Labor Group Seeks Independent Review of Workers’ Comp Board
- The Manitoba Federation of Labor is calling for an independent review of the Workers’ Compensation Board of Manitoba after a review of 2025 provincial reports found Manitoba workers have had Canada’s highest injury rate for a third straight year. The board insures more than 40,000 employers and nearly 75% of the province’s workforce.
- Manitoba’s time-loss injury rate was 2.5 injuries per 100 workers last year, 25% higher than any other province and more than 60% higher than the Canadian average, according to the federation. British Columbia had the second-highest rate at about two per 100 workers.
- Federation president Kevin Rebeck said the board’s industry-run injury prevention system is “ineffective and unaccountable.” A 2014 law change shifted prevention from the provincial government to the board, which the federation says has largely handed responsibility to industry-run safety associations that certify employers for rebates with little public oversight.
- The Workers Compensation Board said injury time-loss data is hard to compare across jurisdictions because methodologies are not standardized. The province’s Workers Compensation Act is currently under its required once-a-decade review.
Court: Security Guards Were Misclassified as Contractors
- The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted summary judgment to security guards who sued DMV Protection LLC, ruling that the company misclassified them as independent contractors rather than employees.
- The ruling covers class claims under multiple states’ wage and hour laws, including Virginia’s misclassification statute, and collective claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Judge Anthony J. Trenga also found company owner Jovan Vladic individually liable as an employer.
- One security guard sued in 2025 on behalf of fellow guards, seeking overtime premiums and other wages. The company provides security personnel in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, and classified everyone on its payroll except Vladic as an independent contractor. Guards signed an “Independent Contractor Agreement” and handbook when hired.
- The court said DMV Protection, not its clients, controlled the guards’ schedules, uniforms and on-site conduct, and that the guards had minimal opportunity for profit or loss. They averaged 8.5 months of work, a length of relationship courts have consistently treated as employment. The guards could not hire helpers, subcontract shifts or arrange coverage without supervisor approval.
- The court also denied the company’s motion to decertify the FLSA collective and the Rule 23 class, finding the class definition was precise and based on detailed payroll records. It said the guards’ differences were minimal. The 24-page opinion, Rangel v. DMV Protection, LLC, was issued in early September.
County Renews Workers’ Comp Policy With Encova for $14,233
- The Brooke County Commission in West Virginia voted Tuesday to renew the county’s workers’ compensation policy with Encova Insurance at a cost of $14,233.
- The commission handled the renewal at its regular meeting, which focused on insurance and benefits.
- Commissioners also discussed employee overtime requirements but took no action, saying the issue is a matter of more clearly communicating policies, procedures and best practices for using the payroll software.