The Short Answer
In North Carolina, your average weekly wage (AWW) is calculated under N.C. General Statute 97-2(5) — most commonly by dividing your total earnings over the prior year by the number of weeks you actually worked. Those earnings include overtime, tips, bonuses, per diem, and housing income. If you were at your job for only a short time before your injury, your AWW may instead be based on what similar employees earn. There is an annual cap — called the "max rate" — set by the North Carolina Industrial Commission, so even if your AWW calculates higher than that figure, your weekly benefit is capped at the max rate.
In the state of North Carolina, the average weekly wage is controlled by North Carolina General Statute 97-2(5). There are several methods used to determine the average weekly wages. The most common method to calculate the wages are to use your wages earned for the prior year divided by the number of weeks that you have worked. Wages earned will include overtime, tips, bonuses, per diem income and housing income.
If you lost more than seven consecutive days of wages during the prior 52-week period, then you will calculate the average weekly wage by taking the total amount of earnings made during the prior year divided by the number of weeks worked during the past year. A Form 22 is often used to help determine that information.
If the amount of time you have actually worked at the job you were injured on is for an extremely short period of time then you can look at the wages of fellow employees in a similar position. Should that calculation not seem fair then you and the employer can agree upon something similar to that in which you would earn if you were working without the injury.
However, there is a cap on the average weekly wage earnings that you can receive which is called the “max rate,” which was $920.00 in 2015. However, that number changes each year. To see the most current max rate you should look on the North Carolina Industrial Commission’s appropriate page. Unfortunately, this means that should your average weekly wage calculate to be higher than the max rate, you would still only receive the max rate of $920.00 per week.
Calculating the correct average weekly wage is critical in your workers’ compensation case because it helps determine your weekly benefits and will have a big part in any kind of workers’ compensation settlement you may have.
Key Takeaways
- North Carolina uses N.C. General Statute 97-2(5) to govern how average weekly wage is calculated in workers' compensation cases.
- The most common method divides your total prior-year earnings — including overtime, tips, bonuses, and per diem — by the number of weeks you worked.
- If you missed more than seven consecutive days in the prior 52-week period, a Form 22 is typically used to capture the accurate earnings and weeks-worked figures.
- Workers injured early in a job can use a comparable employee's wages as the basis for their AWW calculation.
- The NC Industrial Commission sets an annual "max rate" cap, meaning no weekly benefit can exceed that amount regardless of how high your AWW calculates.
- Getting the AWW right matters significantly — it directly determines your weekly benefit payments and heavily influences any final workers' compensation settlement.
