How Does Workers’ Comp Work When You Doing Two Jobs?

For many people in Arizona and throughout the country, the income from a single job is not enough. They need to work a second job — maybe even a third — to make ends meet. As Fox Business reports that the number of Americans working multiple jobs has hit record highs in recent years. But what happens if one of those workers with two jobs gets hurt at work? If the person qualifies for Arizona workers’ compensation disability benefits, would those benefits cover their lost wages from both jobs? 

The short answer is yes. If a worker in Arizona is eligible to receive workers’ compensation disability benefits due to an injury they suffered at one job, the amount they receive in benefits should generally reflect the wages they earned at all their jobs at the time of injury. Let’s take a closer look at how workers’ comp works when you have two jobs.

What is Worker’s Compensation?

What is Concurrent Employment?

When a person works two different jobs for two different employers, or even works two different jobs for the same employer, it is “concurrent employment.” For instance, a person may work full-time during the week as a sales clerk and then work part-time on the weekends as a cook or waiter. A person could also hold one position in a company’s front office during the day and pull a second shift stocking shelves in the same company’s warehouse at night. 

Does Concurrent Employment Qualify as Covered Employment?

If a person with concurrent employment suffers an injury at one job that prevents them from working or limits their ability to work at a second job, they may be entitled to receive temporary disability or permanent impairment benefits. Those benefits will cover their wage losses from both jobs if both were “covered” employment. In other words, the worker’s employer must have been required to carry workers’ compensation insurance covering the employee. 

Under Arizona law, a worker can be classified as an “employee” regardless of whether they work full-time or part-time. However, if the worker is an independent contractor, works in a capacity that is merely casual and not in the usual business, or a domestic servant who works in the employer’s home, the employer is not required to carry workers’ compensation insurance that would provide benefits to the worker. So, if a worker’s second job involved working on an independent contractor basis, those wages would not affect the amount of benefits the worker receives.

Will a Second Job Affect my Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

In Arizona, workers’ compensation benefits are based on the worker’s “average monthly wage” at the time of their injury. The amount should fairly reflect what the worker was earning right before the injury occurred and left them totally or partially unable to work. 

Generally, the average monthly wage consists of the worker’s total earnings from all sources of covered employment during the 30-day period immediately before the date of injury. So, if the worker is an employee who is covered by workers’ compensation insurance at two jobs, the worker’s earnings from both jobs must be combined to arrive at the average monthly wage.

It doesn’t matter if the two jobs were dissimilar. For example, someone who works full-time as a teacher and part-time at a golf pro shop could receive workers’ comp benefits reflecting lost wages from both jobs even though the two jobs have nothing in common. 

That was not always the law in Arizona. For many years, under the “concurrent dissimilar employment rule,” the jobs needed to be similar to determine the worker’s average monthly wage. The rule was abandoned, in part, because it essentially penalized a worker for getting hurt while trying to support themselves (and possibly a family as well) by working two different jobs. 

A totally disabled worker should receive 66 and 2/3 percent of the average monthly wage at the time of their injury, or up to the maximum amount allowed by the law. So, the average monthly wage figure is important for injured workers in Arizona. It directly affects the amount they will receive in workers’ comp benefits. 

Can I Get Another Job and Still Receive Workers’ Comp?

The worker’s compensation system serves many purposes, including helping injured workers to get the medical treatment they need to get healthy and back to work, and to compensate them for wages they lose while recovering from their injury (or for their permanent harm).

The workers’ compensation system is not designed to prevent or discourage people from returning to work after being hurt on the job. So, if a worker’s injury prevents them from doing one job at total capacity, but they could work in a lighter-duty capacity for their employer, or work for a different employer in a light-duty role, the worker may be eligible to go back to work and still collect workers’ comp benefits.

The amount which the worker can receive should be equal to 66 and 2/3 percent of the difference between what the worker earns on light duty — whether it’s for the same employer or a different employer in a second job — and the average monthly wage before the injury.

Appealing Inaccurate Wages: Request a Hearing with the Industrial Commission

A worker’s average monthly wage is calculated by their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance adjuster and submitted to the Industrial Commission, which issues a Notice of Average Monthly Wage to the worker. Unfortunately, adjusters often omit the income from a person’s second job when calculating the average monthly wage figure.

If you have concurrent employment and disagree with the Notice of Average Monthly Wage that you recently received from the Industrial Commission, you can file a request for a hearing with the Commission. You must do so within 90 days from the notice’s mailing date. The Industrial Commission can reject the adjuster’s calculation and set the correct amount. A workers’ comp attorney at Matt Fendon Law can help you prepare and present your case to the Industrial Commission.

Get Help From an Arizona Workers’ Comp Lawyer

Working two jobs is stressful enough. Trying to get the full amount of workers’ compensation benefits you are due when you have two jobs, and suffered a debilitating injury at one of them, may feel overwhelming. You don’t have to go it alone. Get help today from an experienced Arizona workers’ compensation attorney at Matt Fendon Law Group. Our workers’ compensation attorneys are committed to delivering exceptional legal services to our clients. Call or contact us today.