WCDefenseCA

And here we are again dear readers!  Friday has come at last, and the weekend awaits.  This isn’t any ordinary Friday though – today is Friday the 13^th!  Halloween is coming up at the end of the month, and today is a good practice run on spooky circumstances.    But your humble blogger can’t let you go into those two days of respite without giving you something to contemplate.

As we all know, temporary disability benefits are based on average weekly wages as laid out in Labor Code section 4453, typically taken at the time of injury.  Post-injury increases to earnings can typically increase the AWW calculation.

So, why is your humble blogger bothering you with things you already know?  Well, Governor Newsome has signed into law Assembly Bill 1228, which has, among other effects, plans to set minimum wage for fast food restaurant employees at $20 per hour, effective 4/1/2024. 

So, what does that mean?   The current minimum wage in San Francisco, for example, is $18.07, so an employee of a qualifying fast food restaurant with a date of injury of  3/15/2024 might calculate TTD based on $18.07 per hour x average hours worked.  But now, effective 4/1/24, the new hourly rate would be $20.00 per hour.

Here’s a good formula to use to figure out the new AWW:  $20 (new minimum wage) / $X (pre 4/1/24 hourly rate) = Y.  Y x old AWW = new AWW.

So, we will all need to watch 4/1/24 to see which of our TD rates will need to go up.  We will also need to thank Governor Newsome and the good folks of Sacramento for, again, increasing the cost of operating in California and making both automation and abandonment of California that much more economically viable.

Have a great weekend, dear readers!