# Should you apply for workers comp? (NT) > URL: https://www.aftermetoo.com/article/should-you-apply-for-workers-comp/nt/ > Language: en > Description: In the Northwest Territories, workers comp can replace lost wages, but harassment claims are hard to win—how to tell whether it's worth applying. --- Important This is not legal advice! What you are getting here is just general legal information. It is not a substitute for advice from an actual lawyer about your specific situation. If you need legal advice, we urge you to [find a lawyer](https://www.aftermetoo.com/article/how-to-find-and-work-with-a-lawyer/) who can help you. The [Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission](https://www.wscc.nt.ca/) is an independent governmental agency that operates “at arm’s length” from the Nunavut and Northwest Territories governments. It gives benefits and supports to people who’ve been injured at work. These can include replacement of lost wages, health care (including rehabilitation, counselling, and medications), and, in extreme situations, retraining. ## **Facts about the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission** - The WSCC functions like an insurance provider. Employers pay premiums to the WSCC for the people who work for them. As a result, those people are entitled to benefits if they suffer a workplace injury. - WCB coverage is mandatory for most employers. About 97% of Nunavut and Northwest Territories workers are covered by the WSCC, which handles claims in both jurisdictions. - In 2023, the WSCC accepted about 1,100 NWT claims.  - The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal reviewed two decisions by the WSCC in 2023, reversing one and upholding the other.  - Sources: [Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission Annual Report 2023](https://wscc.nt.ca/sites/default/files/documents/WSCC%202023%20Annual%20Report-EN_0.pdf), [Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal Annual Report 2023](https://assembly.nu.ca/sites/default/files/2024-11/WCAT%202023%20AR%20ENG.pdf), [Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada](https://awcbc.org/data-and-statistics/key-statistical-measures/detailed-key-statistical-measures-report) If you’ve been harmed by sexual harassment at work, you might think the WSCC will help you.  - Maybe after you were harassed, you took time off work and so lost income. - Maybe the harassment damaged your mental health, and you ended up needing to spend money on medication for anxiety or depression. - Maybe the harassment had such an effect on you that you had to leave an industry and ended up needing to retrain for a new type of work in a different field.  Those are the kinds of expenses—replacement of lost wages, medication costs, retraining costs—that the WSCC often covers. And it’s possible that if you make a claim for harm you experienced from being harassed it will be successful. The WSCC, which serves both Nunavut and Northwest Territories residents, is more likely than some other jurisdictions to approve this type of claim if you meet the conditions for coverage. Important Legally, if your employer is a WSCC member, they are required to report any injuries that occur in their workplace. But really most are unlikely to do this in sexual harassment cases, because they often deny the harassment occurred or that it caused real harm. Important If you want to apply for disability insurance through your workplace provider, the insurer may require you to apply to the WSCC first, and appeal if you are turned down ## **Pros and cons** of going to **the WSCC** ### Pros - It isn’t expensive to submit a claim.  - WSCC benefits can be generous. Wage replacement is up to 90% of your net salary. - Representing yourself is possible when first making a claim. But if your claim is denied, appealing is more complicated. There may be some legal resources to help if you still want to represent yourself. ### Cons - The WSCC doesn’t investigate or adjudicate whether you were sexually harassed. If you are looking for someone to tell you that you were sexually harassed, and to punish the harasser or your employer for allowing the harassment, the WSCC won’t give you that. - You can’t apply to the WSCC secretly. You must inform your employer of your injury as well as report it to the WSCC. That means your employer will have information about your private health circumstances. - Your employer will have the opportunity to dispute your claim and it’s very likely they will do this, in which case proving your case will be more difficult. - To make a claim, you must present a police report or similar objective proof. - You will need a psychologist to say that you’ve suffered an injury. If you don’t have easy access to someone who will do this, making a claim will be harder. ## **Psychiatric** and **psychological disorders** claims The WSCC awards benefits due to the injury you sustained, which in your case would be damaged mental health. While the WSCC will cover some claims for mental health harms, there are two things you need before that might happen, which makes the process challenging: - a police report or other outside confirmation of the incident or incidents  - a diagnosis of a disorder described in the *Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5*, including acute stress disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, or an anxiety or depressive disorder If you don’t have a police report, your employer’s verification could be sufficient, but many employers dispute claims. The WSCC won’t cover every kind of mental stress that arises at work. If you develop a mental health condition caused by your employer making changes to your shifts or other working conditions, for example, or firing you, or due to interpersonal conflicts that don’t involve harassment, you aren’t eligible to file a claim. ## How to **make** a **WSCC application** First, you must inform your