Concurrent Jobs and Worker’s Comp Injuries

Sometimes our financial situation requires us to work more than one job at a time. In the arena of workers’ compensation, this is referred to as concurrent employment.  Now you may be asking yourself some questions if you are ever put into this type of situation like,  “What happens if I get injured at one of my two jobs and am unable to return to either of them?” or “Will I receive weekly disability benefits based on my wage loss from both jobs?”

North Carolina

Unfortunately, in North Carolina, in most cases, the workers’ compensation carrier is not required to pay weekly disability benefits based on your wage loss from working concurrent jobs. Instead, the carrier will pay you based only on the wages you were earning at the job you were working at the time of your injury. In many cases this will produce a result that most would consider unfair. This is especially true if the job you were performing at the time of your injury was a part time job that you were working in addition to your higher paying full time job.

South Carolina

In contrast, the law in South Carolina allows the combination of wages from both jobs. Unlike North Carolina, if you are unable to return to both of your jobs, your weekly workers’ compensation disability benefits will be based on your pre-injury earnings from concurrent jobs.

The problem with concurrent employment provides a prime example of how the law can vary significantly from state to state. If you have suffered a workers compensation injury call us today, we can help. Our experienced work injury attorneys are licensed in both North and South Carolina, so we have the know how to get you the benefits you are entitled to.

Written by: Brad Smith, Workers’ Compensation Attorney, Campbell & Associates, Attorneys At Law.