How do we calculate the average weekly wage for a part-time employee?
Until the 1983 amendment to the workers’ compensation act employers were required to pay compensation benefits to part-time employees based on a presumed 40 work week. The amendment permits the employer to calculate the average weekly wage of a part-time employee based on an average of their actual hours worked in the four full weeks before the accident. However, the law clearly places the burden on the employer to establish that the employee knowingly accepted work that provided less than 40 hours per week AND that the employer has classified the employee as part-time.
