Employer records were first made public on September 30, 2010. The release of this information is part of the Alberta government’s plan for achieving greater transparency and accountability for occupational health and safety. Albertans have a right to know the workplace injury and fatality records of their employers or prospective employers. We hope that by making this information public, employers will commit to an even better health and safety performance.

• News release

Albertans can see information about worksite injuries and fatalities for more than 150,000 employers insured by the Workers’ Compensation Board-Alberta [link to WCB]. Information can be searched by employer and by city or town, and includes five years of data on:

• Number of lost-time claims by employer, and by industry and provincial totals;
   
• Person-years estimate by employer, and by industry and provincial totals;
   
• Lost-time claim rate by employer, and by industry and provincial totals;
   
• Number of fatalities by employer, including work-related motor vehicle and workplace incidents, and occupational disease; and
   
• Whether each employer holds a Certificate of Recognition.

A short video [link] will show you how to start your search.

Employer records are a five-year snapshot that will be released annually, around the same time each year. The last update was made on October 24. The records are drawn from information reported to the Workers’ Compensation Board-Alberta by March 31, 2011.

Occupational Health and Safety is open to hearing more about the usefulness of the information, and encourages anyone with feedback to call or email the OHS Contact Centre:

• 1-866-415-8690 (Toll-free within Alberta)
• 780-415-8690 (Edmonton and surrounding area)
• Deaf/hard of hearing with TDD/TTY: 780-427-9999 in Edmonton, 1-800-232-7215 throughout Alberta.
• email whs@gov.ab.ca

The records will be rolling. They provide a five-year snapshot based on information reported to the Workers’ Compensation Board-Alberta by March 31.

The records being released reflect information reported to the Workers’ Compensation Board-Alberta [link to WCB] by March 31, 2011. If an employer achieved its COR after that date, it is possible their COR status is not reflected. Human Services regularly updates its list of COR holders. Please see the complete list. If you’re an employer, know you have a COR and your name is still missing from the list, please contact Partnerships in Injury Reduction at 780-415-0522 (toll-free 310-0000) or email partnerships@gov.ab.ca.

A lost-time claim is a claim that was accepted in the calendar year for an occupational injury or disease that causes the worker to take time away from work beyond the day of the injury. Included are claims receiving reimbursement of full or partial lost wages due to occupational illness or injury, or payment for permanent loss of function.

Please see the usage considerations document for definitions of all terms used.

The lost-time claim rate is calculated by dividing the number of lost-time claims by the person-years worked estimate, and multiplying the result by 100. The lost-time claim rate represents the probability or risk of an injury or disease to a worker during a period of one year of work, which will result in time lost from work. Comparisons of lost-time claim rates between industries or between years can be used to indicate changes to this risk.

Please see the usage considerations document for definitions of all terms used.

Person-years estimate refers to estimates of full-time workers. The Workers’ Compensation Board-Alberta (WCB) calculates the person-years estimate from wage and payroll data provided to them by account holders. WCB estimates person-years worked for each employer and each industry. One person-year is equivalent to one full-time worker working for one year, and can be assumed to equal 2,000 hours worked.

Please see the usage considerations document for definitions of all terms used.

An occupational fatality is the death of a worker resulting from an incident or exposure which has been accepted by the Workers’ Compensation Board-Alberta for compensation. Occupational fatalities include those resulting from work-related motor vehicle and workplace incidents and occupational diseases. Some fatalities accepted in a particular year arise from incidents or exposures occurring in prior years, which is the case in many occupational disease cases.

Please see the usage considerations document for definitions of all terms used.

If you have any concern regarding the information contained within the records, call the Occupational Health and Safety Contact Centre:

• 1-866-415-8690 (Toll-free within Alberta)
• 780-415-8690 (Edmonton and surrounding area)
• Deaf/hard of hearing with TDD/TTY: 780-427-9999 in Edmonton, 1-800-232-7215 throughout Alberta.
• email whs@gov.ab.ca

The information in these records is drawn from information reported to the Workers’ Compensation Board – Alberta (WCB). It is a five-year snapshot of information provided to the WCB by March 31, 2011. The WCB already makes annual claim statistics available to employers. Learn about your account statistics. If you’re an employer and don’t already have access to the reporting system, you can sign up for Loss Control Reporting (LCR). MyWCB online services allow you to monitor and review your claim and claim costs, identify possible safety issues by looking at your claim history, and understand what your rate could be if your performance improved.

Employers can also call the WCB toll free, at 1-866-922-9221.