employer, then complete the [Worker’s Report of Injury](https://www.wscc.nt.ca/sites/default/files/documents/Worker%27s%20Report%20of%20Injury%20form.pdf) form. See [What to Expect with Your Claim](https://wscc.nt.ca/claim-services/claim-workers/what-expect-your-claim) and the [Claims Process Map](https://wscc.nt.ca/sites/default/files/documents/Claims%20Process%20Map_EN.pdf) on the agency’s website. To file a claim with the WSCC, you must be employed in a business or industry that is covered by the [Workers’ Compensation Act](https://www.canlii.org/en/nu/laws/stat/snu-2007c15/222674/snu-2007c15.html). About 97% of workers in the NWT are included under the act. ## For **more information** Contact the [Workers’ Advisor Office](https://www.workersadvisor.ca/) for information and advice. Also, see the [frequently asked questions page](https://www.workersadvisor.ca/faq.html) on that agency’s website. ## Legal **help**  Representing yourself is possible when first making a claim. But if your claim is denied, appealing is more complicated. Here are some places that offer free or lower-cost legal services: - The [Workers’ Advisor Office](https://www.workersadvisor.ca/) is an independent government agency that provides free and confidential services about workplace injuries and compensation to workers. This office can provide information, advice, and help with representation throughout the WSCC process. - The Legal Aid Commission has [Outreach Legal Aid Clinics](https://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/en/outreach-legal-aid-clinics/) that provide legal information and advice. They do not provide legal representation. - [JusticeNet](https://www.justicenet.ca/) is a not-for-profit service for those whose income is too high to qualify for legal aid but too low to afford regular legal fees. To qualify you must have a net family income under $70,000, or $90,000 if there are three or more people in your family, and be experiencing financial difficulties. Participating lawyers’ reduced rates vary depending on your family size and income. - The Law Society of the Northwest Territories’ [Find a Lawyer](https://lsnt.ca.thentiacloud.net/webs/lsnt/register/) service may be able to help you locate a pro bono lawyer who specializes in employment law. - Your workplace union, association, or employee assistance program may be able to help you find legal services or cover part of your legal fees. For advice on hiring a lawyer, see [How to find and work with a lawyer](https://www.aftermetoo.com/article/how-to-find-and-work-with-a-lawyer/). --- ## Article reviewers Aftermetoo articles are reviewed by members of the following panel of people and organizations. Not every member reviewed every article; regional articles were reviewed by lawyers in that jurisdiction. - Kathleen Avery, LLB, lawyer, Yukon Workers’ Safety and Compensation Board - Barbara Bergmann, JD, lawyer, Workplace Sexual Harassment Clinic/Yukon Legal Services Society - Meredith Brown, JD, lawyer, Calibrate - Stephen Carpenter, LLB, lawyer, Workers Compensation Board of PEI - Amber Chisholm, JD, associate director, Public Legal Education and Information Service of New Brunswick (PLEIS-NB) - Callandra Cochrane, JD, lawyer, Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic - Alexander Dezan, JD, legal counsel, Yukon Human Rights Commission - Sandra Guarascio, JD, lawyer, investigator, facilitator, Roper Greyell LLP Employment + Labour Lawyers - Andrea Gunraj, vice-president, public engagement, Canadian Women’s Foundation - Sara Hanson, JD, senior associate, Moore Edgar Lyster LLP - Noah Jacobs, BA, Public Legal Information Association of NL - Khurram Khurshid, LLB, research officer, New Brunswick Human Rights Commission - Raphaëlle Laframboise-Carignan, JD, lawyer, RavenLaw LLP - Kevin Love, JD, lawyer, Community Legal Assistance Society, BC - Sarah McCoubrey, BFA, JD, MEd, lawyer, Calibrate - Lesley McCullough, JD, founder and director, Workplace Sexual Harassment Legal Clinic, Yukon - Alison McEwen, JD, RavenLaw LLP - Garreth McGrath, JD, legal support navigator, Public Legal Information Association of NL - Sarah McHugh-Wade, BA, legal support navigator, the Journey Project - Sandra MacKenzie, JD, lawyer, Lawson Lundell LLP - Anna-Marie Manley, LLB, lawyer, Patterson Law - Deepa Mattoo, LLB, lawyer and executive director, Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic - Loretta Merritt, LLB, LLM, lawyer, Torkin Manes Barristers & Solicitors - Chetan Muram, JD, counsel, Toronto Workers’ Health and Safety Legal Clinic - Gobhina Nagarajah, JD, staff solicitor, Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission - Alex Norris, JD, associate, Carbert Waite LLP - Anita Nowinka, BSc, JD, associate, Carbert Waite LLP - Kim Nutz, JD, Sunstone Legal in association with West Legal - Kevin O’Shea, JD, executive director, Public Legal Information Association of NL - Coral Rajchgot, LLB, JD, former intern, Aftermetoo - Carley Reynolds, BA, criminology; JD, counsel, Donich Law - Lucie Roubin, avocate, Juripop - Ginette Savoie, director, Workers’ Advocate, Government of New Brunswick - Paméla Schiavoni, JD, lawyer, New Brunswick Human Rights Commission - Mary Shortall, president, Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour - Morgan Sim, JD, MA, international relations, lawyer, Parker Sim LLP - Cécile Simon, JD, avocate-conseillère, Juripop, Bureau du respect de la personne - Michelle Squires, JD, project manager, Canadian Mental Health Association, York Region - Dayna Steinfeld, LLB, JD, Winnipeg lead lawyer, RavenLaw LLP - Keir Vallance, JD, lawyer, Bainbridge Jodouin Cheecham Barristers & Solicitors - Sherri Walsh, JD, managing partner, Hill Sokalski Walsh LLP - Madeleine Werker, JD, associate, Grosman Gale Fletcher Hopkins LLP - Canadian Labour Congress - The Help and Information Center on Workplace Harassment (GAIHST) - Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission