Term Of The Day – Wage Statement
A wage statement is a necessary yet tedious part of paying a WC claim properly. The injured employee’s compensation rate is based on this integral part of processing a WC claim.

It is usually filed by the employer. Each state has its own special form. They range from very complicated to complete to very easy. Most wage statements cover a period of 13, 26, or 52 weeks prior to the employee’s date of injury.
One of the most time consuming yet confusing part of a claims adjuster’s job is to value the wage statement to pay Workers Compensation benefits. North Carolina always seems to calculate a different wage than what the adjuster has deciphered as the Workers Compensation TTD rate.
The adjuster has to often use the rate from the First Report of Injury to initially pay the injured worker if they are still out of work. New Hampshire always seemed to have an easier one to use. Thankfully, there are now many software packages that will calculate the proper WC rate using the filed wage history by the employer. An adjuster will sometimes have to makeup the difference if the initial WC rate (usually TTD) is too low.
Almost all states now require a filed wage statement in place within a certain time period.
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