There are two different types of benefits small business owners should know and understand; temporary and permanent.Â
If an employee loses time from work due to an accident or injury, most often they will be classified as temporarily disabled. Temporarily disabled is often defined as an injury lasting six months or less and covers the time directly following an accident, injury or illness and the recuperation phase while the employee is recovering from the effects of the injury they sustained. Most employees will require a medical release before being able to return to work but keep in mind, that even if an employee isn’t able to return to full-time normal duties, they are often medically fit enough to return to part-time or light duty. During this period of time, often referred to as a healing period, the employee is expected to improve at a reasonable rate with proper medical attention.
Assuming the claim is accepted, the employee is likely to receive temporary disability payments and/or workers compensation. The amount received is calculated based on their weekly earnings during the year prior to their injury.
Each state has guidelines outlining the maximum amounts allowed for temporary disability benefits but as a general rule of thumb, it approximates 2/3 of the normal weekly salary. Workers may quality for one or both programs depending upon the type, severity and duration of the injury.
