Workers’ Compensation

Activate User's Guide
Version
2025.2
Workers’ Compensation

Use the Workers’ Compensation wizard to define one or more WCB (Workers’ Compensation Board) Codes (add corresponding Accounts and Rates) for USA and CAN Legal Entities. You can also associate these WCB Codes with the available Jobs in the system.

Workers' compensation is a form of insurance that provides wages (either supplemental or replacement) and medical benefits to employees who are hurt on the job. This wizard helps you configure Activate to process workers' compensation premiums correctly and includes the following configurations:

  • Worker's Compensation Classification Codes
  • Configuring Legal Entity Policies and Rates
  • Assigning Jobs to Workers' Comp Codes

Important: If you have an existing WCB configuration, this wizard clears and replaces it with the provided data files.

Note: This wizard is enabled after completion of the Organizational Hierarchy wizard.

Note: There must be at least one default account per Legal Entity. A legal entity can’t have more than one default account.

Prerequisites

The Organizational Hierarchy wizard must already be completed and the data installed in Dayforce.

Using this wizard

You’ll do the following in the Workers' Compensation wizard:

Complete and upload the WCB Account template

Use the WCB Account template to upload the WCB Accounts, Codes, and corresponding Rates for USA and CAN Legal Entities. You’ll use the data in the template to create several WCB Accounts and associate them with the legal entities.

Note: You can also download an empty Workers' Compensation template from the Download Template Files page.

Note: There must be at least one default account per Legal Entity. A legal entity can’t have more than one default account.

Review the WCB accounts

Use the Review WCB Account page to create WCB Accounts (if needed) and add the Earning Group/Blended Rate to each account.

Note: This grid is prefilled with the existing records in the Dayforce.

Data on the page

Data on this page includes:

  • State/Province
  • Legal Entity
  • Account/Policy Number
  • Start Date
  • Blended Rate (Canada only)
  • Earning Group (USA only)
  • Is Default

You’ll create one new account per data row and add the blended rate and earning group for the account.

Note: There should be one default account per legal entity.

If the page has any errors, you must resolve them to continue.

Review the WCB codes and rates

Use the WCB Codes and Rates page to create WCB codes, add/update the account-specific rates, and associate them with the Legal Entity Accounts. You must provide the WCB Code for each Account row from the Review WCB Account page. The grid on this page is already populated with combinations of the Legal Entities, States/Provinces, Account/Policy Numbers, and Start Date from the WCB Account Data page.

Note: This grid is prefilled based on data entered on the previous screen (WCB Accounts).

Data on the page

Data on this page includes:

  • State/Province
  • Legal Entity
  • Account/Policy Number
  • Start Date
  • End Date - Defaults to the previous day of the next Start Date if multiple records exist for the same combination of State/Province, Legal Entity, and Account Number.
  • WCB Code
  • WCB Name
  • Employee Rate (USA only)

Note: There must be at least one WCB Code per Legal Entity Account.

If any errors exist on this page, you must resolve them to continue.

Complete the Job-WCB mapping

Use the Job-WCB Mapping page to associate jobs with the WCB codes.

Data on the page

Data on this page includes:

  • Job
  • State/Province
  • WCB Code

Note: You can associate only one WCB code with each job per operating state.

If any errors exist on this page, you must resolve them to continue.

Do the final review

Use the Final Review page to review the data to be loaded. If the information in the grid is accurate, select the checkboxes in the Confirm column. If you see any errors, you must correct them before proceeding.

Data on the page

Data on the page includes:

  • Items column - Shows the:
    • Number of new WCB Codes.
    • Number of new Legal Entity Account/Policy Numbers.
    • Number of Operating States/Provinces with WCB Codes.
    • Number of Operating States/Provinces without WCB Codes (Not MVP).
    • Number of USA/CAN Legal Entities not assigned to any WCB Accounts (Not MVP).
    • Number of Jobs not assigned WCB Code (Not MVP).
  • Result column - Shows the total of each item in the checklist.
  • Confirm column - Select the checkboxes in the column to confirm that you’ve verified the information.

