When an employee suffers a work-related injury, their employer may encourage them to return to work as quickly as possible by offering a temporary part-time or light-duty position that meets the employee’s medical restrictions. However, if this alternative position pays the employee less than they earned before their injury, the Oklahoma workers’ compensation system provides benefits to help make up some of the lost income.
What Are Temporary Partial Disability Benefits?
Temporary partial disability benefits are provided by Oklahoma workers’ compensation insurance when an employee’s work-related injury results in work restrictions that cause them to take a job that pays less than their pre-injury work. An injured worker’s treating physician may restrict the worker’s ability to work, such as limiting the number of hours they can work or by limiting or restricting specific tasks like standing or lifting heavy objects.
A worker under medical restrictions may need to temporarily transfer to a part-time or light-duty position that pays less than the average income or wages they earned in their regular role. These benefits can reimburse some of the difference between the worker’s pre-injury average weekly wage and the lower wages they earn in a part-time or light-duty position.
What Benefits Am I Entitled to Under Temporary Partial Disability?
A worker eligible for temporary partial disability benefits in the Oklahoma workers’ compensation system can receive 70 percent of the difference between the worker’s pre-injury average weekly wage and the wages they earn after a work injury requires them to transfer to a lower-paying job temporarily.
A worker receiving such benefits can also receive other benefits in the workers’ compensation system, such as medical care for a work-related injury/illness and vocational retraining/job placement for workers who cannot return to their pre-injury employment.
How Long Do Temporary Partial Disability Benefits Last in Oklahoma?
Under the Oklahoma workers’ compensation system, an injured worker can receive temporary partial disability benefits for up to 52 weeks. However, an employer can terminate an employee’s benefits if the employee refuses alternative work that complies with their medical restrictions.
How to Calculate Temporary Partial Disability Benefits
To calculate your wage benefits, workers must first calculate their pre-injury average weekly wage. An employee can calculate their average weekly wage by adding up the wages or income they earned from their employer, including overtime pay, tips, bonuses, commissions, and the value of room and board provided by an employer, then dividing that amount by the number of weeks worked to earn those wages or income, up to a maximum of 52 weeks.
Once workers have calculated their pre-injury average weekly wage, they can calculate their temporary partial disability benefit by subtracting their lower weekly wage in a temporary part-time or modified-duty position from their pre-injury average weekly wage and multiplying that difference by 70 percent.
Contact our Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Lawyers to Apply for Temporary Partial Disability
After suffering injuries on the job, you may have the right to receive workers’ compensation wage replacement benefits as you recover. Contact Ryan Bisher Ryan & Simons today for a free, no-obligation consultation. You can discuss your legal options with our knowledgeable Oklahoma workers’ compensation lawyer.
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