(A)
Definitions:
The following definitions shall apply to the adjudication of
applications for wage loss compensation:
(1) "Adjudicator" means the administrator of
the bureau of workers' compensation, a district hearing officer, a staff
hearing officer, or the industrial commission. However, in the case of a wage
loss application filed with a self-insuring employer, the self-insuring
employer shall make the initial determination as provided in paragraph (H) of
this rule.
(2) "Comparably paying
work" means suitable employment in which the injured worker's weekly rate of
pay is equal to or greater than the average weekly wage of the injured
worker.
(3) "Employer of record"
means the employer with whom the injured worker was employed at the time of the
injury or on the date of disability in an occupational disease claim, or to the
entity that is determined by the bureau of workers' compensation, or by
industrial commission order, to succeed to the rights and responsibilities of
the employer for workers' compensation claim purposes.
(4) "Employment" means work performed or to
be performed pursuant to a contract of hire between an employee and an employer
as those terms are defined in divisions (A) and (B) of section
4123.01
of the Revised Code. "Employment" also includes work performed or to be
performed as self-employment.
(5)
"Former position of employment" means the employment engaged in by the injured
worker, including job duties, hours and rate of pay, at the time of the
industrial injury or on the date of disability in an occupational disease claim
allowed under Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code.
(6) "Injured worker," for purposes of wage
loss compensation, means an employee as defined in division (A) of section
4121.01
and division (A)(1) of section
4123.01
of the Revised Code, who asserts a right, demand, or claim for benefits
pursuant to division (B) of section
4123.56
of the Revised Code.
(7) "Injured
worker's weekly wage loss" means his or her working wage loss or nonworking
wage loss during a calendar week or the injured worker's work week.
(8) "Non-working wage loss" means the dollar
amount of the diminishment in wages sustained by an injured worker who has not
returned to work because he or she has been unable to find suitable employment
despite a good faith job search (as described in paragraph (E)(1)(c) of this
rule). However, the extent of the diminishment must be the direct result of
physical and/or psychiatric restrictions caused by the impairment that is
causally related to an industrial injury or occupational disease in a claim
allowed under Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code.
(9) "Present earnings" means the injured
worker's actual weekly earnings which are generated by gainful employment
except as provided in paragraph (A)(9)(b) of this rule. It is a rebuttable
presumption that earnings from paid leave provided by the employer will be
included in present earnings.
(a) Earnings
generated from commission sales, bonuses, gratuities, and all other forms of
compensation for personal services customarily received by an injured worker in
the course of his or her employment and accounted for by the injured worker to
his or her employer will be included in present earnings for the purposes of
computing the wage loss award. In instances where sales commission, bonuses,
gratuities, or other compensation are not paid on a weekly or biweekly basis,
their receipt will be apportioned over the number of weeks it is determined
were required to initiate and consummate the sale or earn the bonus, gratuity,
or other compensation.
(b) In the
case of an injured worker engaged in self-employment, "present earnings" means
gross income minus business-related expenses. For purposes of calculating
present earnings, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that an injured
worker engaged in self-employment has a gross income of at least fifty percent
of the statewide average weekly wage or such other compensation that the bureau
of workers' compensation shall impute to self-employed persons for purposes of
determining premium payments. Income derived from self-employment shall be
reported on at least a quarterly basis.
(10) "Restriction" means any physical and/or
psychiatric limitation directly resulting from the allowed conditions in the
claim.
(11) "Statewide average
weekly wage" has the same meaning as set forth in division (C) of section
4123.62
of the Revised Code.
(12) "Suitable
employment" means work which is within the injured worker's restrictions, and
which may be performed by the injured worker subject to all physical,
psychiatric, mental, and vocational limitations to which the injured worker was
subject on the date of the injury, or on the date of disability in occupational
disease claims.
(13) "
Voluntary retirement
Retirement" means
voluntary
termination of employment by an injured
worker
worker's decision to
terminate employment such that the injured worker is completely removed
from the active work force based on factors that are not causally related to
the allowed conditions in the claim.
(14) "Wages" means the amount upon which the
injured worker's average weekly wage is calculated pursuant to section
4123.61
of the Revised Code.
(15) "Working
wage loss" means the dollar amount of the diminishment in wages sustained by an
injured worker who has returned to employment which is not his or her former
position of employment. However, the extent of the diminishment must be the
direct result of physical and/or psychiatric restriction(s) caused by the
impairment that is causally related to an industrial injury or occupational
disease in a claim allowed under Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code.