Install the information in Dayforce

When the workers' compensation information is complete in Activate, you must install it in Dayforce.

Messages: Error, Warning, and Information

Activate sorts each generated message by severity:

Error codes

Actively incompatible with the data in Dayforce. If you have a data error, you must resolve the error before you can complete the installation.

Warning codes

Indicate nonstandard setup that could potentially cause an error in Dayforce. For example, if an earning code is defined as Hours x Rate and the data is amount only, the system creates a warning. However, you can still import the data into the system.

Informational codes

A notable occurrence of data in the system. For example, an informational note shows if codes are dropped from the YTD import.

Tasks

To confirm that you’ve completed the required steps:

  1. In Activate Central, click Build Dayforce and the Build Dayforce wizards show.
  2. Click Workers' Compensation and the What you need to know before you start page opens.
  3. Review all of the information on the page.
  4. In the Before you proceed section, select the checkbox next to the following statements to confirm that you have:
    • Agreed to the complete removal of any existing WCB configuration.
    • Installed the approved Organizational Structure.
    • Installed all of the legal entities and jobs that required WCB configuration.
    • Installed the Earning Groups that represent WCB-eligible pay for USA legal entities.
    • A clear understanding of the Worker's Compensation (WCB) codes and rates that apply to your business.
    • Removed any payroll data linked to the existing WCB configuration.
    • Completed any applicable WCB training.

    Note: If you haven’t completed any of the steps listed, click Cancel to return to Activate Central and complete the steps.

    Important: If Activate determines that any payroll data is linked to the existing WCB configuration, a message instructs you to contact your Implementation Consultant to remove it before using this wizard. You can use the Transactional and Test Data Cleanup wizard to do this.

  5. You can click Download Jobs per State/Province to download an Excel document. The document lists each distinct combination of job and work state/province based on the existing EmployeeWorkAssignment data for USA/CAN employees in Dayforce.
  6. Click Next.

To complete and upload the WCB Account Data template:

  1. On the Upload WCB Accounts page, click Download.

    Note: You can also download an empty Worker's Compensation template from the Download Template Files page.

    Note: If records exist in the PRWCBAccount table in Dayforce and you don't want to upload a template containing data, click Skip. The Review WCB Accounts page shows.

  2. Select the location where you want to save the template document.
  3. Open the WCBAccountDataTemplate.xlsx template on your computer.
  4. On the WCBCodesRatesData tab, complete all columns with the data for all employees in the organization.

    Note: The Activate release version shows in cell B3 on the Instructions tab of the template. This information helps you later determine the version of Activate you were using when you downloaded the template.

    Note: Instructions for populating the fields are in the WCB Account Template Fields section (below) and on the Instructions tab of the template.

  5. Click Save and close the document.

    You can use any file name for the template you upload. The file must be an Excel or CSV document and contain the data in the required format.

    Important: Don’t change the name of the tab in the template. Activate uses the tab name to validate that the correct template is being uploaded. In addition, don’t change the column headings.

  6. On the Upload WCB Accounts page, click Upload.

    Note: When you upload data with the template, only the data you upload shows on the Review WCB Accounts page. Activate doesn’t prepopulate existing Dayforce records when you upload a WCB Account Data Template. However, if you skip the upload step, Activate prepopulates existing Dayforce records on the Review WCB Accounts page.

  7. Go to the completed WCB Account Data Template document in the location where you saved it.
  8. Click Open. Activate validates the uploaded file.

    Note: When you upload an Excel file, Activate includes the name of the uploaded file into the name of the XML file it generates and loads to the Dayforce File Server. The format of the generated XML file name is <NamespaceName>_<Import Type>_<file name provided>_YYY-MM-DD_HHMM. This information makes it easier to audit files later.

