Minnesota workers' comp glossary
AWW (Average Weekly Wage)
The worker’s gross pre-injury earnings averaged per week under Minn. Stat. § 176.011; nearly every Minnesota wage-loss benefit is calculated from it.
Average weekly wage is the foundation number of a Minnesota comp claim: TTD is two-thirds of it, TPD is two-thirds of the gap it measures, and PTD is built on it. It uses gross (pre-tax) wages, not take-home pay, under the definitions in Minn. Stat. § 176.011.
There is no single formula that fits everyone. A common starting point is gross earnings over the 26 weeks before injury divided by weeks worked, but overtime, seasonal work, tips, bonuses, a recent raise, irregular hours, or a second job can each justify a different method: sometimes a look-back of up to a year, sometimes using only the post-raise weeks.
Because every check is a percentage of AWW, an AWW set even modestly low quietly shorts the entire claim. Verifying the insurer’s AWW against your own pay records is the single highest-value five minutes an injured worker can spend.
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General information, not legal advice. Reviewed by Daniel C. Swenson, Minnesota workers' compensation attorney, Robert Wilson & Associates.