Temporary Partial Disability

TPD is due whenever a worker who is otherwise eligible for compensation suffers a wage loss due to medical circumstances related to the injury that cause either:

• a reduction in the number of hours of work that the employee would otherwise be scheduled to work, or
• a reduction in hourly wages due to being placed on "light duty"

TPD may be denied or suspended if the employee refuses to follow the Doctors orders or fails to attend a medical examination that is reasonable. In addition, compensation for temporary disability will be suspended for an employee who has been convicted of a crime, is incarcerated, and not available to return to work during the healing period. s. 102.43 (9) (d).

If the employee takes vacation while on TPD, the TPD is paid based upon the amount paid the week prior to the vacation. Earnings from vacation paid time off are not included in the TPD calculation.

Eligibility for TPD will change to TTD if the offer of restricted work is unreasonable.Unreasonable work offers are those that impose undue or unreasonable hardship.

Examples of Unreasonable Work Offers

Work offered is for one-half day and the employee would have to come in several times during the same day. (i.e. split shifts)

The employee would be required to travel an unreasonable distance.

Offered work is not within the restrictions set by the physician.

If the treating practitioner communicates the limited return to work restrictions only to the employer, the employee remains entitled to TTD until the employer contacts the employee to make the work offer.

Part-time employees ----Use actual wage at the time of the injury, NOT THE EXPANDED WAGES, to compute the wage loss. There is an exception when there are two jobs involved. Call us at (608) 266-1340.

TTD & TPD in the same week -- Figure the entire week as a week of TPD. The amount of earnings to enter will be the amount earned from the employer. Do not enter any TTD paid amounts. If there are days worked and TPD due in the same week, the entire week is then figured as TPD.The earned amount is only the earnings paid by the employer for the days worked in the week.

Time off with pay by employee's choice; holiday during the week of TPD should be added to the amount earned before calculating wage loss. However, vacation pay is an earned fringe benefit and does not relieve the employer from any obligation to pay temporary disability benefits. Therefore, do not add vacation pay into the earnings column when performing TPD calculations. Rather, compute the loss based on work available. For example, if a person took 8 hours of vacation on a particular day, but 4 hours of work was available, then use the 4 hours available as work offered, but declined.

Availability of restricted employment during the healing period If an employer provides work at a lower wage than the wage earned at the time of the injury, the employee who fails or refuses to accept such offer remains entitled to TPD benefits based on his or her proportional wage loss had he/she accepted the work. However, if the employer can not or does not make restricted work available, the employee remains entitled to TTD until work is available or an end of healing is reached, whichever occurs first.

Plant (employer) shutdown in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement (reference s.102.43(8)(b). e.g. vacation, model changeover etc. If no work is available to the employee, TPD continues as it did before the plant shutdown. If the shutdown is not in accordance with a union contract or there is a general layoff situation, TTD is paid for the weeks of the shutdown or layoff.

Escalation per 102.43(7) -- If there is a renewed period of TTD or TPD more than 2 years after the injury date, the escalated rate should be used in column 8 on the TPD supplement form (WKC-7359-E). However, the weekly wage at the time of the injury (column 5 on the TPD supplement form) remains the same. If there have been continuous TTD and/or TPD benefits, there is no escalation. The employee must have returned to work for at least 10 days preceding the renewed period for the escalation to take effect.

Swing Shift Employees - The Department considers the entire swing shift period in determining if there is any wage loss for compensating TPD during the healing period . Trusdale v.Curwood, Inc., WC Claim No. 2008013039 (LIRC Dec. 28, 2009).

1. Plant shutdown-compulsory vacation bargained under a union contract Wis. Stat. ยง 102.43(8)(b)
2. Plant shutdown for any other reason (lack of work, fire, plant closes)DWD ch. 80.47
   1. Compulsory Vacation Shutdown
      • If receiving TPD prior to the plant shutdown for compulsory vacation, use the employee's earnings from the week prior to the plant shutdown to calculate continued TPD.
   2. Plant shutdown for other reasons
      • If the employee is unable to work, TTD continues.
      • If the employee finds work elsewhere, TPD may be due if the employee is still in a healing period and the weekly earnings are less than those earned at the time of injury.

Weekly wage at time of injury is from your previous full time or part-time job

Hours worked and the hourly wage equal the amount earned from the new employer

TTD Rate on TPD Worksheet: $160.00

If the injured employee obtains a job after the date of injury with a different employer the insurance carrier may ask the injured employee each week for the taxable earnings from the other employer. If the injured employee obtains a job after the injury, TPD will be due instead of TTD.

Completing the TPD worksheet (WKC-7359)

1. Week ending is the Sunday date following the week of TPD.
2. Hours the injured worked.
3. Hourly rate the employee was earning for the week of TPD.
4. Earned -- The injured employee obtains a job after the injury, the wage earned is from the other employer and the injured employee needs to report their taxable earnings to the insurance carrier, so the carrier can determine what TPD is due for each week the employee is on temporary restrictions.
5. Wages from a second job are offset against the AWW, regardless of whether the injured worker is full-time or a part-time worker who has had their wage expanded.
6. Wage loss -- Subtract the amount earned from the wage at the time of the injury.
7. % -- divide the wage loss by the wage at the time of the injury.
8. TTD rate -- This is the same rate that the temporary total disability was paid at. It does not lower to 2/3rd's of the actual wage. (Use the escalated rate if there is a renewed period of disability more than 2 years after the date of injury.)
9. TPD rate -- Multiply the TTD rate by the % of wage loss.

For help with temporary total or partial disability, contact Bureau of Claims Management