44. The employer in whose service the worker is employed at the time of the accident, in the case of the first paragraph of section 42, or of the aggravation in the case of subsection 1 of section 43 or of a relapse resulting from a prior accident, shall pay to such worker, at the time his salary would ordinarily have been paid, the indemnity contemplated in the first paragraph of section 42 or in subsection 1 of section 43, for each of the first five days on which the worker is totally disabled to work, not counting the day on which the accident, aggravation or relapse occurred.
If the claim of the worker for an indemnity under this Act is subsequently deemed well founded, the indemnity paid by the employer under this section constitutes an indemnity granted under this Act and the Commission shall reimburse him.
Otherwise, the employer may demand reimbursement from the worker.
An employer who does not comply with the first paragraph of this section is guilty of an offence and is liable, in addition to costs, to a fine equal to twice the amount of the indemnity he omitted to pay to the worker, unless the employer proves that the claim of the worker was deemed unfounded.
1977, c. 42, s. 4; 1978, c. 57, s. 1, s. 25.