Document name

Earnings Verification

Document number

POL 13/2021

Earning capacity means the amount of income a worker could be expected to generate, post injury, through the performance of suitable productive employment, given their restrictions and unique vocational profile.

1. Workers entitled to compensation are required to provide any proof of claim that the WCB requires (Section 44(2) and Section 47(1)).
2. Payments made to a worker may be reviewed by request of the WCB, the worker, their dependent or the worker’s employer. Upon review, the WCB may terminate, diminish or increase payments to a worker (Section 100(1)(2)).
3. Canada or Quebec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP) disability or survivor benefits may offset a worker’s earnings loss benefits (Section 95).
4. No person shall knowingly provide false or misleading information to the Board (Section 180(a)).
5. The WCB will complete ongoing reviews of a worker’s actual or estimated earnings, when they are entitled to long-term earnings loss benefits as established through POL & PRO 01/2018, Benefits – Long-Term Earnings Loss.

General

1. Annually, the WCB will review a worker’s long-term earnings loss benefits on the anniversary of the commencement of the worker’s loss of earnings resulting from the injury. Verification will ensure that the information used for calculating long-term earnings loss benefits is reflective of the actual or estimated earnings of the worker.
2. The WCB will review a worker’s information received from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), to verify their:
   1. Earnings.
   2. Tax exemption status (TD1), and
   3. If they receive CPP/QPP disability or survivor benefits.
3. If CRA tax information is unavailable, the WCB may use alternate means of verifying a worker’s earnings and tax exemption status.
4. The WCB will adjust a worker’s long-term earnings loss benefits based on actual reported earnings from the previous year.

Benefit Adjustments

5. Subject to points 7 to 9, all adjustments that result from the annual earnings verification process will take effect in the current year on the anniversary of the worker’s commencement of loss date.
6. The WCB may adjust a worker’s long-term earnings loss benefits in the current year when:
   1. There is a change of earnings capacity based on a difference between estimated and actual earnings.
   2. There is a change to a worker’s TD1 status.  

Retroactive Benefit Adjustments

7. The WCB may retroactively adjust a worker’s long-term earnings loss benefits from previous estimated years. A retroactive adjustment is calculated based on the date when the adjustment to the worker’s benefit entitlement is determined to have occurred (e.g., January 1st of the income tax year).
8. The WCB may recalculate and retroactively adjust a worker’s long-term earnings loss benefits when:
   1. There is more than a 10 per cent difference in earnings capacity adjustment between estimated and actual earnings.
   2. There is a change of earnings capacity as a result of a breach of the Act; such as suspected or alleged fraud, deliberate misrepresentation or withholding of information affecting entitlement was involved.
   3. Approved or adjustments to CPP/QPP disability or survivor benefits.
   4. Any other situation determined by the Board.
9. Retroactive long-term earnings loss adjustments may result in either an underpayment or overpayment of benefits to a worker. The WCB will pursue all overpayments resulting from a recalculation (POL 17/2016, Overpayment Recovery – Compensation).

Other

10. The WCB will not recalculate and retroactively adjust long-term earnings loss benefits to include salary increases or promotions effective after the day of injury that change pre-injury earnings.