Payment of Employer Assessments Policy 23-500 | Effective Date: December 7, 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to:

• Provide guidelines to staff for the collection of employer assessments; and
• Communicate to employers the method and timing for paying employer assessments.

Scope

This policy applies to employers who pay or are required to pay assessments to WorkSafeNB.

1.0 General

WorkSafeNB has a legislated mandate to provide no-fault insurance and accident prevention services to employers, as well as compensation benefits to injured workers. The WC Act requires that WorkSafeNB fund these obligations primarily by collecting assessments levied on employers.

The majority of these assessments are based upon employer payrolls. WorkSafeNB may also collect other assessment payments such as interest, penalties, or other surcharges under the WC Act or Regulations. For more information see the Reference section of this policy.

2.0 Employer Payroll Assessments

Assessments are based upon an employer’s:

• Annual estimate of payroll; or
• Monthly actual payroll under the Monthly Assessment on Actual Payroll (“MAAP”) program.

Assessable earnings of unregistered sub-contractors can be considered part of an employer’s payroll. For more information, see Policy 23-200 Assessable Earnings.

Once calculated, WorkSafeNB communicates the amount of assessment due by providing every employer with a statement of account, showing:

• An opening balance;
• All transactions during the statement period, and
• An end balance.

2.1 Annually Assessed Employers

Annually assessed employers provide an estimate of their yearly payroll to WorkSafeNB. From this estimate, WorkSafeNB calculates the amount of assessment the employer must pay. For more information, see Policy 23-600 Setting Basic Assessment Rates.

For annually assessed employers, WorkSafeNB generally requires the receipt of payment on or before March 31st of the current year. However, if the date of the assessment notice is after March 1st, the payment is due within 30 calendar days of the date on the notice.

2.2 MAAP Employers

MAAP employers provide a monthly report of their actual payroll to WorkSafeNB, which is used to calculate the amount of assessment the employer must pay.

For MAAP employers, the assessment payment is generally due on the third work day after the 15th of each month.

When employers report their actual payrolls to WorkSafeNB after the 15th of a month, they are subject to a late filing penalty for that month. When WorkSafeNB receives the report of assessable earnings, both the assessment amount owed plus the penalty are due immediately. MAAP employers who are continually late may be taken off MAAP and switched to being annually assessed.

For MAAP employers, WorkSafeNB uses a pre-authorized electronic funds transfer. Monthly cheques are not permitted.

2.3 Employer Refunds

WorkSafeNB may pay refunds of overpaid assessments. Refunds are made as soon as possible when an active employer:

• Makes a duplicate payment; or
• Overpays the amount owed, if the current year’s payroll estimate is reasonable based on their history.

In most cases, before an inactive employer can receive a refund, WorkSafeNB must perform a payroll audit. WorkSafeNB may choose to forego a payroll audit if:

• The refund is less than $2,000; and
• The final year’s actual payroll is reasonable based on the inactive employer’s history.

If a payroll audit is required and the employer does not co-operate (i.e., records not available, unable to locate employer), the refund is cancelled and WorkSafeNB retains the amount.

WorkSafeNB may pay a refund when credit adjustments are made further to cost relief being granted. For more information, see Policy 21-300 Allocation of Claim Costs.

3.0 Special Collection Circumstances

WorkSafeNB expects employers to pay their assessments on time. When employers experience difficulties in paying assessments, WorkSafeNB may work with the employer to facilitate the collection of assessment payments.

For annually assessed employers, WorkSafeNB may, on a case-by-case basis, approve instalment payments or individual employer payment proposals. However, WorkSafeNB does not normally consider any plan with payments scheduled after December 31st of the current year’s assessment.

3.1 Past Due Accounts

Accounts become past due when WorkSafeNB has not received payment from the employer by the due date. WorkSafeNB may charge interest on the outstanding amount of a past due account as described under Policy 21-040 Interest on Claim-related Benefits and Employer Accounts.

When unpaid assessment accounts become past due, WorkSafeNB sends a letter, reminding the employer that the amount is past due.

If no payment has been received within three weeks of the first letter, WorkSafeNB may send:

• A legal action letter, indicating legal action may be taken unless the account is paid; and
• A judgment action letter, advising that WorkSafeNB will apply to the court for a judgment if the account is not paid in full by the specified date.

WorkSafeNB is responsible for determining the feasibility for collecting outstanding assessment amounts. If WorkSafeNB determines that collection is not feasible, it may suspend or reduce the amount owing.

