An employee who sustains a work injury is entitled to temporary wage loss benefits while in the healing period. The healing period is defined as the time between when the injury occurs and when the doctors assess a healing plateau, also known as Maximum Medical Improvement. If medical restrictions from the work injury cause the employee to entirely miss work or sustain a complete wage loss, Temporary Total Disability (TTD) is due. The TTD rate is two-thirds of the employee’s gross Average Weekly Wage as of the date of injury. To determine the Average Weekly Wage, the insurance carrier must use the higher of the following calculations: 1) the hourly rate multiplied by the normal scheduled hours; or 2) the total earnings in the 52 weeks before the injury divided by the number of weeks actually worked. Many part-time workers are bumped up to a presumption of 35 to 40-hour employment, especially if their hours usually varied every week. If the employer accommodates temporary medical restrictions from the work injury, but the employee is earning less than before the work injury such as with part-time light duty work, then Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) is due. This is two-thirds of the difference between the light duty earnings and the Average Weekly Wage. TTD and TPD will cease after a healing plateau or Maximum Medical Improvement has been declared by the treating doctors. Even if an employee continues to sustain a wage loss because of the work injury, no further temporary wage loss benefits will be paid. Instead, Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) benefits will be paid, or the employee can claim retraining/schooling benefits or loss of earning capacity benefits. All TTD and TPD is tax free. It is common for employers to fail to report partial earnings to the insurance carrier, or complete wages for the Average Weekly Wage calculation. Many injured workers who otherwise have no dispute in their cases are underpaid the temporary wage loss benefit. If you suspect that you have been paid TTD or TPD at an incorrect rate, or not paid those benefits at all, contact us today for a free consultation. Contact us if you would like to discuss your situation or legal rights with a Wisconsin workers compensation attorney. Please call a Madison worker's compensation attorney directly at (608) 257-0040 or a Milwaukee worker's compensation attorney at (414) 271-8650, or email us via our Contact Page.