Privacy Statement and Terms of Use

The Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba (WCB) is dedicated to protecting your privacy and safeguarding your personal information.  We recognize the privacy concerns of the visitors to our Internet site. We also recognize the importance of protecting the privacy of any information collected about our visitors or submitted by our visitors. In whichever way you provide information to us, we use vigorous and effective security safeguards and adhere to privacy principles to ensure your personal and confidential information is protected.

Our Privacy Statement and related procedures are built upon and comply with the Province of Manitoba's Personal Health Information Act (PHIA), Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and The Workers Compensation Act (WCA).  

The WCB reserves the right to change this Statement and it may be updated periodically. Accordingly, please check for changes regularly.

 

1. Use of the WCB Website

This Statement sets forth the WCB’s Privacy Statement and Terms of Use for its website located at  https://www.wcb.mb.ca/ and describes the practices that the WCB follows in respect of the privacy of the users of this site. By accessing and using materials from this website or sending or posting materials to it, you (the “user”) agree to the terms of this Statement and our practices regarding the collection, use, disclosure and retention of personal information.

The WCB is not responsible for direct, indirect, special or consequential damages, regardless of the cause, arising out of the use of this website.

 

2. Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

Our site is divided into two distinct areas - an area available to the public and an area that is reserved for registered users conducting business with the WCB over the Web. In the publicly available sections of our website no personal information is collected. You can visit all these sections of the website without telling us who you are or revealing any information about yourself. Our web servers only collect IP addresses of visitors to our site. We use this information to produce usage statistics such as number of visits, average time spent on the site, pages that were viewed, type of browser, date/time visited, etc. These usage statistics are used for the purpose of improving the content, navigation, and usability of our website.

In the interactive sections of our website the WCB collects personal information pursuant to section 36(1) of FIPPA when the information relates directly to and is necessary for an existing service, program or activity of the WCB. Visitors may be required to register in order to access the site’s functions. The registration process may require the capture of personal information for the purpose of verifying identity.  The WCB will require registration only for those functions that may involve submission or retrieval of personal information and/or personal health information and/or where the identity of the individual is required in order to complete the business transaction. In addition, the WCB may require registration in order to store information for future visits to enhance the online experience. 

Personal information may be collected for such purposes as: 
a)    providing services; or
b)    processing and administering those services; 

The WCB limits the amount and type of information collected to only the personal information that is required for the above purposes. 

The WCB may collect contact information in order to:
a)    send out e-mails and other relevant information; or
b)    inform interested parties of the WCB’s events and operations.

The WCB will not use personal information for any purpose other than that identified at or before the time of collection unless otherwise permitted by law.

The WCB will treat all personal information received or accessed as confidential and will not disclose it in any manner except as authorized under the WCA, FIPPA, or PHIA.

The WCB does not sell or trade any personal information with third parties. Information may be transferred to third parties where information processing is outsourced by the WCB in the course of its activities or administrative procedures in specific cases. Where personal information is transferred to a service provider for processing, the WCB requires service providers to comply with the terms and condition of this Privacy Statement. Service providers are restricted from using or disclosing personal information transferred to them for any purpose other than the provision of services to the WCB. Personal information may be disclosed to third parties where otherwise permitted by law.

 

3. Safeguarding Personal Information

The WCB retains personal information based on legal reporting and/or retention requirements. Any personal information that the WCB retains is kept in such a manner as to ensure its security and confidentiality at all times. Security measures use industry standard techniques such as firewalls, encryption, intrusion detection and restricted access to computers.

Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while the WCB strives to protect personal information, it cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information transmitted to it or received from it electronically. This is especially true for information transmitted via e-mail. 

Once a transmission is received, the WCB makes its best efforts to ensure its security on its servers. Internally, access to personal information is restricted to employees who need access to the information in order to do their jobs. These employees are limited in number, and are knowledgeable about and committed to our privacy policies.

 

4. Consent

The WCB seeks consent for all personal information it collects, uses and discloses through communication with individuals prior to collection, or at the time of collection, whenever consent is required.  If information is voluntarily provided, this is interpreted as consent to the collection, use and disclosure of personally identifiable information as described in this Privacy Statement. 

