Workers’ Compensation When An Employee Has Two Jobs

In order to make ends meet, far too many people have to work more than one job, and run the risks associated with each. If a person is injured during work at one job, they are often placed in an untenable position, because it means they may not be able to work at either job during their process of recovery. If you have been injured on the job, but have concurrent employment, it is important that you be aware of the slightly different responsibilities you may have in going through the legal process.

Are Both Jobs Covered?

In Florida, any workers’ compensation or other indemnity payments paid to a worker are going to be based on a measurement called the average weekly wage (AWW). The method for calculating the AWW is extremely complex, but one elementary mistake that many people make after they have been injured at work is to only advise their insurer of their average weekly wage from the job where they have been injured. Under Florida law, if you have concurrent employment, you can report both your wage amounts and have both of them factored into your insurer’s calculation as long as your second job is considered ‘covered.’

In this context, a ‘covered’ job is one with an employer whose business is large enough to require workers’ compensation for its employees (generally, the state of Florida will require a company to provide workers’ compensation coverage if it has 4 or more employees, though the rules slightly differ for the construction and agricultural industries). If your second job is not covered, the AWW will only take your first ‘covered’ job into account, but if both are covered, both will be included.

A Complex Formula

While having your second job not be covered for workers’ compensation purposes can be upsetting – after all, most people work a second job because they need the income; not being able to access it can cause serious financial trouble – there is one small positive if this happens to you. If “non-covered, concurrent earnings” are excluded from the determination of one’s average weekly wage, it also means that it will be excluded from determining post-recovery earning capacity.

What this means is that while you could not include both jobs’ wages in your AWW, you should still be able to receive both the wages from your second job and any temporary disability benefits, because the wages from your second job were not already factored in. Overall, however, the calculations surrounding AWW and disability benefit amounts are extremely complex, and engaging an attorney to assist you with these matters is highly recommended.

Call A Winter Park Workers’ Compensation Attorney

Being injured at work is never an easy thing to get through, but if you have concurrent employment, it can be much more fraught, because you run the risk of potentially losing out on more than just one salary. If you have questions or concerns about your workers’ compensation injury, contacting a Winter Park workers’ compensation attorney from the Hornsby Law Group can help get them answered. Call our offices today for a free consultation.

Resource:

myfloridacfo.com/Division/WC/Employer/faq.htm

https://www.hornsbylawgroup.com/trucking-accidents-vicarious-liability-in-florida/