    Note: If the uploaded file has errors, a Validation Failed message shows in red on the page. You must correct the errors in the file on your computer and upload the file again.

  9. Click Next.

    Activate uploads the following data into Dayforce:

    • Legal Entity Account on the Org Setup > Org Payroll Setup > [Selected Legal Entity Name] > Workers' Comp tab.
    • Legal Entity Rate on the Org Setup > Org Payroll Setup > [Selected Legal Entity Name] > Workers Comp tab > [Selected Account/Policy Number] > Rates tab.

To create WCB accounts and add the earning group/blended rate to each account:

  1. On the Review WCB Accounts page, review the information shown.

    Important: If the Error/Warning/Message panel has any errors, you must resolve them to continue.

  1. On the WCBCodesRatesData tab, complete all columns with the data for all employees in the organization.

    Note: Instructions for populating the fields are in the WCB Code and Rate Template Fields section (below) and on the Instructions tab of the template.

  1. If you want to update the data on the page:
    • To insert a new row and enter information, click New.
    • To delete a row, click in the row and click Delete.
    • To save your changes, click Save.

    Note: If you make a change by mistake and haven't saved the change, click Refresh to undo the change.

  2. If you want to upload new data:
    1. To download the error message list and save it to your computer, click Download Errors File.
    2. To download the WCB Account Data Template file, click Download File and save it to your computer.

      This template file contains the data that was loaded previously.

    3. Update the WCB Account Data Template file on your computer.
    4. Click Upload File and go to the updated WCB Account Data Template file on your computer.
  3. If you want to review the previous page, click Back.
  4. Click Next.

To create WCB codes, add or update rates, and associate them with legal entity accounts:

  1. On the WCB Codes and Rates page, review the information shown.

    This page contains the combinations of Legal Entities, States/Provinces, Account/Policy Numbers, and Start Dates from the Review WCB Accounts page.

    Note: If you selected Skip on the Upload WCB Account page instead of uploading the template data, this page shows data from Dayforce, and the Start Date column is populated from the existing record. If multiple records exist for the same State/Province, Legal Entity, Account Number, and WCB Code, the End Date of the latest record is blank. The End Date of earlier records is set to match the Start Date of the following record automatically.

    Important: You must have at least one row for each State/Province, Legal Entity, and Account Number combination that was previously loaded on the WCB Accounts page.

    Note: You must resolve all errors to continue.

  1. If you want to update the data on the page:
    • To insert a new row and enter information, click New.

      Important: You can only enter a State/Province, Legal Entity, and Account Number combination that was previously loaded on the WCB Accounts page.

    • To delete a row, click in the row and click Delete.
    • To save your changes, click Save.

    Note: If you make a change by mistake and haven't saved the change, click Refresh to undo the change.

  2. If you want to upload new data, do the following, as appropriate:
    • To download the error message list, click Download Errors File and save the file to your computer.
    • To download the WCB Code and Rate Template file, click Download File and save it to your computer.
    • This template file contains the data that was loaded previously.
    • On the WCBCodesRatesData tab, complete all columns with the data for all employees in the organization.

      Note: Instructions for populating the fields are in the WCB Code and Rate Template Fields section (below) and on the Instructions tab of the template.

    • To upload the updated template file to Activate, click Upload File and go to the updated WCB Code and Rate Template file on your computer.
  3. Make sure that the following information has been entered for each row:
    • WCB Code
    • Employer Rate
    • Employee Rate
  4. If you want to return to the WCB Accounts page, click Back.
  5. Click Next.

    The page uploads:

    • Workers Comp record/definition on the Org Setup > Jobs and Job Assignments > Workers Comp tab.
    • Legal Entity Rate on the Org Setup > Org Payroll Setup > [Selected Legal Entity Name] > Workers Comp tab > [Selected Account/Policy Number] > Rates.

To associate jobs with WCB codes:

  1. On the Job-WCB Mapping page, review the information shown.

    Note: There can only be one WCB Code associated with each job per operating state.

