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| Decision No. 2010 09 | 31-Dec-2009 | R. McClellan - E. Tracey - M. Ferrari |
| The worker was a health care aide. She suffered a right shoulder injury at work in May 2006. The employer provided the worker with a modified work assignment, working 31.5 hours per week in her own home on the employer’s homestudy project. On July 4, 2006, the worker was at home working on the project, when she took a break to go to the washroom. On her way back from the washroom, she slipped and fell, suffering a left shoulder injury. The worker appealed a decision of the Appeals Resolution Officer denying entitlement for the left shoulder injury. The employer submitted that the accident at home took place out of regular 9 am to 5 pm work hours and that, accordingly, the worker was not in the course of employment at the time of the accident. However, the Panel found that flexible hours were reasonable considering the nature of the homestudy project and the worker’s right shoulder condition. The employer submitted that it would be unreasonable to impose a burden of 24-hours-per-day liability on the employer for accidents. The Panel stated that it was not proposing 24-hour liability. Rather, entitlement for workers working at home should be adjudicated on the basis of the nature of the activity at the time of the accident. Accordingly, a worker would not have entitlement for an accident while cooking supper or taking out the garbage but would have entitlement for an accident while performing a work-related activity. In this case, the worker was working on the homestudy project, when she took a washroom break, which was reasonably incidental to employment. The worker had entitlement for the home accident. The appeal was allowed. |
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| References: | Act Citation Other Case Reference |
| Neutral Citation: | 2009 ONWSIAT 3036 |
