Wage Replacement Benefits for Employees

Wage Replacement Benefits for Employees Disabled from Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses

Full Pay for Day of Injury [Sec. 31-295]
The employee should receive his/her full day’s wages for the day the injury occurred, whether or not he/she was able to return to work after the accident
Temporary Total Disability (TT) Benefits [Sec. 31-307]
Weekly TT benefits while totally disabled from ANY type of work are equal to 75% of the employee’s after-tax average weekly wage (after federal and state taxes and FICA deductions) for the 52-week period prior to the injury or illness, subject to the legislated maximum and minimum amounts.
Waiting Period [Sec. 31-295
No compensation benefits for Temporary Total Disability or Temporary Partial Disability (below) are paid until an injured or ill employee is incapacitated from work for MORE than three calendar days. Benefits begin on the fourth day of incapacity from work and if the employee remains incapacitated for seven or more calendar days, the three-day waiting period is eliminated and benefits are paid from the beginning of the employee’s incapacity.

In counting days of incapacity from work, all calendar days are counted, even if the employee was not scheduled to work during any or all of them. (The day of the injury itself does NOT count as a day of incapacity from work.)

Temporary Partial Disability (TP) Benefits during a Job Search [Sec. 31-308(a)]
If the employee is released for “light duty” or “restricted” work and the employer does not have such work, he/she is entitled to Temporary Partial Disability (TP) benefits while performing a job search for suitable employment. TP benefits are paid at the basic weekly TT compensation rate, subject to the legislated maximum and minimum amounts.
Temporary Partial Disability (TP) Benefits in a Lower-Paying Job [Sec. 31-308(a)]
If, as a result of the injury, the employee returns to a lower-paying job (described as either “light duty” or “restricted”), he/she is entitled to Temporary Partial Disability (TP) wage differential benefits. These TP benefits are equal to 75% of the after-tax difference between the wages they are currently earning, and the wages currently being paid in their former job, subject to the legislated maximum and minimum amounts.
Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) Benefits [Sec. 31-308(b)]
If the employee’s attending physician determines that Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) has been reached and that the employee has sustained a permanent, but only partial loss, or loss of use of, a body part, that physician should issue a percentage disability rating, usually on a Form 42 or in the form of a medical report. Such a disability rating marks the end of other workers’ compensation benefits (TT and/or TP) and makes the employee eligible to receive weekly PPD benefits for a specific number of weeks.

The weekly PPD benefit rate is determined by the specific body part that was injured and the basic compensation that the employee was receiving at the time of their original injury. This also is subject to the legislated maximum and minimum amounts. Payment of this benefit does not close out the claimant’s case. (See pages 14-15 of this Packet for more information.)

Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) to Dependent Survivor Benefits [Sec. 31-307a]
Dependents of employees who died as a result of their work-related injury or illness are entitled to an annual Cost of Living Adjustment every October 1st beginning with the October 1st after their death. The amount of the increase is based upon the date of the injury pursuant to section 31-309 of the Workers’ Compensation Act.
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) [Sec. 31-307a]
Effective July 1, 1993, only claimants who are judged to be Permanently Totally disabled or claimants who have been Temporarily Totally disabled for five (5) years or more are entitled to receive Cost-of-Living Adjustments, in accordance with the provisions set out in section 31-309 of the Workers’ Compensation Act.
Benefits for a Recurrence or Relapse from Recovery [Sec. 31-307b]
If the employee returns to work from an injury, but then has a recurrence or relapse from recovery, he/she will again be eligible to receive workers’ compensation wage replacement benefits. This weekly compensation rate is based on the original TT benefit rate (plus cost-of-living adjustments) OR the TT rate based on the employee’s earnings at the time of the recurrence or relapse, whichever is higher.
Disfigurement and Scarring Benefits [Sec. 31-308(c)]
An Administrative Law Judge may award benefits for any permanent, significant disfigurement or scar due to a work-related injury (1) on the face, head, or neck, or (2) on any other area of the body that handicaps the claimant in obtaining or continuing to work.

These awards cannot be requested any earlier than one (1) year after nor any later than two (2) years after the injury or surgery causing the disfigurement or scar. Scarring is not allowed for spinal surgery of the neck.

The weekly Disfigurement and Scarring benefit rate is equal to the employee’s weekly TT benefit rate, subject to the legislated maximum and minimum amounts, and may be paid for a period of up to 208 weeks.

Discretionary Wage Differential “308a” Benefits [Sec. 31-308a]
An Administrative Law Judge “may” grant additional benefits to an employee after he/she has been paid all of their Permanent Partial Disability, if the injury results in their inability to find employment, or the new employment pays less than the original job. The employee must request a hearing in the appropriate Workers’ Compensation district in order to request these benefits.

“308a”/Discretionary benefits are equal to 75% of the employee’s after-tax loss in earnings, subject to the legislated maximum and minimum amounts. This is the NET difference between the amount the employee is currently earning and the amount they would have been earning, if they hadn’t been injured. The employee “may” be granted this benefit for a specific number of weeks, which may be less than but cannot exceed the number of weeks he/she received their Permanent Partial payments

Dependent Survivor (“Fatality”) Benefits [Sec. 31-306]
When an employee’s death is caused by a work-related injury or illness, a surviving spouse or other eligible dependent may be entitled to burial expenses of $4,000 and weekly wage replacement benefits equal to 75% of the deceased employee’s after-tax average weekly wage (after federal and state taxes and FICA deductions), subject to the legislated maximum and minimum amounts.

(Also see the Dependent Survivors’ COLA information above.) There are other benefits provided by the Workers’ Compensation Act and other State laws for which you may also be eligible. For a description of some of these, see Medical Treatment for Employees with Work-Related Injuries or Illnesses (page 5) and Other Benefits Provided by the Workers’ Compensation Act (page 16).