Legal Question in Workers Comp in Virginia
I am a teacher in Virgnia, injured knee and was awarded WC at 66% of my WEEKLY pay. I have been out of work since Dec 9. Here is my problem. My HR director explained that teachers here are actually paid for 200 days (the days we actually set foot, physically, in the building.) We can opt to be paid this rate, which for me is $234 a day, in 12 monthly installments. This being my case, when WC asked what my average weekly pay was (in order to calculate my checks x 66%) The answer was $180 per day x 5 days a week. This is because we are offered our 200 days of actual work paid out over 52 weeks a year (12 monthly payments.) Here is the problem. My school system wants to count the days I was on foot in the building before my accident, and the days (every day WC has paid me for, 5 days a week since the accident , including days like xmas break where teachers are not actually paid) at the "deferred payment rate of $180) to total 200 days. When that total is reached, I am paid no more. However, when I count the actual days I should have been IN the building (legitimate part of the 200 days at my authentic daily rate of $234, which WC is NOT doing) I stand to lose upwards of 7,000 EVEN at the 66% rate, had it been applied to my actual $234 per day in building rate of pay!!!!! Virginia WC says somewhere that they enter an agreeent with the school system to pay 66% of the weeky pay I would have received on my pay schedule of extending that $234 per day over 12 months. It seems that the school system is wanting to pay out my fiscal contract (APPLES) but is using (ORANGES)= WC 66% of a payment PLAN I chose, not ACTUAL pay per day to calculate my compensation@! Have you ever run into this situation with a teacher's salary and WC before? How do I present this in a hearing and do I have a legal leg in this? It would seem that this policy discriminates greatly against teachers and the way our pay per actual work hours is distributed to us in a yearly package. If I were afactory worker or any other type of business, I would be getting 66% o $234 a day x 5 days a week or at least the days I would have been actually in the school teaching!!! HELP!!!
1 Answer from Attorneys
Calculating your workers compensation benefits is not done as you trying to do it. It is not based on a per day type of calculation. Itis based on and is called your AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE. This is calculated by a very simple formula. Starting from the day of your injury even if you worked past the injury date,you take the 52 weeks prior to the accident date gross (not net) wages, add them up and divide by 52. There is no wiggle room. For more information you can order my book at workaccidentbook.com. Additionally you can give the commission a copy of your 52 weeks of paystubs and ask the commission to calculate your average weekly wage and correct comp rate and then give that to the insurance adjuster. Another point, don't be dealing with the school, be dealing with their insurance adjuster.
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