Injured Part-time, Seasonal, and Temp Agency Workers

Dec 20, 2024 | Compensability

People who work less than 40 hours a week are generally considered part-time workers. People who work for a temporary period of time are seasonal workers, for example teachers, snow removers, construction workers, etc. People who work for temporary work agencies are temp workers.

Injured workers who are not full-time employees also get the same benefits, like medical care 100% paid for, impairment, disfigurement, etc., but they face different difficulties.

Average weekly wage

Part-time

If you’re injured at a part-time job, a lot of your benefits are based on what your average weekly wage is, and if you have a part-time wage the insurance company might pay you less for lost wages and impairment rating.

An attorney will fight to get your average weekly wage to take into account the entire picture of your economic life, not just that one part-time job.

For example, if you have another part-time job, we will make sure that your average weekly wage includes both jobs’ wages, not just one—especially if the work injury causes you to be off-work from both jobs.

Seasonal

Wondering what to do if injured as a seasonal worker? If your accident happens at the beginning of the season when things are low, the insurance will try to pay you less based on your average weekly wage at the time of injury.

In those cases, we argue that you should be entitled to your average wage over the year, it should take into account your actual earnings.

Temp agency

When you work for a temp agency, you might get an offer from the company you’re working for at the end of the temp period, to work directly for them and get a pay increase.

You might get injured on the job and as a result you don’t get an offer, so you lose the new job, but if you have proof that you would have gotten the offer had you not been injured, you can get your average weekly wage increased, not because of the work you were doing for the temp agency, but because of the job you lost due to the injury.

Benefits after the end of the job

When you have a part-time or seasonal job and the job ends on a certain date, if you get injured and that date arrives, sometimes insurance companies will try to shut off your lost wage benefits arguing that you would have been off work anyways after that date.

That argument is not necessarily true, because maybe you would have looked for another job at that point. For example, there are cases where school employees get different jobs at the end of the season, they apply for and work with the school district for off-season jobs.

You should be getting lost wage benefits during your treatment while you have restrictions.

New job offers for temp workers

Temp agencies have an easier job offering you a new position temporarily within your restrictions, and if you don’t accept that offer, you can lose your lost wages a lot easier than a regular employee.

If you’re working with a temp agency and you have restrictions you need to be very careful and responsive when they offer you modified duty.

A lawyer will help you make sure that if you’re offered a proper job within the restrictions that you’re able to take it, but if you’re not offered a job within your restrictions, we advise you on how to turn it down so you don’t jeopardize your lost wage benefits.

Kaplan Morrell is here to help

The cases can be very complicated and fact dependent, so if you or your loved ones have been injured on the job in Colorado, we can help you. Call or text us at 970-356-98-98, all of our consultations are free and confidential.