    Note: You must resolve all errors to continue.

  1. On the WCBJobData tab, complete all columns with the data for all employees in the organization.

    Note: Instructions for populating the fields are in the WCB Jobs Template Fields section (below) and on the Instructions tab of the template.

  2. If you need to upload the WCB Job Template file, click Download File and go to the file on your computer.
  3. If you want to update the data on the page:
    • If you want to insert a new row and enter information, click New.

      Important: You can only enter a State/Province, Legal Entity, and Account Number combination (which was loaded on the WCB Accounts page).

    • If you want to delete a row, click in the row and click Delete.
    • If you want to save your changes, click Save.

    Note: If you make a change by mistake and haven't saved the change, click Refresh to undo the change.

  4. If you want to upload new data:
    1. If you want to download the error message list and save it to your computer, click Download Errors File.
    2. If you want to download the WCB Job Template file, click Download File and save it to your computer. This template file contains the data that was loaded previously.
    3. Update the WCB Job Template file on your computer.
    4. Click Upload File and go to the updated WCB Job Data Template file on your computer.
  5. You can click here to download an Excel document that lists each distinct combination of job and work state/province. This information is based on the existing EmployeeWorkAssignment data for USA/CAN employees in Dayforce.
  6. If you want to return to the Job-WCB Mapping page, click Back.
  7. Click Next.

    This page uploads the assigned jobs on the Org Setup > Jobs and Job Assignments > Workers Comp tab.

To do the final review

  1. On the Final Review page, review the summary of information to be installed into Dayforce.

    The summary information might include:

    • Number of New WCB Codes.
    • Number of New Legal Entity Account/Policy Numbers.
    • Number of Operating States/Provinces with WCB Codes.
    • Number of Operating States/Provinces without WCB Codes.
    • Number of USA/CAN Legal Entities not assigned to any WCB Accounts.
    • Number of Jobs not assigned WCB Code.
  2. Verify that each row of summary information is correct by selecting the checkbox in the Confirm column.
  3. If any information is incorrect, click Back to return to the appropriate page and make the corrections.
  4. After you confirm that all summary information is correct, click Load.

To install the information in Dayforce:

  1. On the Review page, click Next.

    Activate reruns the validation.

    Important: A dialog box states that at completion of this load, access to the Org Hierarchy solution will be limited to Dayforce users. If you have unresolved validation messages, by continuing, you confirm that you’ve reviewed all remaining validation results and commit to making the necessary updates to the applicable configuration and/or data in Dayforce to make sure that the data is correct as soon as possible. You acknowledge that failure to do so could result in pay or year-end filing errors.

    If any new validations are detected, you return to the Validate page and are presented with the new validations to review.

    Important: If someone is signed directly into Dayforce and potentially applying manual configuration, Activate shows a warning at Done & Install. Don’t continue with the Activate installation if users are actively applying configuration changes as they might be lost if a failure occurs during the Activate installation. Download the User report to follow up with the team members before you continue in the Activate wizard.

    Important: If Activate detects that payroll data is linked to an existing WCB configuration, a message instructs you to contact your Implementation consultant to remove the data before proceeding with the install. You can use the Transactional and Test Data Cleanup wizard to remove the data.

    Important: If the PRWCBCode, PRWCBAccount, or JobWCBCode tables contain existing data, a confirmation message states that the loaded templates will replace the existing workers' compensation configuration in Dayforce. Click OK to continue or click Cancel.

  2. If you want to view and save the mapping information that will be loaded, click Download and save the Payroll Mapping File to your computer for future reference.
  3. Click one of the following:
    • No to cancel the installation and return to the Validate page.
    • Yes to acknowledge the disclaimer and continue with the installation. The Loading YTD Data page opens.
  4. During the installation, the current step in the process shows in bold text so you can monitor the progress.
  5. Click one of the following:
    • Add Email and enter your email address to be notified when the installation process ends instead of waiting for it to finish.
    • Next when the installation is complete.

