Temporary partial disability benefits (TPD) are benefits that may be payable under the following circumstances:
1. You are working a temporary light duty job at a lesser wage because your duties are different, or you are making the same wage but your employer has reduced your hours each week;
2. You have a permanent job that is within your restrictions, but you are not making your compensation rate, but hope to within the next two years ;
3. You have concurrent employers at the time of your injury, and can only return to work for one of those employers while recuperating from your injuries,
In each of the above examples, in order to determine whether any TPD is owed, we must first know what your average monthly wage is on your claim and your compensation rate. The average monthly wage is that calculation your adjuster sends you which determines how much you will be paid when when and if you are entitled to lost time compensation benefits. For example, if your gross monthly wages were $3000, your average monthly wage would be $3000 a month, and your compensation rate (what you would actually receive in benefits when taken off work by your doctor. That would be 66 2/3 of your average monthly wage, or $2000.
Your compensation rate is also expressed in terms of a daily rate, which is then multiplied by the usual 14 day period the insurer pays bi-weekly benefits to those claimants off work due to their injury. Each consecutive day within a pay period is counted, including Saturdays and ‘Sunday.
You can tell whether any TPD is owed to you by taking your current paycheck stub from your employer from your reduced hours temporary light duty job, and subtracting your net (how much you made after taxes, SSI, medicare If that amount is less than your compensation rate for that same period of time, then workers’ compensation will owe you the difference between your compensation rate and what you netted on your paycheck.
Click here for any easy worksheet you may use to determine whether TPD is owed for a particular pay period. If so, you need to send a copy of your paycheck to your adjuster and ask that TPD be paid for that time period. You will have to look at each paycheck you receive to determine whether you are owed TPD that time period.
If you have a permanent light duty job and aren’t making your compensation rate, TPD benefits are payable for up to tow years. After two years you should be making your compensation rate.
Remember, you must actively seek these benefits by promptly sending in paycheck stubs and by asking for these benefits.
