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99/09/21-06
THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
RESOLUTION OF THE PANEL OF ADMINISTRATORS
Re: Funeral Expenses
WHEREAS:
Pursuant to Section 82 of the Workers Compensation Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 492 and amendments thereto, the Panel of Administrators ("Panel") must approve and superintend the policies and direction of the Workers’ Compensation Board ("Board"), including policies respecting compensation, assessment, rehabilitation and occupational safety and health, and must review and approve the operating policies of the Board;
AND WHEREAS:
The Board’s authority to pay for funeral expenses is provided by Section 17(2) of the Workers Compensation Act;
AND WHEREAS:
Section 17(2) is repealed and substituted by Section 30 of the Labour Statutes Amendment Act, which received Royal Assent on June 29, 1999 and is not in force until brought in by regulation;
AND WHEREAS:
The substituted wording replaces the current fixed payments for funeral expenses with a general authority for these amounts to be determined by Board policy;
AND WHEREAS:
The Board’s policy for funeral expenses is provided in Policy Item #53.00 of the Rehabilitation Services and Claims Manual;
AND WHEREAS:
The Board has determined that the current dollar amounts for funeral expenses are inadequate;
AND WHEREAS:
On October 31, 1997 the Royal Commission on Workers’ Compensation in British Columbia released its interim report, in which it recommended increases in the amounts payable for funeral expenses;
THE PANEL OF ADMINISTRATORS RESOLVES THAT:
- Policy Item #53.00 in the Rehabilitation Services and Claims Manual is amended, as shown in the attachment, to increase the amount available for funeral expenses, including incidentals, to $6,476.47, and the amount available for transportation of the body to $1,023.23.
- These amounts will continue to receive Consumer Price Index adjustments every six months.
- The Board will periodically monitor funeral costs in the province to ensure that the provisions for expenses remain adequate.
- The amended Policy Item #53.00 is effective on the date Section 30 of the Labour Statutes Amendment Act is brought into force by regulation. The policy shall apply to those compensable fatalities that occur on or after the effective date.
DATED at Richmond, British Columbia, October 13, 1999
| By the Workers' Compensation Board |
|
| DON COTT, CHAIR PANEL OF ADMINISTRATORS |
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APPENDIX A
REHABILITATION SERVICES & CLAIMS MANUAL
[Deletions Struck Through, Additions in Bold Italics]
#53.00 Funeral and Other Death Expenses
Where compensation is payable as the result of the death of a worker or as the result of injury resulting in the death, the consequent funeral expenses, and incidental expenses relating to the death, are an amount in respect of funeral and related expenses is paid in addition to any other compensation payable. The amounts payable are is set out below.
The employer of the worker is required to bear the cost of transporting the body to the place of business of the nearest undertaker nearest business premises where funeral services are provided, and if burial does not take place there any additional transportation may, up to the sum set out below, be paid by the Board.
| Incidental Funeral Expenses | Death Expenses |
|
||
| July 1, 1997 — December 31, 1997 | 2,239.64 | 746.56 | 746.56 | |
| January 1, 1998 — June 30, 1998 | 2,249.41 | 749.82 | 749.82 | |
| July 1, 1998 — December 31, 1998 | 2,257.75 | 752.60 | 752.60 | |
| January 1, 1999 — June 30, 1999 | 2,272.34 | 757.46 | 757.46 | |
| Funeral and Related Expenses | Trans- portation of Body |
|||
|
July 1, 1999 — December 31,1999 |
$6,476.47 | $1,023.23 | ||
If required, earlier figures may be obtained by contacting the Board.
No action for an amount larger than that fixed established by the above provisions lies in respect of the funeral, burial, or cremation of a the worker or cemetery charges in connection with it. (3)