    Activate Central opens with the wizard name now in green text and a green checkmark next to it. The day, date, and time of completion show, along with your name as the user who completed the wizard. The environment in which the installation was applied (Stage, Config, or Train) is also shown.

    Note: If you want to add more information, click I want to add more. See the Executing a Rollback When Using the “Add More” Feature in the Payroll Wizards topic for additional information.

Results

Fields populated in Dayforce

The data uploaded from the WCB Account template populates the fields on the Legal Entity page (Org Setup > Org Payroll Setup > Legal Entity) in Dayforce.

Fields populated in Dayforce on the Legal Entity page
Field in Template Field in Dayforce Page in Dayforce
State/Prov State/Province Worker's Comp tab
Legal Entity Selected Legal Entity (upper table) Legal Entity
Account/Policy Number Account/Policy Number Worker's Comp tab
Start Date Start Date Worker's Comp tab
Blended Rate
(Canada only)		 Blended Rate (Only visible for
Canadian legal entity.)		 Worker's Comp tab
Earning Groupings
(USA only)		 Earning Groups (Only visible for
USA legal entity.)		 Worker's Comp tab
Is Default Is Default. Worker's Comp tab

The data uploaded from the WCB Account template also populates the fields on the Legal Entity page.

Fields populated in Dayforce on the Legal Entity page
Field in Template Field in Dayforce Page in Dayforce
State/Province State/Province

Workers Comp tab (This value is the same as in the above table.
This field makes sure that the user is updating the correct record.)
Legal Entity Selected Legal Entity (upper table)

Legal Entity (This value is the same as in the above table. This field
makes sure that the user is updating the correct record.)
Account/Policy Number Account/Policy Number

Workers Comp tab
WCB Code Workers Comp Class Code

Workers Comp tab, Rates section
Employer Rate Employer Rate

Workers Comp tab, Rates section
Employee Rate
(USA only)
 Employee Rate (Only visible for
USA legal entity.)

Workers Comp tab

The data uploaded from the WCB Account template populates the fields on the Legal Entity page (Org Setup > Jobs and Job Assignments > Workers Comp) in Dayforce.

Fields populated in Dayforce on the Legal Entity page
Field in Template Field in Dayforce Page in Dayforce
Job Job Name

Job and Positions tab
State/Province State/Province

Workers Comp section
WCB Code Workers Comp Class Code

Workers Comp tab, Rates section

Next steps

Complete the next wizard, as appropriate.

WCB Account template fields

All templates have the same basic structure:

  • Instructions tab: Helps you understand the purpose of the data and complete the fields in the template.
  • Data tab: Contains headers for the data to be included in the template. The headers remain the same, but you can change the column order. If you add more columns, Activate ignores them.

All number ranges in the templates include the numbers at both ends of the range.

State/Prov (Required)

Field information for the State/Prov field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
1 Accepted Values:
2-letter state/province.

The two-letter state/province code of the operating location for the Workers' Compensation account.

FL
MA
QC 		This information makes sure that the WCB Account is associated with the correct state.

Legal Entity

Field information for the Legal Entity field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
2 Accepted Values:
List of Legal Entities in Dayforce HCM. 		The legal name of the legal entity. This name needs to match a legal entity that was included in the employee data load. ABC Company Inc This information associates the provided WCB information with a legal entity. If you want to add a new legal entity, go back and add it in Dayforce first.

Account/Policy Number

Field information for the Account/Policy Number field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
3

Alphanumeric. Unique value between 1-9 characters.

It enables the system to identify the Legal Entity's WCB Account uniquely. 3241245
000000006
abc123499 		This data is used as part of the key to identify Legal Entity WCB account and is used to assign the rates uniquely.

Start Date

Field information for the Start Date field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
4 Date The effective start date of the WCB Account. 01/16/1980 format:
mm/dd/yyyy		 This required date identifies the start of the Legal Entity's Account/Policy.

