The basis of compensation shall be the weekly earnings of the injured employee at the time of the injury. Weekly earnings means gross salary, wages, or earnings of an employee to which such employee would have been entitled had the employee worked the customary hours for the full pay period in which the employee was injured, as regularly required by the employee's employer for the work or employment for which the employee was employed, computed or determined as follows and then rounded to the nearest dollar:
1. In the case of an employee who is paid on a weekly pay period basis, the weekly gross earnings.
2. In the case of an employee who is paid on a biweekly pay period basis, one-half of the biweekly gross earnings.
3. In the case of an employee who is paid on a semimonthly pay period basis, the semimonthly gross earnings multiplied by twenty-four and subsequently divided by fifty-two.
4. In the case of an employee who is paid on a monthly pay period basis, the monthly gross earnings multiplied by twelve and subsequently divided by fifty-two.
5. In the case of an employee who is paid on a yearly pay period basis, the weekly earnings shall be the yearly earnings divided by fifty-two.
6. In the case of an employee who is paid on a daily, or hourly basis, or by the output of the employee, the weekly earnings shall be computed by dividing by thirteen the earnings, not including overtime or premium pay, of said employee earned in the employ of the employer in the last completed period of thirteen consecutive calendar weeks immediately preceding the injury.
7. In the case of an employee who has been in the employ of the employer less than thirteen calendar weeks immediately preceding the injury, the employee's weekly earnings shall be computed under subsection 6, taking the earnings, not including overtime or premium pay, for such purpose to be the amount the employee would have earned had the employee been so employed by the employer the full thirteen calendar weeks immediately preceding the injury and had worked, when work was available to other employees in a similar occupation.
8. If at the time of the injury the hourly earnings have not been fixed or cannot be ascertained, the earnings for the purpose of calculating compensation shall be taken to be the usual earnings for similar services where such services are rendered by paid employees.
9. If an employee earns either no wages or less than the usual weekly earnings of the regular full-time adult laborer in the line of industry in which the employee is injured in that locality, the weekly earnings shall be one-fiftieth of the total earnings which the employee has earned from all employment during the twelve calendar months immediately preceding the injury.
a. In computing the compensation to be allowed a volunteer fire fighter, emergency medical care provider, reserve peace officer, volunteer ambulance driver, or emergency medical technician trainee, the earnings as a fire fighter, emergency medical care provider, reserve peace officer, volunteer ambulance driver, or emergency medical technician trainee shall be disregarded and the volunteer fire fighter, emergency medical care provider, reserve peace officer, volunteer ambulance driver, or emergency medical technician trainee shall be paid an amount equal to the compensation the volunteer fire fighter, emergency medical care provider, reserve peace officer, volunteer ambulance driver, or emergency medical technician trainee would be paid if injured in the normal course of the volunteer fire fighter's, emergency medical care provider's, reserve peace officer's, volunteer ambulance driver's, or emergency medical technician trainee's regular employment or an amount equal to one hundred and forty percent of the statewide average weekly wage, whichever is greater.
b. If the employee was an apprentice or trainee when injured, and it is established under normal conditions the employee's earnings should be expected to increase during the period of disability, that fact may be considered in computing the employee's weekly earnings.
c. In computing the compensation to be paid to any employee who, before the accident for which the employee claims compensation, was disabled and drawing compensation under the provisions of this chapter, the compensation for each subsequent injury shall be apportioned according to the proportion of disability caused by the respective injuries which the employee shall have suffered.
Paragraph "c" of this subsection shall not apply to compensable injuries arising under the second injury compensation Act.
d. If the employee was an inmate as defined in section 85.59, the inmate's actual earnings shall be disregarded, and the weekly compensation rate shall be as set forth in section 85.59.
10. If a wage, or method of calculating a wage, is used for the basis of the payment of a workers' compensation insurance premium for a proprietor, partner, or officer of a corporation, the wage or the method of cal- culating the wage is determinative for purposes of computing the proprietor's, partner's, or officer's weekly workers' compensation benefit rate.
11. In computing the compensation to be allowed an elected or appointed official, the official may choose either of the following payment options:
a. The official shall be paid an amount of compensation based on the official's weekly earnings as an elected or appointed official.
b. The earnings of the official as an elected or appointed official shall be disregarded and the official shall be paid an amount equal to one hundred forty percent of the statewide average weekly wage.
[S13, § 2477-m15; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 1397; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 85.36; 82 Acts, ch 1161, § 12, 13]
86 Acts, ch 1074, § 2; 87 Acts, ch 91, § 1; 90 Acts, ch 1046, § 1; 95 Acts, ch 41, § 2; 95 Acts, ch 140, § 1, 2
Referred to in § 85.33
Iowa General Assembly
Search: Iowa Code 1995SUPPLEMENT
© 1996 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa
Comments? webmaster@legis.iowa.gov.
Last update: Thu Feb 15 22:53:10 CST 1996
URL: /IACODE/1995SUPPLEMENT/85/36.html
jhf