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Overview

The records in this database were collected from more than 210,000 employers insured by Alberta’s Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB).

These records cover 5 years of employer-specific data on injury claims and fatalities, reported to the WCB by March 31, 2023. The report also covers orders issued, administrative penalties issued and convictions against employers.

Industry and safety associations, labour organizations, employers and workers can incorporate this information into their plans to enhance workplace health and safety. Review the terms of use and disclaimer below for the proper use of this information.

Records in this database include:

• number of lost-time claims by employer and industry, and provincial totals
• number of disabling injury claims by employer and industry, and provincial totals
• person-years estimate by employer and industry, and provincial totals
• lost-time claim rate by employer and industry, and provincial totals
• disabling injury rate by employer and industry, and provincial totals
• number of fatalities by employer and industry, and provincial totals, including fatalities resulting from work-related motor vehicle and workplace incidents and occupational disease
• if employer holds a Certificate of Recognition (COR)
• any orders issued to a work site party
• tickets issued to employers
• administrative penalties issued
• convictions under Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act
• acceptances issued
• approvals issued

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Database content

WCB collects the most comprehensive data on workplace injuries and fatalities in Alberta. This information is reported by employers who are required to have WCB accounts. It allows for the tracking of workplace health and safety performance indicators over time.

The Alberta government calculates and provides the lost-time and disabling injury claim rates.

The Alberta government collects data on its Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) enforcement activities.

Note: while claim rates can serve as an indicator of a company’s safety performance, they’re not a conclusive measure.

Exclusions

In Alberta, about 82% of the total provincial workforce is employed by an employer with a workers’ compensation account (or “is covered by the WCB”).

In certain industries, employers have the option of covering their workers through WCB, using other insurance carriers, or not insuring their workers. Data for employers in these voluntary industries have been excluded from this report.

If you have any concern regarding the information contained in this database, contact the OHS Contact Centre.

Terms of use

There’s good comparability of the 5-year snapshot of employer injury claims and rate statistics released by Alberta's government with those released directly by WCB. However, small methodological and coverage differences exist due to differing business reporting requirements.

For these reasons, statistics released by the government and by the WCB are not expected to be identical. Consideration of when the data were last updated should also be noted by the users of this report.

Definitions

Lost-Time Claim (LTC)

A claim that was accepted in the calendar year for an occupational injury or disease that causes the worker to have time away from work beyond the day of the injury. Included are claims receiving reimbursement of full or partial lost wages due to occupational illness or injury, or payment for permanent loss of function.

Disabling Injury Claim (DI)

A claim that combines both the lost-time and modified-work concepts to produce an overall figure where an occupational injury or disease disables the worker causing either time lost from work or for their normal work duties to be modified.

Person-years estimate

Estimates of full-time workers calculated from wage and payroll data provided to WCB by account holders. One person-year is equivalent to one full-time worker working for one year, and is assumed to equal 2,000 hours worked.

Certificate of Recognition (COR)

A COR is awarded to employers who develop health and safety management systems that meet established standards.

Fatality

An occupational fatality is the death of a worker resulting from an incident or exposure accepted by the WCB for compensation. Occupational fatalities include work-related motor vehicle collisions, workplace incidents and occupational diseases. If the death happens on the day of incident there is no lost-time claim. Some fatalities accepted in a particular year arise from incidents or exposures occurring in prior years, such as many occupational disease cases.

Orders (general)

When an OHS officer observes non-compliance with OHS laws, the officer may issue an order. An order requires an employer to take action to bring the work site back into compliance with OHS laws. An order is lifted when the employer meets the order’s requirements.

Stop Work Orders

When an OHS officer observes that work is being carried out in a manner that is unhealthy or unsafe, the officer may issue a stop work order. A stop work order requires that work is stopped immediately, and may apply to an entire work site, or to certain activities or areas of a work site. A stop work order is lifted when the requirements of the order are met.

Stop Use Orders

OHS officers have authority to stop use of equipment that’s observed to be unsafe or that has the potential to seriously injure workers. A stop use order is lifted when the requirements of the order are met.

