Q: I work for a public school district. I got my foot tangled in an electrical cord and fell on concrete breaking my hip.
I took sick leave in lieu of a workers comp check. WC approved that but didn’t tell me it would cause problems. I also worked another job before breaking my hip in several places. Now they say I can’t draw compensation for the second job. Is this right or should I be able to draw a percentage of the difference of what I’m drawing in sick pay and the combination of both of them. My combined wages before taxes wa approximately $1950 per month and my monthly check from drawing my sick pay is about $910 per month.
A:
I am sorry you made that election to take your "earned" sick time and/or PTO. Governmental jobs are unique in that way (they can elect accumulated sick pay and the election cannot be reversed). I have tried and tried to come up with an instance when it is better for the injured worker to elect their own sick leave and have yet to see an advantage (except to the employer). There is a wc statute that is supposed to prevent employers from passing the costs of wc benefits on to employees, yet allowing employees to elect to take earned sick time seems to do just that. On to your next question.
When you are injured and that injury prevents you from performing a second job you are entitled to benefits for "dual employment". So your benefits should be based on the AWW you earn from each employer if you are unable to perform either job.
Contact DWC and ask they set a BRC for you. Make sure you have wage statements from both employers.
A: Sorry for the late response. I have been on vacation the past weekend in Mexico, but I'm back in the office now. If you can document dual employment, then the school district (self-insured) would be liable to pay you a portion of your wages from both places of employment in most cases. Feel free to contact directly at 214-358-6060.
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