Wage Calculation - Fulltime Employees Working Overtime or With Premium Pay

Hourly Employees

Apply the regular 2-part comparison formula for full-time hourly employees by multiplying the hourly rate times the number of hours the employer regularly schedules the employee for work per week and compare that result to the gross wages earned in the 52-week period prior to the injury. The TTD rate is 2/3rds of the higher amount. For hourly employees, include shift differentials and cost of living increases in the hourly wage. If the employer regularly schedules the employee for more than 40 hours per week and the employer pays premium pay, for example, time-and-a-half for hours over 40, add the overtime pay to the weekly wage. If the employer did not regularly schedule the employee for more than 40 hours per week, but scheduled the employee to work more than 40 hours per week at the time of injury, do not include the hours or pay over 40 in the hourly computation part of the formula. Include the premium pay in the gross wage part of the comparison formula. A "regular schedule" is one that the employer has scheduled employees doing that type of work for at least the 90-day period prior to the date of injury.

If overtime hours are worked for a long enough period they can become regular hours. If the hours worked have changed, either increasing or decreasing for as long as 90 days prior to the injury, we consider regular employment to be the number of hours in effect for the 90 day period. See Rule DWD 80.51(1)

Piecework employees

To determine the hourly rate, divide the total earned within the prior 52 weeks period. Exclude overtime earnings and hours in this computation. Multiply this rate by the number of hours the employer’s regularly scheduled full-time employees work per week. The overtime earnings are included in the gross wage part of the formula.

Salaried employees

The TTD rate is based solely on the salary. If the employee is paid by the month, convert monthly salary to weekly, by dividing by 4.3333.

Employees paid on a Commission basis

Use actual earnings average of prior 52 weeks. If the person has not worked long enough (generally less than six weeks) to have earned anything, check for average of other employees in same kind of comparable work; 102.11(1)(c).

Employees paid on the basis of annual earnings

Annual earnings cannot be less than the actual earnings in the year prior to the injury. This is subject to the maximum in 102.11(1). Annual earnings are used for death benefits and disfigurement. See Section 102.11(2).

Employees working alternating week schedules

When work is scheduled to alternating weeks and the hours vary, set the wage based on 40 hours as full time. If the work is scheduled on an alternating week basis and the hours do not change, for example, 36 hours one week and 48 hours the next week, the regular hours and overtime hours worked each week would be averaged separately, so the AWW would be based on 38 regular hours and 4 overtime hours.