Showing posts with label Government Employees Compensation Act. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Government Employees Compensation Act. Show all posts

Saturday 13 June 2015

Are Workers, Locally Engaged by the Government of Canada, "Entitled" to Workers Compensation Benefits?

Are locally engaged employees of the Consulate General of Canada in Boston (i.e. those hired by the Canadian Government to work in the consulate, but who are not Canadian diplomats), who get injured in the course of employment, “entitled” to workers compensation benefits pursuant to the provisions of Canada’s Government Employees Compensation Act, RSC 1985, c G-5?

While that question may seem oddly specific, and it is, it is not only one of the questions that the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Actions was forced to answer in the case of Cynthia L. Merlini, it is the question on which I was summonsed to provide expert evidence.

On December 11, 2012, I testified as an expert witness in Ms. Merlini’s case. Following the hearing, the trial judge, Administrative Judge John G. Preston, found, on the basis of my testimony, that Ms. Merlini was not “entitled” to benefits from the Canadian Government as a locally engaged employee.

More recently, however, the Reviewing Board held that Ms. Merlini was entitled to benefits and for that reason, and for two other reasons specific to Massachusetts law, which will not be considered by this post, reversed the Order to grant Ms. Merlini benefits from the Massachusetts Workers Trust Fund.

For the reasons set out below, here is why I think the Reviewing Board got the “entitlement” question wrong.

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Compensation for Foreign Locally Engaged Employees


The Ottawa Citizen published a story today concerning an Ottawa woman who was fired from the American embassy after being on sick leave for an extended period of time. As the article explains, the Embassy did not defend the action and as such we are left wanting for answers as to how and why Ontario law would apply to this individual.  

This post will focus on the reverse situation: what if an American was injured while working for the Canadian embassy in Washington?