HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

1 Section 5.1 of the Workers Compensation Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 492, is repealed and the following substituted:

Mental disorder

5.1  (1) Subject to subsection (2), a worker is entitled to compensation for a mental disorder that does not result from an injury for which the worker is otherwise entitled to compensation, only if the mental disorder

(a) either

(i) is a reaction to one or more traumatic events arising out of and in the course of the worker's employment, or

(ii) is predominantly caused by a significant work-related stressor, including bullying or harassment, or a cumulative series of significant work-related stressors, arising out of and in the course of the worker's employment,

(b) is diagnosed by a psychiatrist or psychologist as a mental or physical condition that is described in the most recent American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders at the time of the diagnosis, and

(c) is not caused by a decision of the worker's employer relating to the worker's employment, including a decision to change the work to be performed or the working conditions, to discipline the worker or to terminate the worker's employment.

(2) The Board may require that a psychiatrist or psychologist appointed by the Board review a diagnosis made for the purposes of subsection (1) (b) and may consider that review in determining whether a worker is entitled to compensation for a mental disorder.

(3) Section 56 (1) applies to a psychiatrist or psychologist who makes a diagnosis referred to in this section.

(4) In this section:

"psychiatrist" means a physician who is recognized by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, or another accredited body recognized by the Board, as being a specialist in psychiatry;

"psychologist" means a person who is registered as a member of the College of Psychologists of British Columbia established under section 15 (1) of the Health Professions Act or a person who is entitled to practise as a psychologist under the laws of another province.

2 Section 33.2 is repealed and the following substituted:

Exception to section 33.1 (2) — apprentice or learner

33.2  (1) This section applies to a worker who, at the time of injury, is an apprentice in a trade, an occupation or a profession, or is a person referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of "worker".

(2) If a worker's injury results in a temporary disability that continues after the initial payment period, the Board must, for the period starting after the end of the initial payment period, determine the amount of average earnings of the worker based on the greater of the following:

(a) the rate at which the worker was remunerated by each of the employers for whom he or she was employed at the time of the injury;

(b) the worker's gross earnings, as determined by the Board, for the 12 month period immediately preceding the date of injury.

(3) If a worker's injury results in a permanent disability, the Board must, for the period starting on the date, as determined by the Board, that the injury resulted in a permanent disability, determine the amount of average earnings of the worker based on the gross earnings, as determined by the Board, for the 12 month period immediately preceding the date of injury, of a qualified person employed at the starting rate in the same trade, occupation or profession

(a) by the same employer, or

(b) if no person is so employed, by an employer in the same region.

3 The provisions listed in Column 1 of the following table are amended by striking out the dollar amount set out opposite them in Column 2 and substituting the dollar amount set out opposite them in Column 3:

 
Transitional Provisions

Transition — mental disorder

4  Section 5.1 of the Workers Compensation Act, as enacted by section 1 of this Act, applies to every decision made by the Board or the Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal on or after July 1, 2012, the date section 1 of this Act comes into force, in respect of a claim made but not finally adjudicated before July 1, 2012.

Transition — apprentice or learner

5  Section 33.2 of the Workers Compensation Act, as amended by section 2 of this Act, applies to an injury that occurs on or after July 1, 2012, the date section 2 of this Act comes into force.

Commencement

6  The provisions of this Act referred to in column 1 of the following table come into force as set out in column 2 of the table: