South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 67 - SOUTH CAROLINA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION › Article 16 - AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE, COMPENSATION RATE, AND PAYMENT › Section 67-1603 - Calculating the Compensation Rate

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
A. The employer's representative shall
			 calculate the claimant's compensation rate by completing a Form 20, Statement
			 of Earnings of Injured Employee. When using a Form 20 results in a compensation
			 rate that is not fair and just to either the employer or the claimant, an
			 alternative method of computing the average weekly wage may be used which will
			 most nearly approximate the amount the injured employee would be earning were
			 it not for the injury.
B. Wage
			 information shall be provided by the employer. The employer shall report gross
			 wages, not net, and shall include gross pay allowed for vacations, bonuses,
			 overtime, and allowances of any character made to an employee in lieu of wages
			 as specified in a wage contract.
C.
			 Completion of Form 20 for claims involving temporary compensation.
(1) The employer's representative shall
			 prepare a Form 20 and serve the claimant a copy of the Form 20 according to
			 R.67-211
			 within thirty days after temporary compensation begins.
(2) If the claimant disagrees with the
			 compensation rate on the Form 20, he or she should contact the employer's
			 representative in an effort to reconcile the differences. If a fair and just
			 amount cannot be agreed upon, the employer's representative shall refer the
			 question to the Commission's Claims Department for an administrative
			 recommendation. If the claimant does not agree with the administrative
			 recommendation, the claimant may request a hearing to determine the correct
			 compensation rate by filing a Form 50 according to R.67-207.
(3) When the compensation rate on the Form 20
			 differs from that previously reported on the Form 15, the employer's
			 representative shall adjust temporary compensation payments to reflect the
			 compensation rate on the Form 20. The employer's representative shall file and
			 serve a new Form 15 according to R.67-503
			 within thirty days. Check "corrected compensation rate" on the new Form 15.
(a) When the compensation rate on the Form 20
			 is higher than previously reported on the Form 15, the employer's
			 representative immediately shall pay the accrued compensation to the claimant
			 and begin paying the claimant the revised compensation rate.
(b) When the compensation rate on the Form 20
			 is less than previously reported on the Form 15 and:
(i) The claimant agrees to the reduction, the
			 employer's representative may deduct no more than twenty-five percent from the
			 weekly payments to recover the overpayment. The employer's representative may
			 not stop temporary compensation payments unless otherwise ordered by the
			 Commission.
(ii) During the first
			 one hundred fifty days, when the claimant does not agree to the reduction, the
			 employer's representative shall adjust the compensation rate to that reported
			 on the Form 20. The claimant may request a hearing by filing a Form 50
			 according to R.67-207.
(iii) After
			 the first one hundred fifty days, when the claimant does not agree to the
			 reduction, the employer's representative shall continue paying the compensation
			 rate reported on the Form 15 and may file a Form 21 to request a reduction in
			 compensation.