OHS Tickets

OHS officers have authority to write immediate, on-the-spot tickets against employers and workers who put health and safety at risk. OHS tickets use the same form as Alberta traffic tickets. Tickets can be issued to any work site party, depending on the non-compliance observed.

Administrative Penalty

An administrative penalty is a monetary penalty issued by OHS for non-compliance with OHS legislation. When an OHS officer observes either a contravention of OHS legislation or non-compliance with an order, acceptance or approval at a work site, the officer may refer a work site party for an administrative penalty. Administrative penalty amounts are a maximum of $10,000 per day, per contravention.

Conviction

Work site parties that violate Alberta occupational health and safety legislation may be charged. If a judge determines the work site parties are guilty, the work site parties are convicted of the offence.

Acceptance

An acceptance provides for an alternative approach as long as it offers equal or greater protection to workers than the original requirements in the OHS Regulation or Code.

Approval

An approval allows an OHS director to approve a different approach to achieving compliance with specific OHS provisions or requirements. This can include equipment or a process, standard, course or training agency, among other things, as specified by the OHS Act, Regulation or Code.

Parameters and measures

Time Frame

Each injury report is based on a 5-year snapshot of workplace incidents that occurred between 2018 and 2022 and were accepted as claims by the WCB as of March 31, 2023. The report also includes occupational fatalities that occurred between 2018 and 2022 as reported by March 31, 2023. Reports are updated annually.

The report contains administrative penalties against employers from 2018 to current.

OHS orders issued from 2018 to current.

OHS tickets issued to employers from 2018 to current.

Convictions under the OHS Act from 2018 to current.

Parameters

Reports focus on employer performance in the compulsory industries in Alberta covered by WCB and by the provincial legislation for occupational health and safety. A 5-year snapshot of employers’ claims histories is included in the report.

Measures

Lost-Time Claim (LTC) rate

The lost-time claim rate is the number of lost-time claims per 100 person-years worked. Injury claim rates based on a small number of person-years worked are too volatile to make valid comparisons over time. Therefore, claim rates are not calculated in instances where there are fewer than 40 person-years worked.

Disabling Injury (DI) rate formula

The disabling injury rate is calculated by dividing the number of disabling injury claims by the person-years worked estimates, and multiplying the result by 100. The disabling injury rate represents the probability or risk of a disabling injury or disease to a worker during one year of work. The rate represents the number of claims per 100 person-years worked and includes claims made for both lost-time and modified work.

Industry codes

Industry codes are based on WCB industry classifications and aggregation. This report excludes the industries deemed “voluntary” under WCB legislation. For more information, see the WCB Rate and Industry Description Manual.

Disclaimer

The information provided in the reports is solely for the user’s information and convenience and, while thought to be accurate and functional, it’s provided without warranty of any kind. It’s the user's responsibility to scrutinize, analyze, interpret, and apply the information properly for any intended purpose.

The user is advised to review the terms of use for further information on the proper use of the reports. The Crown, its agents, employees or contractors will not be liable to the user for any damages, direct or indirect, arising out of use of the information contained in the reports.

We strive to ensure the information contained within the reports is accurate. Each report provides a 5-year snapshot at the employer level. All injury and fatality data in these reports is drawn from information reported to the WCB by March 31, 2023. OHS enforcement data is extracted from an internal system from January 1, 2018 to the present.

If you have any concern regarding the information contained within the reports, contact the OHS Contact Centre.

Privacy

The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) provides a right of access to records held by public bodies. At the same time, it protects the personal privacy of Albertans by controlling the manner in which a public body manages their personal information.

Section 54 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act refers to publication of information about employers.

We apply confidentiality rules to all data that are released or published.

For more information, refer to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and to the Alberta government's privacy commitment.

Publications

• Open Data Portal

Contact

Connect with OHS:

Phone: 780-415-8690 (Edmonton)
Toll free: 1-866-415-8690 
TTY: 780-427-9999 (Edmonton)
TTY: 1-800-232-7215

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Related

• Report an OHS concern