to calculate a volunteer's average earnings in the case
Guidelines
Definitions
In this policy, volunteer force refers to
Likewise, volunteer refers to an individual member of any of the above.
Full-time and Part-time Firefighters
The WSIB considers firefighters to be full-time or part-time with a municipality when they meet the following criteria
Note
Part IX of the FPPA sets out the employment and labour relations regime for firefighters.
Volunteer Firefighters
The WSIB considers firefighters to be volunteer firefighters when they meet the following criteria
Membership in municipal volunteer brigades
The chief of the fire department, or a person authorized to do so by the entity responsible for the brigade, must approve a volunteer's membership in a municipal volunteer fire brigade.
Rules for coverage
To determine whether a personal injury by accident occurred in the course of a volunteer’s employment, the criteria of place, time, and activity as outlined in 15-02-02, Accident in the Course of Employment are considered.
Volunteers are also covered under this policy and considered to be in the course of employment when responding to an emergency call or alarm from their home, or from their regular employment, whether they are
See 12-04-03, Emergency Workers for more information about individuals who are not members of a volunteer force, but who are summoned in an emergency situation.
Additional coverage rules for volunteer firefighters
Volunteer firefighters are also covered while
If required to travel away from the deemed employer’s premises, volunteer firefighters may be covered if the criteria in 15-03-05, Travelling are met.
Regular employer's premises
Volunteers responding to, or intervening in an emergency situation
are considered to be in the employ of the regular employer, and are not covered by this policy.
Schedule 1 deemed employers
The selected amount is the amount used to calculate the deemed employer’s insurable earnings. For the calculation of insurable earnings by Schedule 1 deemed employers, see 14-02-11, Insurable Earnings - Volunteer Forces.
The same selected amount is used to calculate a volunteer’s benefits when a work-related injury occurs.
Changes to the selected amount
The deemed employer may change the selected amount for its volunteer forces at any time by notifying the WSIB in writing. For benefit purposes, the change is effective the date the written notice is received by the WSIB. For the purpose of insurable earnings, the higher amount selected is used to calculate premiums retroactive to the beginning of the year.
Schedule 2 deemed employers
Schedule 2 employers are individually liable for the costs of work-related injuries and diseases to their workers. Deemed Schedule 2 employers do not pay premiums based on the amount of earnings selected for their volunteer forces. However, the WSIB informs deemed employers in Schedule 2 when a change is made in the earnings ceiling.
Recording selected amount of earnings
Each year, the Schedule 2 deemed employer records, in writing, the amount of earnings it has selected for each volunteer force. If a work-related injury or disease occurs, the Schedule 2 deemed employer submits the written amount of earnings selected along with the Employer's Report of Injury Disease Form to the WSIB, see 15-01-02, Employer's Initial Accident-Reporting Obligations.
Changes in selected amount of earnings
Schedule 2 deemed employers may update the selected amount of earnings, in writing, at anytime throughout the year.
The updated amount of earnings must be maintained in their records.
Who submits the accident report form?
If a volunteer is injured, the deemed employer submits the accident report form to the WSIB, see 15-01-02, Employers’ Initial Accident-Reporting Obligations.
Average earnings in case of injury
The current selected amount requested by the deemed employer—not the actual earnings in regular employment - is used to calculate the volunteer's net average earnings in case of injury. Other earnings are not considered in the calculation.
Regular employer's obligations
If a volunteer is the worker of a regular employer covered under the WSIA and receives benefits under this policy, the regular employer is responsible for complying with the obligations related to
The deemed employer, however, reimburses the regular employer for the costs of meeting these obligations.
Application date
This policy applies to all decisions made (regardless of accident date) on or after February 15, 2013.
Document History
This document replaces 12-04-02 dated January 2, 2014.
This document was previously published as:
12-04-02 dated June 1, 2006.
12-04-02 dated January 3, 2006
12-04-02 dated June 1, 2005
12-04-02 dated October 12, 2004
12-04-02 dated July 19, 2004
12-04-02 dated November 15, 2002
12-04-02 dated May 23, 2000
12-04-02 dated June 15, 1999
4.4 dated January 1, 1998.
References
Legislative Authority
Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, as amended
Sections 2(1), 13(1), 25(3.1), 40(4.1), 41(17), 70, 78(1) and (3)
Minute
Administrative
#3, November 19, 2014, Page 520