Bill 144: Workers' Compensation Act (amended)

This bill affects employers in Nova Scotia who are registered under the workers' compensation system — from small construction outfits and manufacturers to large municipal fire departments and provincial government departments. Employers will need to update their accident-reporting practices, as the window to notify the Board of a workplace accident drops from five days to two. Businesses with injured workers returning to work should know the Board can now share medical information with them without explicit worker consent in certain circumstances. Provincial government departments, particularly those with firefighting or fire investigation staff, face new obligations around presumptive cancer claims, and all employers may see adjusted payroll assessments over time as benefit levels are recalculated under new CPI-linked indexing rules.