With the warm weather and summer approaching, there will be many seasonal jobs springing up. The question that can arise is can you be compensated by Workers’ Compensation if you are injured on the job as a seasonal worker whose “average weekly wage is different from full-time workers who are not considered seasonal employees?
The Illinois Supreme Court has set methods for calculating the average weekly wage for a seasonal worker regardless of how long they have worked for a company.
In order to calculate an average weekly wage, take the date of the injury, count backwards for 52 weeks, add the income earned during that period and then divide by 52. For a seasonal worker this is where an issue can arise in obtaining Workers’ Comp benefits. Insurance companies sometimes take all of the income earned and divide it by 52, regardless of the fact that you only worked there for 4 months or the season. The result will be that your average weekly wage and disability benefits will be lower than they should be, and your settlement amount will also be lower.
One of the methods used to calculate the average weekly wage for a seasonal worker, regardless of how long one has worked for a company, is to add in all the hours worked by a seasonal worker and divide by 5 which will result in the richest outcome. To truly achieve the highest outcome in a Workers’ Compensation case, please contact our office and we will be able to help you with your case.