Blended Rate (Canada Only)

Field information for the Blended Rate (Canada Only) field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
5 Numeric Blended rate for this Legal Entity's WCB Account, if the organization has one. This value overrides any employer rates for each WCB Code. This field is for Canada Legal Entity Accounts only. 1.4
2.45 		If the Legal Entity has a blended rate, this overrides the need to specify employer rates for each WCB Code.

Earning Groupings (USA Only)

Field information for the Earning Groupings (USA Only) field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
6 Accepted Values:
Earning group names in Dayforce HCM. 		The name of the earning group that represents the set of earnings that qualify for calculating Workers Compensation. 401K Compensation This information is required for the USA Legal Entity to calculate the WCB employer and employee amounts.

Is Default

Field information for the Is Default field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
7 Accepted Values:
YES
NO 		Default rate flag. If the account is marked as default, it assigns that State/Province's WCB rates to employees who are working in any state or province without a WCB account under the same legal entity. YES
NO		 This field indicates that this Account is the default rate for the legal entity.

WCB Code and Rate Template Fields

State/Province

Field information for the State/Province field

Order

 Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
1 Accepted Values:
2-letter state/province.

The two letter state/province code of the operating location for the Workers' Compensation Account.

FL
MA
QC 		This information is needed to make sure that the WCB Account is associated with the correct state.

Legal Entity

Field information for the Legal Entity field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
2 Accepted Values:
List of Legal Entities in Dayforce HCM. 		The legal name of the legal entity. This name needs to match a legal entity that was included in the employee data load. ABC Company Inc This information is needed to associate the WCB information with a legal entity. If you want to add a new legal entity, go back and add it in Dayforce first.

Account/Policy Number

Field information for the Account/Policy Number field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
3

Alphanumeric. Unique value between 1-9 characters.

This field enables the system to identify the Legal Entity's WCB Account uniquely. 3241245
000000006
abc123499 		This data is used as part of the key to identify the Legal Entity WCB account and is used to assign the rates uniquely.

1 Special characters accepted within the string include: alphanumeric, space, period, apostrophe, dash, number symbol #, comma, underscore, forward slash /, parentheses (), &

WCB Code

Field information for the WCB Code field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
4 Alphanumeric. Unique value between 1-48 characters. The code number of the Workers' Compensation classification category. 1234-000-919
8810
WA7-42D-456
123-012 		This field indicates the Workers' Compensation category code, linked to the industry or job type.

Employer Rate

Field information for the Employer Rate field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
5 Numeric. Employer contribution rate for this WCB Code and Account. This field isn’t required for Canadian legal entities with a blended rate on the WCB Account 1.4
2.45 		This information is required to calculate the employer contribution for Workers' Compensation.

Employee Rate (USA Only) (Not required)

Field information for the Employee Rate (USA Only) field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
6 Numeric.

Employee contribution rate for this WCB Code and Account. This field is only applicable for USA Legal Entity Accounts.

1.4
2.45 		This information is required to calculate the employee contribution for Workers' Compensation.

WCB Job Template Fields

Job

Field information for the Job field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
1 Accepted Values:
Available job names in
Dayforce HCM.		 Name of the job. Clerk
Machinist
Director
RN		 This information is needed to map Job with WCB code.

State/Province

Field information for the State/Province field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
2 Accepted Values:
2-letter state/province. 		The two letter state/province code of the operating location for the Workers' Compensation Account. FL
MA
QC		 This information is needed to identify the correct WCB code.

WCB Code

Field information for the WCB Code field
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This Is Needed
3 Alphanumeric. Unique value between 1-48 characters. The code number of the Workers' Compensation classification category. 1234-000-919
8810
WA7-42D-456123-012 		This information is needed to map the Job with the WCB code.

1 Special characters accepted within the string include: alphanumeric, space, period, apostrophe, dash, number symbol #, comma, underscore, forward slash /, parentheses (), &