NC Employees' Part-Time Jobs May Lead To Additional Complications
Posted by
Robin MartinekJune 20, 2008 2:23 PMWith the rise in gas prices and the food prices, many people must find additional sources of income to maintain their standard of living. But what happens if you get hurt working in that part-time job?
If, as in most peoples' circumstances, that part-time job is with a completely different employer there may be some unintended consequences. Under North Carolina law, an employer and/or workers' compensation carrier is not required to pay compensation (lost wages) for time lost at another job. Thus, a North Carolina employee who works a full-time job and a part-time job and is injured on one job, the employee only receives compensation based on the job in which they were injured. Obviously this can have extremely negative consequences if the part-time (and presumably lower paying) job is the one in which the employee was injured, since the employee will only be compensated based on the average weekly wage earned at the part-time job.
The reasoning behind the decision is that the employer and/or workers' compensation carrier would be unfairly treated if they must account for payment of compensation for temporary or total disability for a job for which the employer may not even know about. This reasoning was outlined in the North Carolina Supreme Court case, Barnhardt. Yellow Cab Co., Inc.
In contrast, it appears that the Courts have found that where the employee has two different jobs for the same employer, the employee should receive compensation based on the combined salaries for both jobs. Obviously a similar basis for this reasoning is used, since the employer would be well aware of the other job and have anticipated (either through insurance premiums and/or reserves) paying for both salaries. This argument was also outlined in the Barnhardt case, citing a previous holding by the North Carolina Supreme Court in Casey v. Board of Education. In a more recent North Carolina case, Holloway v. T.A. Mebane, Inc., the Court of Appeals outlined further exceptions to the above rule of not allowing the combining of salaries from multiple jobs to determine compensation.
While the North Carolina Supreme Court has recognized the plight of employees working two jobs and the unfairness of the law, they have found that this problem can only be remedied by legislative action.