How Does Workers' Comp Work in Minnesota?

Minnesota workers' comp pays three main things. The insurer covers medical care that is reasonably required for the work injury, replaces two-thirds of your lost wages up to a statewide cap, and later pays a separate permanency benefit if a doctor assigns a rating. The insurer's first calculation isn't always right, so this page walks through each formula, the statute behind it, and where you can run the numbers yourself.

For the current dollar caps, use the Minnesota work comp rates table. For first-payment timing, see when work comp has to start paying. If the insurer's number does not match what you get here, call or text me at (651) 283-8747. I built these calculators and I will check the math with you.

Your average weekly wage (AWW)

Every wage-loss calculation in Minnesota workers' comp starts with your average weekly wage, or AWW. Under Minn. Stat. § 176.011, subd. 18, it's usually based on your earnings during the 26 weeks before the date of injury: add up your gross wages for those weeks and divide by the number of weeks you actually worked.

The statute handles the less tidy situations too. If you held more than one job at the time of injury, wages from all employers may be combined. If your work was irregular or seasonal, the calculation may use a longer lookback or an alternative method to produce a fair approximation of your earning capacity. And board or allowances that are part of the wage contract count as earnings at their value to you under § 176.011, subd. 8a.

Every other wage-loss number flows from this figure, so it's worth getting right. The AWW calculator will compute yours from your wages.

Temporary total disability (TTD)

TTD is the weekly check for workers who cannot work at all because of their injury. Under Minn. Stat. § 176.101, subd. 1, the rate is two-thirds of your AWW, subject to a statewide maximum and minimum.

If two-thirds of your AWW is above the statutory maximum, you receive the maximum. That cap changes every October 1 based on the Statewide Average Weekly Wage (SAWW) published by the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI). If two-thirds of your AWW is below the statutory minimum, you receive the minimum or your full AWW, whichever is less. The max and min that apply to your claim come from your date of injury, not the date payments start. TTD benefits are generally not subject to state or federal income tax.

Here's an example. If your AWW is $1,200 and the maximum for your date of injury is $1,363.74 (the October 1, 2023 rate year), then two-thirds of $1,200 is $800. That's below the cap, so your TTD rate is $800 a week.

The TTD calculator computes your exact rate for any date of injury.

Temporary partial disability (TPD)

TPD is the wage-loss benefit for workers who can work but earn less because of their injury, such as part-time hours or a lower-paying light-duty job. Under Minn. Stat. § 176.101, subd. 2, the rate is two-thirds of the difference between your AWW and your current weekly earnings.

TPD is subject to the same statewide caps as TTD. If your earnings change week to week, which is common on light duty, the TPD amount changes with them. The math also builds in an incentive: because you keep your paycheck plus two-thirds of the wage gap, returning to partial work within your restrictions always leaves you with more money than staying home on TTD.

The TPD calculator shows what you'd receive at different earning levels.

Permanent partial disability (PPD)

PPD works differently from TTD and TPD. It isn't based on lost wages at all. It compensates you for permanent functional loss to a body part, and you can receive it even if you're back at full pay.

PPD is governed by Minn. R. 5223, the Minnesota permanency schedule. When the rating becomes ascertainable, usually at or near maximum medical improvement (MMI), your treating doctor or an IME doctor assigns a whole-body impairment percentage under the rule category that fits your diagnosis. Minn. Stat. § 176.101, subd. 2a then converts that percentage to dollars: the percentage times the dollar figure on the statutory tier for your date of injury. Higher percentages sit on higher tiers, so a 20% rating is worth more than twice a 10% rating. PPD is paid after temporary total disability ends, either weekly at the TTD rate or as a lump sum.

If more than one body part is rated, the ratings are combined under the A + B(1 − A) formula, not by adding them. A condition the schedule does not list can be rated by analogy under Weber, with the doctor explaining the comparison.

The PPD calculator looks up the schedule value for your body part and rating. The PPD rules by body part list the Minnesota Rule 5223 categories for the lumbar spine, shoulder, wrist, knee, and other published parts.

Permanent total disability (PTD)

PTD applies when your injury permanently and totally prevents you from working in any capacity for which there is a reasonably stable labor market. Under Minn. Stat. § 176.101, subd. 4, the weekly rate is the same formula as TTD, two-thirds of AWW subject to the same max and min. The difference is duration: PTD continues for as long as the disability lasts, which can be the rest of your life.

PTD is relatively rare and almost always contested by insurers. Establishing it typically takes a strong medical foundation showing you cannot perform any suitable work, vocational evidence (often a vocational expert opinion) that no jobs are available within your restrictions, and usually a hearing before a compensation judge at the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH).

Death and dependency benefits

When a work injury results in death, Minnesota provides benefits to the worker's dependents under Minn. Stat. § 176.111. A wholly dependent spouse receives weekly benefits similar in structure to TTD or PTD, and dependent children may receive additional benefits. Burial expenses are covered up to a statutory limit. If the worker left no dependents, the employer pays $60,000 to the estate under § 176.111, subd. 22.

The exact amounts and durations depend on the date of injury and the dependency status of the survivors. These cases are complex and almost always require legal representation.

How the benefits fit together

Not every injured worker receives every benefit. A typical claim moves through them in order. The injury sets your AWW. While you're off work entirely, TTD pays two-thirds of it. When you return to light duty at reduced pay, TTD stops and TPD pays two-thirds of the gap. At MMI, a doctor assigns a permanency rating and PPD is paid as a lump sum. Once you're back at full wages, the wage-loss checks end, but PPD is unaffected. If you can never return to any work, PTD may apply instead, as an ongoing two-thirds of AWW.

The transition points, especially between TTD and TPD and around the timing of MMI, are where disputes most commonly arise.

Where calculations go wrong

Benefit calculations are not always done correctly. The most common errors:

• The AWW is computed from the wrong period. The insurer should use the 26 weeks before the injury, not a shorter or different window.
• Board or allowances are left out. If housing, meals, or similar allowances were part of your wage contract, they count as earnings.
• The wrong year's max or min is applied. The cap comes from your date of injury, not the date of payment.
• The PPD schedule lookup is off. Body part categorization and the percentage-to-weeks conversion must follow Rule 5223 precisely.
• A second job is ignored. If you held two jobs at the time of injury, wages from both should be included in your AWW.

If something looks wrong, run the numbers yourself using the calculators on this site, then call or text me at (651) 283-8747. An AWW error is the cheapest thing to fix early and the most expensive thing to leave alone.

Statutes and rules referenced

• Minn. Stat. § 176.011, subd. 18: definition of Average Weekly Wage
• Minn. Stat. § 176.101: TTD, TPD, and PTD formulas
• Minn. Stat. § 176.111: death and dependency benefits
• Minn. R. 5223: Permanent Partial Disability Schedule