Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Computing Average Weekly Wage

In the event that you suffer an on-the-job injury, it is important to understand both the kinds of benefits to which you are entitled, as well as how to calculate such benefits. Unfortunately, insurance adjusters will occasionally make errors in calculating the amount of benefits which are due to an injured employee, so an understanding of how your benefits are calculated can be a valuable asset if you’ve been hurt at work. This post will very briefly discuss the three (3) methods by which an injured worker’s “average weekly wage” (AWW) is computed under Georgia law.

To determine the amount due to an injured worker for either TTD or TPD benefits (please see my previous post regarding TTD and TPD benefits), the worker’s AWW must first be computed. In most situations, this figure is calculated by taking the average of the total gross wages (pre-tax) earned for the 13 weeks preceding the date of accident. What are the components of these gross wages? AWW encompasses “salary, hourly pay, tips, and the reasonable value of food, housing and other benefits furnished by the employer without charge to the employee which constitute a financial benefit to the employee and are capable of pecuniary calculation.” (Board Rule 260(a)). In other words, if an employee receives $15.00 in gas money each week, this amount will be added to his or her regular salary.

However, there are often situations in which an employee has not been working for substantially the whole of the 13 weeks prior to the injury (like if the employee was hired only 5 or 6 weeks prior to the accident). In those situations, the AWW can be computed by averaging a “similarly situated employee’s” gross wages for the 13 weeks preceding the date of accident. Ideally, a “similarly situated employee” is someone performing the same job, on the same shift, with the same wages.

If the above 2 methods cannot be used, the last method by which an AWW can be computed is by taking the full-time average weekly wage of the employee. In other words, if an employee is paid $10.00 per hour and a full-time work week is 40 hours, then the AWW would be $400.00 per week.

Tip:  Again, insurance adjusters will often make errors in calculating an employee’s AWW and will not take into full account all of the potential components of the employee’s gross wages. For this reason, it is important to have an attorney on your side to help you maximize your weekly benefit while you recover from a work injury. Should you have any questions regarding any of the above, please let us know.

No comments:

Post a Comment