Alerts - August 27, 2007

Section 251 Referrals to the Chair for Lawfulness of Policy : Section 251 of the Workers Compensation Act (Act) states that WCAT may refuse to apply an applicable policy of the board of directors only if the policy is so patently unreasonable that it is not capable of being supported by the Act and its regulations. If a WCAT panel considers that an applicable policy should not be applied on this basis, that issue must be referred to the chair and the appeal must be suspended until the chair or the board of directors, as the case may be, decides whether the policy should be applied. (See item #12.40 of WCAT’s Manual of Rules of Practice and Procedure regarding the steps WCAT will follow when a policy is referred to the chair under section 251.)

There are two outstanding section 251 referrals to the chair. In both circumstances, the Policy and Research Division of the Workers’ Compensation Board, operating as WorkSafeBC, has decided to review the referred policy. With the agreement of the parties to the affected appeals, the chair of WCAT is deferring her consideration of the referrals pending the outcome of these reviews. The outstanding referrals are with respect to:

Item #40.00 of the Rehabilitation Services and Claims Manual, Volume II. Click here for the full text of the July 10, 2006 referral memo. [pdf 71Kb]
Items AP1-37-3 and AP1-96-1 of the Assessment Manual. Click here for the full text of the April 2, 2007 referral memo. [pdf 128Kb]