Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and as we enter the holiday season, it got us thinking about holiday pay and your right to fair compensation in the event you suffer an injury at work. Workers’ compensation will pay 2/3rds of your average weekly pay while you’re collecting benefits, but how does holiday pay factor into that equation? In today’s blog, we explain whether or not you can expect to get paid for the holidays while collecting workers’ compensation.
Holiday Pay And Workers’ Compensation
As is the case with many different aspects of workers’ compensation, there is no straightforward answer that applies to every situation. We can’t sit here and say that you always will or always won’t be eligible for holiday pay for your workers’ compensation wage loss benefits, so your best bet is to connect with a workers’ compensation lawyer to learn more about your benefit options.
With that said, in most instances, you should not expect to have holiday pay incorporated into your wage loss benefits. While there are some exceptions, and we’ll touch on those below, there is a difference between “holiday pay” and “pay for working on a holiday.” For example, let’s say you work at Target and are offered time and a half pay for working Thanksgiving or Black Friday. That benefit is available to employees who work a shift on those days, and since you are not able to pick up a shift because of your injuries, you should not expect to have that potential increase in pay added to your average weekly wage loss payment. In most instances, if your company is offering “pay for holiday work,” and you do not work those hours, you can’t use that offering as a way to boost your weekly check.
As we mentioned above, there are certainly exceptions to that general rule of thumb. First and foremost, you can have holiday pay added to your wage loss calculation if holiday pay is something offered to all employees as a form of reward for their hard work. For example, many factories or plants shut down on certain holidays but still pay their employees as if they had worked that day. If all workers are off on specific holidays but still receive pay for those days, you can certainly ensure that holiday pay is included in your weekly wage loss settlement.
Union workers may also be able to have holidays factored into their average weekly pay calculation for that pay period. This will depend on the specifics of your union contract and how workers’ compensation benefits were negotiated as part of this package. Talk with your union representative or a workers’ compensation lawyer if you are wondering if you may be eligible to include holiday pay in your wage loss benefits.
At Hey Workers, we’ll happily work with injured employees to ensure their wage loss benefits are calculated correctly. Some employees have a pretty regular weekly or bi-weekly wage, whereas others have a more complex situation where regular overtime, tips or commissions factor into your paycheck. Let us look into your situation and ensure no factors are overlooked when working to get you the compensation you deserve for your work-related injury. For more information about collecting workers’ compensation or about your wage loss benefits, connect with the team at Hey Workers today at (844) 439-9675.
