BILL 47

An Act to Amend the Workers’ Compensation Act

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:

1 Section 16 of the Workers’ Compensation Act, chapter W-13 of the Revised Statutes, 1973, is repealed and the following is substituted:

Limitation of time for application

16( 1) An application for compensation under this Part shall be made

( a)  within one year after the date of the accident, or

( b)  in the case of death, within six months after the date of the accident.

16( 2) The Commission may extend the time period referred to in subsection (1) if it considers that the delay is justified.

2 Section 44 of the Act is amended

( a)  by repealing subsection (4) and substituting the following:

44( 4) The employer shall notify the Commission on a form provided by the Commission of the following:

( a)  the occurrence of an accident and the nature of it;

( b)  the day and the time the accident occurred;

( c)  the name and address of the worker who suffered an injury;

( d)  the place where the accident occurred;

( e)  the name and address of the worker’s attending physician or surgeon, if any; and

( f)  any other particulars prescribed by regulation.

( b)  by adding after subsection (4) the following:

44( 4.1) The notice under subsection (4) shall be made within three days after the date

( a)  a worker suffers an injury as a result of an accident that may entitle the worker or his or her dependents to

( i) compensation under this Part including loss of earnings and medical aid expenses but excluding first aid provided by the employer, or

( ii) medical aid under this Part;

( b)  a worker is diagnosed with an occupational disease; or

( c)  the employer receives a notice from a worker in accordance with subsection (6), if the employer has knowledge of the accident only by such notice.

( c)  by adding after subsection (5) the following:

44( 5.1) Every employer shall establish a procedure that requires a worker to notify the employer of an accident that the employer is required to report to the Commission under subsection (4).

( d)  in subsection (7) by striking out “notice shall” and substituting “notice to the employer by the worker shall”;

( e)  by repealing subsection (8).

3 This Act comes into force on June 1, 2014.