Calculating Your “Average Weekly Wage” (AWW) in Florida: Are You Being Underpaid?
After a workplace injury, your workers’ compensation checks may become an important source of income. However, those checks are not usually equal to your normal paycheck. Florida uses a figure called the average weekly wage, or AWW, to calculate many wage-replacement benefits.
A mistake in your Florida average weekly wage can reduce every disability payment you receive. Missing overtime, bonuses, tips, second-job income, or certain employer-paid benefits may result in an AWW that is lower than it should be.
Understanding how the calculation works can help you review your checks and identify possible underpayment.
What Is the Average Weekly Wage in Florida?
Your AWW is an estimate of what you were earning each week before your workplace accident. It serves as the starting point for calculating temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, permanent total disability, and impairment income benefits.
For most Florida workers injured on or after October 1, 2003, the calculation uses wages earned during the 13 calendar weeks before the accident. The week in which the accident occurred is excluded.
The basic calculation is:
Total qualifying wages during the 13 weeks ÷ 13 = Average weekly wage
Your AWW is not necessarily the amount of your weekly workers’ compensation payment. In most temporary total disability cases, the weekly benefit is 66.67% of the AWW, subject to Florida’s applicable maximum compensation rate.
Florida’s Standard 13-Week Calculation
Florida uses the standard 13-week method when an employee worked “substantially the whole” of the 13 calendar weeks before the accident. This means the employee worked at least 75% of the customary hours during that period.
The weeks run from Sunday through Saturday. The accident week is left out, even when the worker was injured late in that week. The calculation begins with the most recent complete calendar week before the accident.
Example of a Florida AWW Calculation
Assume a worker earned the following amounts during the applicable 13-week period:
| Type of Compensation | 13-Week Amount |
|---|---|
| Regular Gross Wages | $11,700 |
| Overtime | $1,300 |
| Qualifying Bonus | $650 |
| Total Qualifying Wages | $13,650 |
The calculation would be:
| Calculation Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total Qualifying Wages | $13,650 |
| Number of Weeks Used | 13 |
| Average Weekly Wage | $1,050 |
| Approximate Weekly Temporary Total Benefit at 66.67% | $700 |
This worker’s AWW would be $1,050. If the employee qualified for temporary total disability benefits, the weekly rate would generally be about $700 before applying any legal cap or other adjustment.
Workers’ compensation checks are commonly paid every two weeks. When reviewing a payment, compare the weekly rate listed by the insurance carrier with your own AWW calculation rather than comparing the full check with one normal weekly paycheck.
What Income Can Be Included in Your Florida AWW?
AWW calculations are not always limited to your ordinary hourly rate or salary. Florida’s official wage statement instructs employers to report gross pay, overtime, and bonuses paid during the applicable 13 weeks.
Depending on the facts, qualifying wages may include:
| Possible Wage Item | When It May Count |
|---|---|
| Regular Hourly Pay or Salary | When earned in the applicable employment |
| Overtime | When paid during the relevant 13 weeks |
| Bonuses | When paid during the relevant period and treated as qualifying wages |
| Tips or Gratuities | When reported to the employer in writing as taxable income |
| Concurrent Employment Income | When reported for federal tax purposes and the other employment is covered by workers’ compensation |
| Employer-Paid Health Insurance | When the qualifying contribution is not continued after the injury |
| Employer-Provided Housing | When it qualifies as permanent, year-round housing and is not continued after the injury |
Florida law generally includes wages that were earned and reported for federal income tax purposes. It may also include qualifying wages from another job held at the same time, reported tips, certain housing, and employer contributions toward health insurance.
Health insurance and housing require special attention. When an employer continues providing those benefits after the accident, the contributions are generally not included in the AWW while they continue. If the employer later stops providing them while the worker is receiving indemnity benefits, a corrected wage statement may be required.
What If You Did Not Work the Full 13 Weeks?
An insurance company should not automatically use a worker’s limited earnings and divide them by 13 when the worker did not work at least 75% of the customary hours.
Florida law provides alternative calculation methods for workers with short employment histories, seasonal jobs, customary part-time work, and other situations in which the standard calculation would not be fair.
| Employment Situation | Possible Florida Calculation Method |
|---|---|
| Worked at Least 75% of Customary Hours During the 13 Weeks | Divide qualifying 13-week wages by 13 |
| Did Not Work at Least 75% of Customary Hours | Use the wages of a similar employee in the same employment |
| No Fair Standard or Similar-Worker Calculation Is Available | Use the injured employee’s full-time weekly wage |
| Seasonal Employment | In certain cases, use the prior calendar year or 52 weeks |
| Customary Part-Time Employment | Consider the worker’s normal part-time schedule |
| Worker Younger Than 22 With Expected Wage Growth | Expected increases may be considered |
For a seasonal employee, the worker may seek to use the prior calendar year or the 52 weeks before the accident when that method is more reasonable and fair. The employee has the burden of supporting the request with records such as W-2 forms, tax returns, or written wage statements.
