Our Occupational Health group helps clients with a range of issues relating to:

• occupational health and safety
• the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)
• employee absences and the accommodation of disabilities in the workplace

In addition to legal services, we also offer proactive management consulting services in these areas led by Jason Mandlowitz, Vice President, Hicks Morley Consulting Services. Our legal and consulting services combine to provide clients with a fully integrated service program.

• Health and safety: With our de­tailed know­ledge of Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act, and the health and safety provisions of the Canada Labour Code, we help clients understand and fulfil their health and safety obligations. Our services include:
  • defending clients charged under the Act or the Code. In this regard, we have extensive experience at all court levels
  • appealing orders issued by inspectors
  • developing and monitoring health and safety policies
  • assessing and minimizing liabilities
• WSIB: The proper management of WSIB claims and financial issues can save employers significant amounts of money. We offer a comprehensive claims management program as well as advising on employer registration, classification and penalty assessment matters. We also help our clients deal with practical day-to-day issues, including:
  • accident investigation and reporting
  • communication with the WSIB
  • the return of injured employees to work
  • advice on the legal rights and responsibilities of employers and workers
  • financial matters, such as audits, classification appeals, experience-rating (New Experimental Experience Rating Program) issues and cost management concerns
  • prosecutions under the WSIA
• Attendence management: Employee absenteeism has a major impact on an employer’s costs, efficiency and workplace morale. We help clients develop attendance management programs to manage and reduce absenteeism and guide them through the legal and practical issues that arise. We then work with our clients through the implementation process and beyond.
• Litigation solutions: When matters cannot be resolved satisfactorily, we provide representation in litigation before the courts, boards of arbitration, human rights tribunals, and workplace safety and insurance tribunals.

The Hicks Morley advantage

Through a combination of our legal and consulting services, we offer our clients a truly unique and comprehensive approach to workplace health, safety, and attendance management issues – from establishing management and compliance systems, to managing day-to-day claims and issues, to representing clients in arbitration, tribunal and court hearings and appeals.

This approach provides great efficiencies for our clients, promotes effective and consistent systems and solutions across an organization, and ensures many potential issues are addressed proactively – before major problems emerge.

Notables

• Representation: We successfully acted as client counsel at one of the first WSIB criminal prosecutions, with all charges dismissed. We have been involved in leading cases under the OHSA on machine grading, search warrants, and jurisdiction of the courts.
• Effective solutions: Our representation of clients at the WSIB resulted in millions of dollars in savings in 2006. One school board client alone has saved $1 million in surcharges.
• Added value: Our recently published Attendance Management Handbook has proven to be a comprehensive resource for clients looking for solutions to employee absenteeism.