How the Part-time Average Weekly Wage Works:
As we've explained on other pages on this site, an injured worker's Income Benefits are dependent on what their average weekly wage is. However, it works a little differently for a part-time worker. The formulas and calculations are similar, but obviously, the income will be possibly less or based on income from several part-time jobs. In this article, We'll talk about how insurance carriers calculate a part-time worker's Income Benefits and what various scenarios you might have for part-time workers.
Texas Labor Code § 408.042
Under this section, there are three main ways used to determine the Average Weekly Wage of a part-time employee. This is because, just like all things, there is not one category that all workers will fit into. Besides the part-time worker who has worked at their job for a substantial amount of time, there may also be workers who are relatively new to their jobs, having been there less than 13 weeks (which is the standard amount of time the Texas Labor Code uses in its Income Benefits calculations) or workers who work multiple part-time jobs, fulfilling a full-time salary with the jobs combined. We'll break down below how each of these types of workers' compensation will play out.
- The first way applies when the employee regularly works part-time. If that is the case, the calculation is the same as it would be for a full-time employee. For example, if you work 20 hours a week for at least 13 weeks, then you would add up all of the money you have made in the last 13 weeks and divide it by 13, and that is your Part-Time Average Weekly Wage. See the statute quoted below for the technical definition:
Sec. 408.042. AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE FOR PART-TIME EMPLOYEE OR EMPLOYEE WITH MULTIPLE EMPLOYMENT. (a) The average weekly wage of a part-time employee who limits the employee's work to less than a full-time workweek as a regular course of that employee's conduct is computed as provided bt Section 408.041.
- This next section of the Texas Labor Code describes the second way that the Part-Time Average Weekly Wage is calculated. It addresses employees who have not worked part-time for at least 13 weeks or employees who do not regularly work part-time. In this case, their wages would be based on the wages for an employee with a similar job. For example, if you work part-time at a factory, your Part-Time Average Weekly Wage would be the same as another factory worker, as described in the statute below.
(b) For pat-time employees not covered by Subsection (a), the average weekly wage:
- (2) for determining impairment income benefits, supplemental income benefits, lifetime income benefits, and death benefits is computed as follows:
- (B) if the employee has worked for the employer for less than 13 weeks immediately preceding the date of the injury, the average weekly wage is equal to:
- (i) the weekly wage that the employer pays a similar employee for similar services based on a full-time workweek;
- (B) if the employee has worked for the employer for less than 13 weeks immediately preceding the date of the injury, the average weekly wage is equal to:
- (2) for determining impairment income benefits, supplemental income benefits, lifetime income benefits, and death benefits is computed as follows:
- The third way that Part-Time Average Weekly Wage is calculated concerns employees with multiple part-time jobs. However, the calculation is similar to people with only one job. If the employee has been regularly employed for 13 weeks preceding the injury, then the average weekly wage is calculated by adding 13 weeks' wages (this is the sum of all the salaries of that worker's individual jobs put together) before the accident and dividing it by 13. For example, if you made $5,200 dollars in the last 13 weeks between all of your jobs, then your Part-Time Average Weekly Wage would be 5200 divided by 13, or $400 a week.
(c) For employees with multiple employment, the average weekly wage for determining temporary income benefits, impairment income benefits, supplemental income benefits, lifetime income benefits, and death benefits, is computer as follows:
- (2) for each of the employers for whom the employee has worked for at least the 13 weeks immediately preceding the date of injury, the average weekly wage is equal to the sum of the wages paid by that employer to the employee in the 13 weeks immediately preceding the injury divided by 13;
How Employers Can Use This Against You
Under Texas' workers' compensation laws, part-time employees do not get the same protections or benefits as full-time employees. Therefore, employers will attempt to classify these workers as part-time, so that if the employee is injured, the insurance carrier will not have to pay higher benefits and other compensation to them.
Call Grossman Law Offices Today:
The best way to protect yourself from your employer and their insurance provider's claims about your work status is to hire a work injury lawyer with experience, who can inform you of your rights under the law. Part-time status shouldn't negatively affect your recovery--part-time status doesn't mean part-time injury. Grossman Law Offices has over 25 years of experience and thousands of cases where we've held insurance companies accountable. Call today for a free consultation at (855) 326-0000.
Other articles about worker's compensation that may be helpful to you:
- Who Is Eligible for Workers' Compensation Death Benefits?
- How Do I Know if My Employer Has Workers' Compensation Coverage?
- What Are Supplemental Income Benefits?
