Workers' compensation and benefits policy

Workers' compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to workers injured in the course of their employment. Eligibility for, and awarding of, benefits to injured workers are determined by workers’ compensation boards, which are funded through employer premiums. IWH research explores trends in compensation benefits, including benefit adequacy and equity, as well as the effects of compensation policy design on injury and illness prevention.

Featured

Research Highlights

Severe pain, not pressure to return to work or lack of accommodation offer, linked to opioid use post-injury

An IWH study found that among a group of injured workers in Ontario, those who experienced severe pain were more likely to use opioids than those who had no or only mild pain.

Published: February 12, 2025

A man speaks with a female doctor in scrubs who holds a clipboard

Research Highlights

Workers are using cannabis to treat work-related conditions, mostly without medical guidance

While cannabis is often used recreationally, there is growing interest in its use for therapeutic purposes, such as for pain, anxiety, depression and sleep problems. Some workers are using cannabis many months following the onset of a work-related condition, mostly without medical guidance.

Published: October 5, 2023

Research Highlights

Severe pain, not pressure to return to work or lack of accommodation offer, linked to opioid use post-injury

An IWH study found that among a group of injured workers in Ontario, those who experienced severe pain were more likely to use opioids than those who had no or only mild pain—regardless of whether they felt they had to return to work too soon, or were offered work accommodations.

Published: February 2025

Journal article

Transition between social protection systems for workers with long term health problems: a controlled retrospective cohort study

Published: SSM - Population Health, August 2023

A worker drives a forklift in a lumber mill

Impact case study

Following reports by IWH and others, B.C. amends the law to strengthen protections against claim suppression

After an IWH study filled a research gap on claim suppression in B.C. and helped make the case for change, the province amended legislation to strengthen protections against the practice.

Published: July 2023

Journal article

Cannabis use among workers with work-related injuries and illnesses: results from a cross-sectional study of workers' compensation claimants in Ontario, Canada

Published: BMJ Open, July 2023

Workers' compensation and benefits policy

Featured

Severe pain, not pressure to return to work or lack of accommodation offer, linked to opioid use post-injury

Workers are using cannabis to treat work-related conditions, mostly without medical guidance

Severe pain, not pressure to return to work or lack of accommodation offer, linked to opioid use post-injury

Claim suppression of occupational injuries and illnesses among precariously employed immigrant workers in Ontario

The impact of regulatory workplace safety inspections on workers' compensation claim rates

An observational study of pain severity, cannabis use, and benefit expenditures in work disability

Thirteen-year associations of occupational and leisure-time physical activity with cardiorespiratory fitness in CARDIA

Understanding the early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on brain injury associations across Canada: a qualitative study

Workers are using cannabis to treat work-related conditions, mostly without medical guidance

Transition between social protection systems for workers with long term health problems: a controlled retrospective cohort study

Following reports by IWH and others, B.C. amends the law to strengthen protections against claim suppression

Cannabis use among workers with work-related injuries and illnesses: results from a cross-sectional study of workers' compensation claimants in Ontario, Canada

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