If a worker sustains an on-the-job injury or an occupational illness in Illinois, they may qualify for workers’ compensation. Benefits available from workers’ compensation include temporary partial disability benefits, which can provide financial compensation for employees as they ease back into work while recovering from a work-related injury or illness. But how do insurers and workers’ compensation judges calculate a worker’s temporary partial disability benefit?
What Are Temporary Partial Disability Benefits?
In Illinois’ workers’ compensation system, temporary partial disability benefits provide partial reimbursement for the difference between your pre-injury/illness wages and the reduced wages you earn while working in a light-duty or part-time role while continuing to recover from your occupational injury or illness.
As workers recover from injuries or illnesses, their treating physicians may certify them to return to work with restrictions, such as hour restrictions or restrictions on physical activity. An employer may offer the worker a modified-duty role consistent with their temporary restrictions. Should that role pay less than the worker earned previously, temporary partial disability benefits can make up some of the worker’s lost income. Temporary partial disability benefits differ from temporary total disability benefits, which a worker receives when they cannot work at all while recovering from a work-related injury or illness.
An employer or workers’ compensation insurer pays temporary partial disability benefits until the employee’s physician clears them to return to full duty or another modified-duty position that pays them as much as they earned pre-injury/illness, or until the physician determines that the employee has reached maximum medical improvement. In some cases, an employee may have a limit on the number of weeks they can receive temporary partial disability benefits.
The Formula for Calculating TPD Benefits in Illinois
When a worker receives temporary partial disability benefits, their employer will compensate them for two-thirds of the difference between their pre-injury average weekly wage and the wages they earn while on modified duty. Employers or insurers calculate a worker’s average weekly wages based on their earnings in the 52 weeks preceding their injury or illness. Illinois’ workers’ compensation law also sets minimum floors and maximum caps on temporary disability benefits.
Factors That Can Affect the Calculation
Some of the factors that affect the amount of a worker’s temporary partial disability benefit include:
- The accuracy of the calculation of the worker’s average weekly wage
- Whether the employer or insurer included a worker’s overtime, bonuses, or income from a second job (which the worker cannot return to or must work in a lower-paying modified-duty role) in the calculation of the average weekly wage
- Changes in the worker’s modified-duty pay as they recover and have restrictions removed on their ability to work
Common Mistakes and Disputes
Common mistakes that can lead to disputes over temporary partial disability benefits include:
- Underreporting of wages, including overtime, bonuses, and wages from other jobs
- Errors in comparing pre- and post-injury wages
- Miscalculation of the average weekly wage due to missing or incorrect wage records
- Failure to adjust benefits when a worker’s modified-duty wages change+
A worker who disagrees with an employer’s or insurer’s calculation of temporary partial disability benefits can file a formal claim with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission to request an administrative hearing.
Contact a Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you can return to work in a part-time or light-duty capacity, temporary partial disability benefits can help compensate you for the reduced income you earn while recovering from your work injury or illness. Contact Galanti, Patti, & Winterscheidt, P.C., today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a workers’ compensation lawyer to learn more about the financial payments you might receive for temporary partial disability benefits after a work accident or occupational illness in Illinois.