'Pathetic' number of burnout claims accepted by compensation board shows policy needs change: labour leader

A policy meant to compensate Manitoba workers experiencing extreme levels of burnout needs to be reviewed after only a handful of claims were approved more than a year since it was introduced, labour groups say.

Twenty-one claims for psychological injuries caused by an excessive workload had been filed as of July 8, with just three of them accepted. Of those three claims, only one was related to burnout.

Fourteen other claims were rejected, 12 of them because they didn't meet the policy's eligibility criteria. The remaining four claims are still pending.

The data comes from a report by the Workers Compensation Board, in response to a freedom of information request filed by the Manitoba Federation of Labour, which was then sent to CBC News.

The psychological injury policy was amended to cover excessive workload claims on May 1, 2023.

MFL president Kevin Rebeck said the numbers are "pathetic."

"It just shows that there's a big disconnect here right now," he said. "Today in Manitoba, if you're injured on the job by a physical injury, you'll get covered by WCB. But if it's a mental health injury … WCB has put a bunch of false barriers in place between workers getting the compensation that they need and deserve."

Board needs to expand eligibility: federation

Under the policy, the workload needs to have been "excessive or unusual in intensity" over a prolonged period of time, and significantly different from what's usual for the claimant and their coworkers such that "a reasonable person in the worker's situation might be expected to suffer an injury."

CBC News has reached out to the Workers Compensation Board for comment but has not yet received a response

The fact there have only been 21 claims shows workers don't even want to file one because they don't think they'll be accepted, Rebeck said.

"The bar that's being put before them is so high," he said. "You need to have a psychologist or psychiatrist diagnose you and say that's the issue. They [WCB] need to expand who they'll accept medical information from."

Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union, said the situation is "absolutely shameful," particularly as the members the union represents continue dealing with high levels of burnout in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have nurses who are working with workloads that far exceed anything we've ever seen before," Jackson said.

"There's a cost to a publicly funded health-care system. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as if this government is willing to pay that cost."

Jackson said she would like to see the labour minister review the guidelines. The MFL said it would also like to see a review, broadening the medical documentation it will accept.

Rebeck said all workplace injuries should be treated the same way, whether they're physical or mental.

"They've helped one person. They've helped one person by changing their policy," he said. "That means they need to change things in a more substantive way."