Opinion ID: 2027645
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Employer's Cross-Appeal Claim Concerning Appropriate Wage Rate.

Text: In determining the appropriate wage rate for petitioner's cumulative injury, the commissioner arrived at an amount of $245.54, which was based upon average weekly earnings of $373.55. The commissioner arrived at this amount by including in his determination several weeks in which petitioner worked less than forty hours. The district court reversed this determination, holding that only forty-hour weeks should be considered. The employer challenges that determination on this appeal. The relevant statute provides: The basis of computation shall be the weekly earnings of the injured employee at the time of the injury. Weekly earnings means gross salary, wages, or earnings of an employee to which such employee would have been entitled had the employee worked the customary hours for the full pay period. ... Iowa Code § 85.36 (1991) (emphasis added). Although petitioner in fact worked less than forty hours during seven of the thirteen weeks immediately prior to the injury date of July 8, 1987, it also appears that this was the result of unanticipated occurrences that caused her to miss work on certain days. The customary hours for the full pay period for her job were, as the district court determined, a forty-hour week. We reject the employer's claims on its cross-appeal. We have considered all issues presented and conclude that the judgment of the district court should be affirmed on both appeals. AFFIRMED ON BOTH APPEALS.