| (a) Upon the request of an injured employee, the insurance
carrier and an injured employee entitled to temporary income benefits
(TIBs) may agree to change the frequency of TIBs payments from the
standard weekly period to a monthly period. The agreement to change
the payment frequency must be in writing and is only required to be
filed with the division if the division requests a copy. To relieve
the insurance carrier of the responsibility to pay TIBs weekly, a
valid written agreement must include the following terms and conditions:
(1) the agreement for the monthly payment of TIBs shall
be effective the first calendar day of the month following the month
in which the written agreement was entered into by the insurance carrier
and the injured employee;
(2) monthly TIBs payment shall be issued on or before
the seventh day of the month following the month for which benefits
are due;
(3) weekly TIBs payments shall continue through the
end of the month in which the agreement was signed;
(4) payment of the last week of TIBs to transition
from weekly payment of TIBs to monthly payments shall be prorated
to the end of the month to ensure the injured employee receives TIBs
through the last day of the month; and
(5) if less than the maximum weekly compensation rate
in effect on the date of the compensable injury is being paid, a completed
Employer's Wage Statement must be included with the injured employee's
copy of the written agreement.
(b) To calculate the amount of monthly TIBs to pay,
the carrier shall determine the average monthly wage by multiplying
the average weekly wage by 4.34821 and subtracting any Post-Injury
Earnings the employee earned during the month for which the employee
was entitled to TIBs to determine the lost wages. The carrier shall
then pay the employee in monthly TIBs as follows:
(1) for a workers' compensation claim with a date of
injury before September 1, 2015,
(A) if the employee earns $8.50 per hour or more, the
carrier shall pay 70% of the lost wages; or
(B) if the employee earns less than $8.50 per hour,
the carrier shall pay:
(i) 75% of the lost wages for the first 26 weeks of
TIBs due; and
(ii) 70% of the lost wages for all TIBs payments thereafter;
and
(2) for a workers' compensation claim with a date of
injury on or after September 1, 2015,
(A) if the employee earns $10 per hour or more, the
carrier shall pay 70% of the lost wages; or
(B) if the employee earns less than $10 per hour, the
carrier shall pay:
(i) 75% of the lost wages for the first 26 weeks of
TIBs due; and
(ii) 70% of the lost wages for all TIBs payments thereafter.
(c) Entering into an agreement under this section does
not prohibit any party to the claim from raising disputes over periods,
amounts of, or entitlement to TIBs. Disputes must be raised as and
when they arise.
(d) The agreement for the monthly payment of TIBs shall
expire upon the suspension or termination of TIBs in accordance with
the Act and division rules. The last monthly payment shall be prorated
to ensure the insurance carrier pays the appropriate amount of TIBs.
(e) At any time after signing the agreement for the
monthly payment of TIBs, the injured employee or the insurance carrier
may notify the other party in writing that it no longer agrees to
the monthly payment of TIBs. In this case, the insurance carrier shall
pay all accrued but unpaid TIBs at the end of the current monthly
cycle and shall continue to pay TIBs weekly as and when they accrue
and are due.
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