Part 1: The Workers' Compensation Process
- How do I know if I Have a Workers' Compensation Claim?
- How Do I File a Workers' Compensation Claim?
- Is There a Time Limit for Filing My Claim?
- What Benefits Am I Entitled To?
- Independent Medical Examinations
- The Hearing Process
- After the Hearing – Decisions, Payments and Appeals
- Finalization of a Workers' Compensation Claim
- Attorneys' Fees
Part 2: Special Issues In Workers' Compensation
ACTUAL REDUCED EARNINGS
You may be concerned that finding work within your restrictions will require accepting a job at a lower wage than you are accustomed to. The Workers' Compensation Law takes this into account with awards for "actual reduced earnings" (ARE). You become eligible for actual reduced earnings when:
- Your doctor gives you work restrictions directly related to your work injury, and
- You sustain a loss of earnings due to those restrictions.
If you return to work performing light duty (at any job, not necessarily the one you were injured at) and do not earn your regular wages, you are entitled to receive two-thirds of the difference between your AWW (see page 6) and your new wage. For example, if your AWW for the year prior to your injury was $450.00 per week, and you return to a light duty job earning only $300.00 per week, you are entitled to $100.00 per week as a compensation benefit for actual reduced earnings. The difference between $450.00 and $300.00 is $150.00, and two-thirds of $150.00 is $100.00. In order to receive actual reduced earnings benefits, the loss of earnings must be directly related to your disability and work restrictions.