[fusion_dropcap boxed=”no” boxed_radius=”” class=”” id=”” color=””]I[/fusion_dropcap]n Oregon, if you get hurt while working on one job and you are working one or more other jobs, you may be able to get compensation for the wages you miss at the jobs other than the job you were hurt while doing. This can be a difficult maze to get through, but it is possible.
First, you need to notify the workers’ compensation carrier within 30 days of the insurer’s receipt of the initial claim.
Next, the worker must provide verifiable documentation of the wages from any secondary jobs within 60 days of the insurer mailing a request for that documentation.
So long as the doctor verifies the worker’s inability to work at the secondary jobs, then the worker will get two-thirds of his or her average weekly wage for that job paid for ultimately by the Worker Benefit Fund at the Department of Consumer and Business Services.
There are, of course, limits. The worker cannot be compensated at a rate greater than 100 percent of the maximum temporary total disability rate. In those instances where the worker’s main job would compensate him or her at 100 percent of the maximum for temporary disability benefits, then no supplemental benefits would be payable. That could change if the worker is able to return to his or her regular job and start earning wages again instead of temporary disability benefits. If the worker is still unable to perform the secondary employment, then he or she would be compensated for that.
It is also important to note that if the worker is disabled from the main job but not disabled from secondary employment, there would be an offset of time loss only if income in the secondary job was above the income realized prior to the injury.
As you can see, this can all get quite complicated and again demonstrates why it is a good idea to hire an attorney early in the game to help you through all these steps.
