One area of workers’ compensation law that often gets overlooked is the calculation of the average weekly wage (AWW). The AWW that the employer and insurance company acknowledge on various Bureau of Workers’ Compensation documents is often inaccurate. Moreover, even the corresponding compensation rate is occasionally not calculated properly, in the instances where the average weekly wage is accurate. Given the significant role a correct average weekly wage has in ensuring the proper wage-loss benefits are paid to one’s client, and the impact that both the compensation rate and the AWW has on any settlement calculation, it bears revisiting some fundamental guidelines that should be observed in every case.
Section 309 of the Workers’ Compensation Act sets forth various methods to determine an injured worker’s average weekly wage. Likewise, the bureau form everyone is familiar with, the Statement of Wages, attempts to mimic the language of Section 309 in an effort to enable employers and insurance adjusters to accurately follow the law.
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