Does buying a business affect its WSIB claims history?

It depends on how the business is bought. In a share purchase, nothing changes about the WSIB account or claims history, because the same corporation continues to exist as the registered employer — its history of claims, and anything that flows from it, simply continues under new ownership.

In an asset purchase, you're generally a new legal employer, and the seller's WSIB account and claims history are tied to the selling corporation rather than to you. That said, whether you can simply open a brand-new account with a clean slate, or whether the workplace safety and insurance system treats you as a continuation of the same operation for account or rating purposes, can depend on the specific facts of the sale and how the business continues to operate — this isn't a purely contractual question your purchase agreement controls on its own.

Because the details here are fact-specific and outside general purchase agreement drafting, confirm directly with the WSIB (or through a specialist in this area) how your particular transaction will be treated before assuming either a clean break or full inheritance. A Treadstone business lawyer can help you understand the employment-side implications of your specific deal structure.