A history of employer liability and workers' compensation laws in Newfoundland from 1887 to 1993 and an overview of factors which influenced policy choices

Abstract

This paper examines factors which have influenced the development of employer liability and workers' compensation policy in Newfoundland since 1887. Various influences are considered such as the role of government policy, individuals, interest groups, institutions and processes, ideology, political parties, international and interprovincial emulation factors, and fiscal/economic matters. In addition to public policy development analysis, the paper's scope of review serves as an historic overview of the system and its development is reviewed against many of the major developments in the province over these years. -- By copying the Canadian workers' compensation system, as it did after 1949, Newfoundland adopted the terms of a bargain struck by Canadian employers and labour as early as 1914. The bargain is that labour (individual workers) surrendered the right to sue their employers for damages caused by workplace injuries in exchange for guaranteed compensation payments from an employer-funded program whether or not the employer or worker was at fault. The result is a no-fault workers' compensation system, the development of which is the subject under review. -- The paper may be of interest to academics, analysts, and decision makers interested in the Newfoundland workers' compensation experience, or serve as a comparative source for related public policy research.