WorkSafeNB may suspend an out-of business employer’s outstanding assessment amount if:

• The outstanding amount is less than $3,000; or
• The outstanding amount is $3,000 or greater, and the out-of-business employer has no assets available for seizure.

Where the amount is $3,000 or greater, WorkSafeNB must first determine that the amount to be suspended is reasonable. This is based upon historical payrolls of the business, or the results of a payroll audit.

3.2 Returned Cheques and Electronic Funds Transfers

When WorkSafeNB receives a returned cheque or returned electronic funds transfer indicating “non-sufficient funds”, “payment stopped” or “refused by payer/recipient”, the employer is contacted. The employer is required to replace the payment within two weeks of being contacted.

3.3 Problem Accounts

WorkSafeNB attempts to collect all past due accounts as outlined in section 3.1 of this policy. However, a past due account may become a problem account when:

• The employer’s operation has ceased, or its account is about to be closed or become inactive;
• The employer has been placed in bankruptcy or is in receivership;
• The employer defaults on a payment commitment plan;
• The employer does not contact or does not cooperate with WorkSafeNB to arrive at a reasonable repayment plan; or
• The employer does not provide replacement payment of a returned cheque or returned electronic funds transfer within two weeks.

WorkSafeNB determines appropriate action for collecting problem accounts on a case-by-case basis.

4.0 Legal Action

Once WorkSafeNB has contacted the employer, and the employer fails to pay the outstanding amount, WorkSafeNB may take legal action to recover overdue employer assessments. WorkSafeNB may register a Judgment and file an Order for Seizure and Sale with the Court. This order instructs the Sheriff to attempt to collect any unpaid amount of the Judgment.

WorkSafeNB registers a Judgment for an appropriate timeframe for collection. If collection is not made within this timeframe, a Judgment may be renewed to a maximum of 20 years total under the following conditions:

• Judgments of $3,000 to $10,000 may be renewed once; and
• Judgments of over $10,000 may be renewed a maximum of three times.

WorkSafeNB does not register judgments for accounts under $3,000. These accounts may be sent to a collection agency for appropriate action.

Any legal costs incurred by WorkSafeNB in pursuing these assessments are added to the amount owed by the employer.

4.1 Liens

Any assessment owed to WorkSafeNB creates a fixed, specific and continuing charge (lien) in favour of WorkSafeNB on the property or proceeds of the property. It does not matter if the property is acquired, used, or if it is produced by the employer in the ordinary course of business and sold in good faith before or after the amount became due.

Once an Order for Seizure and Sale has been filed for unpaid assessment amounts, WorkSafeNB authorizes the Sheriff to seize (take possession of) any property used in connection with the employer’s business, regardless of whether the property is owned or leased. If property is sold, what is received from the sale of that property may also be seized. 

Property and Equipment

The lien provision follows all property and equipment acquired or used by the employer that is sold or disposed, unless the purchaser, at the time of purchase, has received a clearance certificate as described in section 5.0 of this policy, as a result of the employer paying the amounts due to WorkSafeNB.

Goods Produced

When a lien is attached to goods produced in the ordinary course of business and subsequently, the goods produced are sold in good faith, WorkSafeNB’s first charge would move from a charge on the goods sold to what is received from the sale of the goods.

Bankrupt Employers

If an employer declares bankruptcy, WorkSafeNB’s status and priority changes from a secured to an unsecured creditor. WorkSafeNB would then proceed on a case-by-case basis.

5.0 Clearance Certificates

A clearance certificate issued by WorkSafeNB states that an employer is in good standing and has paid their assessments to date. Employers may request a clearance certificate when they want to:

• Minimize liability for outstanding assessments during a change of ownership;
• Minimize liability as a principal when hiring contractors and subcontractors;
• Confirm their monthly reporting status under MAAP; or
• Confirm their good standing for a particular year of assessment.

Since the employer’s account can change due to additional assessments, clearance certificates are valid only to the date of issue, or to a specified period of time as determined by WorkSafeNB.

WorkSafeNB will not issue a clearance certificate if the employer has an overdue account balance. However, WorkSafeNB may issue a letter indicating that the employer is registered with a balance owing on their assessment.

6.0 Change in Ownership

WorkSafeNB’s lien continues to apply in a change of ownership where shares or equipment are sold. However, as stated in section 4.1 of this policy, the lien on goods produced no longer applies when those goods are sold in good faith in the normal course of business.

To minimize liability for outstanding assessment payments, a new owner should ensure that the previous owner has paid all outstanding assessments owing, and that a valid clearance certificate from WorkSafeNB has been issued.