When consent is required, the WCB will not use personal information for any purpose other than that for which consent has been provided or as otherwise permitted by law. Should the WCB require use of personal information for a new purpose, consent will be sought for that new use to the extent required by law.

The WCB may disclose personal information collected by it without the knowledge or consent of the individual, for example to its lawyers, for purposes relating to an investigation under, the enforcement of or the administration of a law or where required by law to disclose the information. 

 

5. Information on this Website

Information which includes all facts, data and other information, collectively the “Information”, in the pages of this website is of a general nature, is intended only for informational purposes, is subject to change without notice, and is not intended to be relied on by visitors as binding legal advice on any particular matter or fit for any particular purpose.
The Information is believed to be accurate, complete and current when posted.  The WCB cannot guarantee that it will remain accurate or complete or that it will be current at all times.

The WCB reserves the right to perform statistical analyses of aggregated user behaviour and characteristics, in order to measure interest in and use of the various sections of its site so as to improve design and navigation and to gather information for marketing purposes. Only aggregated data from these analyses, not individual data, will be used for this purpose.

A cookie is a piece of information that a website transfers to an individual's computer. There are two types of cookies: persistent cookies and non-persistent or session cookies. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer's hard drive where they remain resident until they are either deleted or they reach a predetermined expiry date.

Persistent cookies are most commonly used to provide visitors with a customized experience by recording preferences. Session cookies do not permanently record data and they are not stored on your computer's hard drive. Rather, session cookies are stored in memory and are only available during an active session. Once the session ends the cookie disappears. Session cookies are used primarily for technical reasons to provide for seamless navigation.

The WCB does not use persistent cookies but session cookies are required to use the interactive business sections of our website. If you would like to browse the public areas of the WCB website you can do so without accepting cookies. If you prefer to know when cookies are being used when using the WCB website you may be able to adjust your browser settings to alert you when a cookie is about to be sent. If you would like to learn more about how to set your cookie options, please refer to your browser's documentation or online help for instructions.

 

6. Accuracy of Information on Linked Websites

Through the links to other sites found on the WCB’s website, the user may enter domains that are beyond the boundaries of the WCB and, once there, the WCB is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these websites. The WCB has no control over the accuracy, completeness or relevance of the information on these sites and provides links to these sites solely for the information and convenience of visitors to our website.

 

7. Copying and Using Information from this Website

Subject to the following paragraph, the content (all text and images) of this website is copyright © 2021 all rights reserved, and may not be sold, licensed, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part for commercial purposes in any manner without the prior written consent of WCB Manitoba (or SAFE Work Manitoba). Requests for this consent should be made to wcbcomm@wcb.mb.ca.

Where WCB Manitoba (or SAFE Work Manitoba) has specifically made materials available for use by visitors to this website, those materials may be used for internal business purposes.  For example, where there is a policy template, such template may be adapted by a business for their internal use.  WCB Manitoba does not represent or warrant that such templates are fit for any particular purpose, and WCB Manitoba shall have no liability for any use of same in whole or in part by any person or entity. Users of such templates should seek their own advice, legal or otherwise, prior to using or modifying them.

 

8. Questions

Any questions about The WCB’s handling of personal information should be directed to the Access and Privacy Officer, who can be reached at: 

E-mail: info@wcb.mb.ca
Telephone: (204) 954-4557
Mail: Workers Compensation Board
Attention: Access and Privacy Officer
333 Broadway, Winnipeg, MB R3C 4W3

 

9. Accuracy of and Access to Personal Information Collected

(1) The WCB makes every effort to keep personal information as accurate, complete, current and relevant as necessary for the identified purposes.

(2) The WCB makes readily available to individuals its Privacy Policy and related procedures for managing personal information. Customer access to the Privacy Policy and related procedures is provided on The WCB’s Website and in written form. Any questions about the handling of personal information by The WCB can be raised with the Privacy Officer.

(3)  Workers are entitled to receive copies of their claim file at any time by requesting a copy from their adjudicator or case manager or contacting the WCB File Access Department.  For more information regarding disclosure of file information, please see policies 21.50.10 and 21.50.40 of the WCB's Policy Manual.

 

10. Questions

Any questions or comments about The WCB’s handling of personal information should be directed to the Privacy Officer.

 

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