Where do the rates come from?

Every SAWW, minimum, and maximum figure comes from the Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry annual adjustment tables, keyed to the effective date. Formulas come from Minn. Stat. ch. 176 and Minn. R. ch. 5223, cited on each page.

How often do Minnesota workers’ comp rates change?

Most October 1sts. The SAWW resets each year, which moves the maximum rate (108% of SAWW for injuries on or after October 1, 2024), the minimum, and the PTD floor (65% of SAWW). Your date of injury controls which table row applies to you.

How do you know the calculators have not drifted?

A golden-master test suite pins the exact output of every calculator across hundreds of scenarios. Any code change that alters a single dollar figure fails the build. Rate updates also fail the build unless the explanatory prose is updated to match.

What do the calculators NOT decide?

They do not decide whether your injury is compensable, what your correct AWW method is in a dispute, what a fair settlement is, or whether an insurer’s denial is right. They compute what the statute says the numbers should be if the inputs are right.

Who checks the legal claims?

The math and the plain-English explanations are reviewed by Daniel C. Swenson, Minnesota workers’ compensation attorney at Robert Wilson & Associates. See the editorial policy and the About page for more on who is behind the site.

How we keep the math current

Every dollar figure on this site traces to a primary source, and every calculator is pinned by automated tests. This page explains exactly how, so you (or your lawyer, or your adjuster) can verify rather than trust.

Rates verified through

2025-10-01

Law checked through

2026-06-28

Engine version

2026-07

Where the numbers come from

Rates:the Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry's annual adjustment and rate tables, stored in the engine as one table row per effective date back to 1992. We archive the source PDF on this site so the figures stay verifiable even if DLI reorganizes its pages.
Formulas: Minn. Stat. ch. 176 and Minn. R. ch. 5223. Each calculator page cites the specific subdivision it implements, and the sources page collects every citation in one place.
Date-of-injury logic:Minnesota benefits are controlled by the law and rate table in effect on your date of injury, not today's. The engine picks the correct historical row automatically, including the pre- and post-October 2024 maximum-rate formulas and the escalation rules that vary by injury era.

How drift is prevented

The calculators share one calculation engine, and that engine is pinned by a golden-master test suite: hundreds of input scenarios whose exact outputs are stored as fixtures. If any code change moves any output by a single cent, the build fails and nothing deploys until a human explains why the number changed.

Separate statute-cited testsassert specific legal rules (for example, the PTD minimum of 65% of SAWW under Minn. Stat. § 176.101, subd. 4, or the 500%-of-SAWW combined cap on TPD) with the citation in the test itself, so a future edit cannot quietly reinterpret the law.

Rate-prose drift guards fail the build if the October rate table is updated without updating the written explanations that quote those numbers. Hardcoded figures cannot silently rot.

The public calculation API calls the same engine functions as the on-page calculators, so API results and UI results cannot disagree.

Recent and upcoming rate changes

October 1, 2025

New DLI table: SAWW $1,423.00, maximum rate $1,536.84, minimum $307.37, annual adjustment 3.72%. All calculators and rate pages updated the same cycle.

October 1, 2024

The maximum compensation rate formula changed from 102% to 108% of the SAWW for injuries on or after this date (max jumped to $1,481.76 on a $1,372.00 SAWW). Many national calculators still miss this change.

October 1, 2026 (upcoming)

DLI will publish the next SAWW and rate table. When it lands, the engine’s rate file is updated, the golden-master fixtures are re-verified, and this page and the rate pages get a new verified-through date.

The full history is on the rate & law updates log and the rate tables.

What the calculators do not decide

The tools compute what the statute says the numbers should be, assuming your inputs are right. They do not decide whether your injury is compensable, which AWW method a judge would use in a dispute, whether an insurer's denial holds up, or what a fair settlement is for your specific claim. Those are judgment calls, and the claim checkup can help you figure out whether yours is the kind of situation where talking to a lawyer is worth it.

Frequently asked questions

Where do the rates come from?: Every SAWW, minimum, and maximum figure comes from the Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry annual adjustment tables, keyed to the effective date. Formulas come from Minn. Stat. ch. 176 and Minn. R. ch. 5223, cited on each page.
How often do Minnesota workers’ comp rates change?: Most October 1sts. The SAWW resets each year, which moves the maximum rate (108% of SAWW for injuries on or after October 1, 2024), the minimum, and the PTD floor (65% of SAWW). Your date of injury controls which table row applies to you.
How do you know the calculators have not drifted?: A golden-master test suite pins the exact output of every calculator across hundreds of scenarios. Any code change that alters a single dollar figure fails the build. Rate updates also fail the build unless the explanatory prose is updated to match.
What do the calculators NOT decide?: They do not decide whether your injury is compensable, what your correct AWW method is in a dispute, what a fair settlement is, or whether an insurer’s denial is right. They compute what the statute says the numbers should be if the inputs are right.
Who checks the legal claims?: The math and the plain-English explanations are reviewed by Daniel C. Swenson, Minnesota workers’ compensation attorney at Robert Wilson & Associates. See the editorial policy and the About page for more on who is behind the site.

Found a number you think is wrong? Check the cited statute and DLI table first, then tell us. We treat accuracy reports as the highest-priority issue on the site. General information, not legal advice.