M. La Civita

The employer appealed a WSIB decision registering its account and assessing premiums retroactively to January 1, 2020.

The employer, a cannabis retailer, argued it was unaware of the mandatory registration requirement and requested the activation date be changed to January 1, 2024, citing financial hardship.

The Appeals Resolution Officer dismissed the appeal, finding that the WSIB correctly applied its policies regarding retroactive premium adjustments after identifying the employer's non-compliance through an information exchange with the Canada Revenue Agency.

The employer's obligation to register arose when it first hired workers in 2020, and financial hardship did not exempt it from retroactive premiums, though a phased payment plan was available.

The employer, a non-profit organization, appealed a decision denying its request to remove transition funding charges applied to its premium rates from 2020 to 2023 under the WSIB's new rate framework.

The employer argued that special transition rules for non-profit organizations exempted it from these charges.

The Appeals Resolution Officer dismissed the appeal, finding that while special risk band movement rules apply to non-profit organizations, they do not exempt them from the application of rate modifiers such as transition funding charges, which are part of the general rate-setting methodology applicable to all Schedule 1 employers.

The employer objected to the WSIB's decision classifying its operations under NAICS Code 237210 (Land subdivision), arguing it should be classified under engineering or architectural services due to its purely administrative and consulting nature.

The Appeals Resolution Officer found that the employer's primary business activity was real estate development, which includes acquiring and developing land for subsequent sale or construction.

Because the employer had an aggregated payroll and was considered a small employer, it was correctly classified according to the activity accounting for the largest share of its insurable earnings.

The objection was denied and the classification was upheld.