Temporary Total Disability (TTD)
Temporary Total Disability (TTD) is paid during the time the employee is off work due to the injury. The employee should have a written statement from their doctor that they are unable to work. If the employee is released to work with restrictions, TTD can be paid if the employer cannot take the employee back to work, and as long as the employee looks for other work. The amount of the total disability check the employee receives is two thirds (2/3) of their gross average weekly wage (AWW). The maximum weekly amount is currently $750. On the fourth anniversary of the injury there is a cost-of living increase of up to 2%.
176.121 Commencement of Compensation.
In cases of temporary total or temporary partial disability no compensation is allowed for the three calendar-days after the disability commenced, except as provided by Minnesota Statutes §176.135 , nor in any case unless the employer has actual knowledge of the injury or is notified thereof within the period specified in Minnesota Statutes §176.141. If the disability continues for 10 calendar-days or longer, the compensation is computed from the commencement of the disability. Disability is deemed to commence on the first calendar-day or fraction of a calendar-day that the employee is unable to work.
TTD benefits generally end when:
- 104 weeks of TTD benefits have been paid;
- return to appropriate work;
- 90 days have passed since notification that the employee has reached maximum medical improvement (MMI);
- 90 days have passed since the completion of an approved retraining plan;
- noncooperation with an approved rehabilitation plan;
- refusal to accept gainful work within the employee’s physical restrictions;
- released to work with restrictions but fails to diligently search for appropriate work;
- the employee withdraws, e.g. retires, from the labor market;
- the employee is released to work by their physician with no physical restrictions caused by the work injury.
Refusal of Gainful Employment
Temporary total disability (TTD) compensation shall cease if the employee refuses an offer of work that is consistent with a plan of rehabilitation filed with the commissioner or, if no plan has been filed, the employee refuses an offer of gainful employment that the employee can do in the employee’s physical condition. Once temporary total disability compensation has ceased for failure to accept a job offer of the type described, it may not be recommenced. MINN. STAT. § 176.101(1)(i) (2006).
The Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals addressed the meaning of the statutory language “consistent with a plan of rehabilitation” in Lang v. Harvey Vogel Manufacturing Co. The court held the employee would not lose entitlement to benefits for refusing a job offer where the employer did not include the employee’s QRC in the return-to-work process and refused to allow the QRC to evaluate the position with an on-site job analysis. If the employer does not take an employee back to work it may result in higher compensation costs and longer exposure for charges against the business. Consult an attorney who specializes in employment law before terminating an employee. Minnesota Statutes section 176.82(2) provides that:
an employer who, without reasonable cause, refuses to offer continued employment to its employee when employment is available within the employee’s physical limitations, shall be liable in a civil action for one year’s wages.” The maximum damages are $15,000.00. These damages “shall be in addition to any other payments provided by this Chapter.
Additionally these damages “shall not be covered by a contract of insurance.”
The statute does identify some factors to consider in determining whether there was work available for the employee. “The continuance in business of the employer”; “written rules promulgated by the employer with respect to seniority”; or “provisions of any collective bargaining agreement” are factors to be considered. This civil action does not apply “to employers who employ 15 or fewer full-time equivalent employees.”
