2023 Maryland Statutes › Labor and Employment › Title 9 - Workers' Compensation › Subtitle 6 - Benefits › Part I - General Provisions › Section 9-602 - Average Weekly Wage

(a)    (1)    Except as otherwise provided in this section, the average weekly wage of a covered employee shall be computed by determining the average of the weekly wages of the covered employee:
(i)    when the covered employee is working full time; and
(ii)    at the time of:
1.    the accidental personal injury; or
2.    the last injurious exposure of the covered employee to the hazards of an occupational disease.
(2)    For purposes of a computation under paragraph (1) of this subsection, wages shall include:
(i)    tips; and
(ii)    the reasonable value of housing, lodging, meals, rent, and other similar advantages that the covered employee received from the employer.
(3)    If a covered employee establishes that, because of the age and experience of the covered employee at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure to the hazards of the occupational disease, the wages of the covered employee could be expected to increase under normal circumstances, the expected increase may be taken into account when computing the average weekly wage of the covered employee under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(b)    For the purpose of computing the average weekly wage of an auxiliary police officer of Baltimore County who is a covered employee under § 9–220(a) of this title or a member of a volunteer ambulance, ambulance and rescue, or fire company in Baltimore County who is a covered employee under § 9–234 of this title, the wages of the covered employee shall be:
(1)    if the covered employee had other employment at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure, the salary or wages from the other employment;
(2)    if the covered employee had had other employment but was not otherwise employed at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure, the salary or wages last received by the covered employee from the other employment; or
(3)    if the covered employee had never had other employment at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure, an amount that allows minimum death or disability benefits under this title.
(c)    For the purpose of computing the average weekly wage of an individual engaged for fire fighting by the Department of Natural Resources who is a covered employee under § 9–207 of this title, the wages of the covered employee shall be:
(1)    the greater of:
(i)    any salary or wages received by the covered employee for fire fighting; or
(ii)    any salary or wages earned by the covered employee in other employment at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure; or
(2)    if the covered employee did not receive wages for fire fighting or from other employment at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure, an amount that allows the minimum compensation or death benefits under this title.
(d)    For the purpose of computing the average weekly wage of a handicapped student who is a covered employee under § 9–228(a) of this title, the wages of the covered employee shall be the federal minimum wage that is in effect at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure.
(e)    For the purpose of computing the average weekly wage of a jockey who is a covered employee under § 9–212 of this title, the wages of the covered employee shall be all of the earnings that the jockey earns as a jockey, including those derived from outside the State.
(f)    For the purpose of computing the average weekly wage of a member of the organized militia of the State who is a covered employee under § 9–215 of this title, the wages of the covered employee shall be the greater of:
(1)    the wage provided for active duty in § 13–406(b) of the Public Safety Article;
(2)    the actual wages earned by the covered employee in employment in the National Guard; or
(3)    the actual wages earned by the covered employee in the employee’s civilian employment at the time of entry into State active duty.
(g)    (1)    Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, for the purpose of computing the average weekly wage of an individual who is a covered employee under § 9–234 of this title, the wages of the covered employee shall be:
(i)    for a covered employee who received a salary or wages from other employment at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure, the salary or wages from the other employment; or
(ii)    for a covered employee who did not receive a salary or wages from other employment at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure:
1.    if the covered employee derived income from a source other than salary or wages at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure, an amount that allows the maximum compensation under this title;
2.    if the covered employee was not engaged in a business enterprise at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure, the weekly income last received by the covered employee when engaged in a business enterprise; or
3.    if the covered employee had never been engaged in a business enterprise at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure, an amount that allows the minimum compensation under this title.
(2)    A yearly stipend of $5,200 or less to help offset out–of–pocket expenses that a volunteer company, as defined in § 9–234 of this title, pays to a member may not be used when determining the average weekly wage of the member.
(h)    For the purpose of computing the average weekly wage of a prisoner who is a covered employee under § 9–221 of this title, the wages of the covered employee shall be:
(1)    the wages paid to the prisoner by the county; and
(2)    a fair and reasonable amount determined by the Commission for meals and maintenance of the prisoner, but not more than the amount customarily received by the county for its own use by prisoners engaged in employment by other employers.
(i)    For the purpose of computing the average weekly wage of a covered employee whose wages from full–time employment are paid partly by an employer and partly by the United States under a federal veterans’ benefit law, the wages of the covered employee shall be the total amounts jointly paid to the covered employee when working full time.
(j)    For the purpose of computing the average weekly wage of a volunteer deputy sheriff of Cecil County or an auxiliary volunteer of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office who is a covered employee under § 9–233 of this title, the wages of the covered employee shall be:
(1)    if the covered employee had other employment at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure, the wages from the other employment;
(2)    if the covered employee had had other employment but was not otherwise employed at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure, the wages last received by the covered employee from the other employment; or
(3)    if the covered employee had never had other employment at the time of the accidental personal injury or last injurious exposure, an amount that allows minimum compensation under this title.
(k)    For the purpose of computing the average weekly wage of a juror who is a covered employee under § 9–213(a) of this title, the wages of the juror shall be the per diem received by the juror for jury duty.
(l)    (1)    This subsection applies only to a covered employee who:
(i)    has suffered:
1.    a serious permanent partial disability under § 9–630 of this subtitle; or
2.    a permanent total disability under § 9–637 of this subtitle;
(ii)    was concurrently employed by more than one employer at the time of the accidental personal injury;
(iii)    worked, on average, 20 hours per week or less in the employment in which the accidental personal injury occurred; and
(iv)    as a result of the accidental personal injury, is unable to work at any employment the covered employee was engaged in at the time of the accidental personal injury or any similar type of employment.
(2)    (i)    If the covered employee earned weekly wages from another employment that exceeded the weekly wages the covered employee earned from the employment in which the accidental personal injury occurred, the average weekly wage of the covered employee shall be based on the weekly wages the covered employee earned in the other employment.
(ii)    If the covered employee earned weekly wages from two or more other employments and, for more than one of such employments, the weekly wages earned by the employee exceeded the weekly wages of the covered employee from the employment in which the accidental personal injury occurred, the average weekly wage of the covered employee shall be based on weekly wages of the employment where the employee earned the highest wages.
(3)    This subsection may not be interpreted as:
(i)    except as provided in §§ 9–630 and 9–637 of this subtitle, relieving from liability to pay compensation the employer in whose employment the accidental personal injury occurred;
(ii)    creating any liability to pay compensation on the part of another employer in whose employment the accidental personal injury did not occur; or
(iii)    requiring the weekly wages from the employments the employee was engaged in at the time of the accidental personal injury to be combined for purposes of computing the average weekly wage of the covered employee.