July 8, 2019 | General

Most people know that workers’ compensation covers lost time from a work injury, but how are those benefits calculated? The first step to determining how much you will get if you’re off work because of a work accident is to figure out your Average Weekly Wage (AWW).

For employees paid by the hour, the AWW is calculated taking an average of as many of the 26 weeks before your accident as you worked. If you don’t have that information, make sure to ask your employer for your payment records for the six months before your accident.

Once you have the wages, you can check the adjuster’s calculation by adding the wages up and dividing by the number of weeks up to 26. But it can get complicated with special rules.

The most common issue is an adjuster failing to exclude weeks, resulting in a low calculation:

1. Nebraska case law provides that weeks that are lower than normal should be excluded, so don’t include weeks where you worked less than the normal amount that you worked.
2. Abnormally high weeks are not excluded.

Whether or not the wage includes overtime hours at the overtime or regular rate depends on the terms of the employer’s policy. If the premium is based on overtime, then the overtime rate is used. If not, the straight time rate is used for all hours, including overtime hours. You can ask your employer which applies to your claim.

Special rules apply to employees paid in other ways, to employees who receive bonuses, and in other complicated situations.

If the wage is lower than it should be, you may not be receiving the benefits you are entitled to. If you have questions about whether your wage was calculated correctly, you may need an attorney and can contact us for help.

Workers’ Compensation Claims