A worker who had just started a new job may also need a similar employee’s earnings to establish the correct AWW. Using only one or two low initial paychecks and averaging them across 13 weeks could substantially understate the worker’s actual earning level.
How Your AWW Affects Disability Benefits
The Florida average weekly wage affects several types of workers’ compensation payments. A lower AWW can mean lower benefits throughout the claim.
Temporary Total Disability
Temporary total disability benefits generally equal 66.67% of the employee’s AWW when an authorized doctor determines that the worker cannot work temporarily. These benefits may continue until maximum medical improvement or the applicable statutory limit, subject to other eligibility requirements.
Temporary Partial Disability
Temporary partial disability may apply when an injured employee can work with restrictions but earns less because of the injury.
Florida generally calculates this benefit as 80% of the difference between 80% of the employee’s AWW and the amount the employee can earn after the injury. The weekly benefit cannot exceed 66.67% of the AWW.
For example:
| Temporary Partial Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|
| Pre-Injury AWW | $1,000 |
| 80% of AWW | $800 |
| Post-Injury Weekly Earnings | $500 |
| Difference | $300 |
| 80% of the Difference | $240 Weekly Benefit |
Small errors in reported post-injury earnings can also affect temporary partial disability checks. Workers should compare the carrier’s calculation with their pay stubs for each applicable period.
Permanent and Impairment Benefits
Permanent total disability benefits are generally calculated at 66.67% of the AWW, subject to Florida’s requirements and compensation limits. Impairment income benefits are paid at 75% of the worker’s temporary total disability rate, with a reduction in weeks when the employee earns at least the pre-injury AWW.
Florida’s Maximum Weekly Compensation Rate
Even when 66.67% of a worker’s AWW is higher, weekly benefits may be limited by the maximum rate for the year of the accident.
Florida sets the maximum weekly compensation rate at 100% of the statewide average weekly wage, rounded to the nearest dollar. The rate that applies is based on the year in which the workplace injury occurred.
| Year of Accident | Maximum Weekly Compensation Rate |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,260 |
| 2025 | $1,295 |
| 2026 | $1,358 |
For example, a worker injured in 2026 with an AWW of $2,400 would have an ordinary 66.67% calculation of about $1,600. Because that amount exceeds the 2026 maximum, the weekly benefit would generally be limited to $1,358.
Signs That Your AWW May Be Too Low
A worker should review the calculation when:
- The accident week was included.
- The wrong 13-week period was used.
- Overtime or bonuses are missing.
- Reported tips were excluded.
- Income from a qualifying second job was not included.
- The employer used an incomplete work history even though the similar-employee method should apply.
- Health insurance or housing contributions stopped, but the wage statement was not corrected.
- The employer reported fewer hours or lower gross wages than the pay records show.
- The carrier applied the compensation limit for the wrong accident year.
- Temporary partial disability payments do not match actual post-injury earnings.
The employer’s wage statement, Form DFS-F2-DWC-1a, should show the days and hours worked, gross pay, reported gratuities, and qualifying fringe benefits for each week. Employers generally must provide the form to the claims-handling entity within 14 days after learning of an accident that caused more than seven calendar days of disability.
How to Check Your Florida Average Weekly Wage
Begin by collecting your pay stubs for the 13 complete calendar weeks before the accident week. You may also need W-2 forms, tax records, bonus statements, tip records, proof of concurrent employment, and documents showing employer-paid health insurance or housing.
Then compare those records with the wage statement used by the insurance company. Check every week rather than relying only on the total. A single missing overtime payment or bonus can affect the AWW and every related disability check.
You should also ask the adjuster for a written explanation of the calculation. Keep copies of the wage statement, benefit notices, checks, pay records, work restrictions, and all communications concerning your earnings.
How Van Dingenen Law Can Help Correct an Underpaid AWW
At Van Dingenen Law, we focus on protecting injured workers throughout Florida. We understand that an incorrect AWW may result in weeks or months of reduced disability payments.
Our legal team can review wage statements, pay records, overtime, bonuses, concurrent employment, fringe benefits, and the method used to calculate your checks. We also assist with delayed benefits, denied claims, medical treatment disputes, disability benefits, and other workers’ compensation issues. Our firm focuses exclusively on representing injured workers in Florida workers’ compensation matters.
You should not have to accept an insurance carrier’s calculation without understanding how it was reached. If your checks appear too low or important income was excluded, contact Van Dingenen Law for a free case evaluation.
The correct Florida average weekly wage can make a meaningful difference in the benefits you receive. Reviewing the calculation early may help prevent an error from reducing payments throughout your claim.
