An injured worker—whose first language is not English—complained about how she was treated by her case manager when she asked for an interpreter.

According to the worker, on one occasion the case manager told her that an interpreter was not required because he had no difficulty in understanding her. The worker explained that, on the contrary, it was she who required the interpreter, as she was having trouble understanding the case manager. On another occasion, the case manager claimed that she was only requesting an interpreter because she did not agree with his decisions, and he went on to speak over her during the conversation.

The worker complained to the WSIB manager, who agreed to listen to recordings of the telephone calls. Following the complaint to the manager, a call was arranged between the case manager, the worker and an interpreter. However, the worker remained dissatisfied; she did not hear from the manager after he listened to the telephone calls and felt that she deserved an apology.

Upon Commission inquiry, the manager agreed that the case manager’s calls were unprofessional. He called the worker with an interpreter to address her concerns in more detail.

Even so, the worker returned to the Commission: She was still dissatisfied with the manager’s response, as she felt that no acknowledgment of the case manager’s behaviour had been made. The worker was also concerned about a decision letter, which had not been translated into her first language. After follow-up by the Commission, the manager sent the translated letter to the injured worker. He also changed the case manager on her file and sent her a letter of apology.