(B) Applications for wage loss
compensation
Applications for wage loss compensation shall be filed on forms
provided by the bureau of workers' compensation or equivalent forms. In cases
involving selfinsuring employers, a copy of the application shall be filed with
the self-insuring employer. No payment of compensation shall be approved by the
administrator, or by a self-insuring employer in a self-insured claim, unless
the request is filed on the appropriate form or equivalent form that provides
the required information as described in paragraphs (B)(1) to (B)(4) of this
rule. Upon the earlier of a determination not to pay wage loss compensation by
the administrator, or by the self-insuring employer in a self-insured employer
claim, or upon expiration of thirty days of the filing of the application for
wage loss compensation, in the absence of payment of wage loss compensation,
the application for wage loss compensation will be referred to the industrial
commission.
(1) The injured worker
must certify that all the information that is provided in the application is
true and accurate to the best of his or her knowledge and further certify that
he or she served a copy of the application, with copies of supporting
documents, on the employer of record unless the employer of record is out of
business.
(2) A medical report
shall accompany the application. The report shall contain:
(a) Identification of the restrictions of the
injured worker;
(b) An opinion on
whether the restrictions are permanent or temporary;
(c) When the restrictions are temporary, an
opinion as to the expected duration of the restrictions. Temporary restrictions
cannot be certified for a period to exceed ninety days without a new
examination of the injured worker;
(d) When the restrictions are permanent, the
report must be based on an examination or treatment conducted within ninety
days prior to the initial date of wage loss compensation requested on the
application for wage loss compensation;
(e) The date of the last medical
examination;
(f) The date of the
report;
(g) The name of the
physician who authored the report; and
(h) The physician's signature.
(3) Supplemental medical reports
regarding the ongoing status of the medical restrictions causally related to
the allowed conditions in the claim must be submitted to the bureau of workers'
compensation or the self-insuring employer in self-insured claims once during
every ninety day period after the filing of the initial application, if the
restrictions are temporary. If the restrictions are permanent, the bureau of
workers' compensation or the self-insuring employer may request a supplemental
medical report once during every one hundred eighty day period subsequent to
the filing of the initial application. If such a request is made, both the
medical examination shall be completed and the medical report resulting from
the supplemental medical examination shall be submitted to the bureau of
workers' compensation, or to the self-insuring employer in self-insured claims,
within ninety days of the date of the request for the supplemental medical
report. The supplemental medical reports shall comply with paragraphs (B)(2)(a)
to (B)(2)(c) and (B)(2)(e) to (B)(2)(h) of this rule.
Paragraph (B)(3) of this rule shall not prohibit the employer's
authority to require the injured worker to be examined by a physician of the
employer's choice pursuant to section
4123.651
of the Revised Code and rule
4121-3-09
of the Administrative Code.
(4) The application shall contain an
employment history. The employment history shall include a description of each
position which was held by the injured worker.
(C) Non-working wage loss compensation
An injured worker applying for or receiving non-working wage
loss compensation shall supplement his or her wage loss application with job
search statements describing the search for suitable employment, in accordance
with the following:
(1) Job search
statements shall be submitted for every week where non-working wage loss
compensation is sought;
(2) The
completed job search statements shall be submitted with the wage loss
application and/or any subsequent request for non-working wage loss
compensation;
(3) An injured worker
who receives non-working wage loss compensation for periods after the filing of
the application for wage loss compensation shall submit the job search
statements completed pursuant to paragraphs (C)(1), (C)(4) and (C)(5) of this
rule, at a minimum, every four weeks to the bureau of worker's compensation or
the self-insuring employer in self-insured claims during the period when
non-working wage loss compensation is requested;
(4) Job search statements shall include the
name and address of each employer contacted, the employer's telephone number,
the position sought, a reasonable identification by name or position of the
person contacted, the date and method of contact, for on-line job searches, a
copy of the on-line posting and verification of the application submission, the
result of the contact, and any other information requested by the bureau of
workers' compensation job search statement; and
(5) Job search statements shall be submitted
on forms provided by the bureau of workers' compensation or equivalent
forms.
(D) Working wage
loss compensation
Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (D)(4) and (D)(5) of
this rule, an injured worker applying for or receiving working wage loss
compensation shall supplement his or her wage loss application with a job
search statement describing the injured worker's search for comparably paying
work unless excused by the bureau of workers' compensation, the industrial
commission, or the self-insuring employer in selfinsured employer
claims.
(1) Unless a job search has
been excused by the bureau of workers' compensation, the industrial commission,
or the self-insuring employer in self-insured employer claims, the job search
statements shall comply with the following requirements:
(a) Job search statements shall be submitted
for every week where working wage loss compensation is sought;
(b) The completed job search statements shall
be submitted with any subsequent request for working wage loss
compensation;
(c) An injured worker
who receives working wage loss compensation for periods after the filing of the
application for wage loss compensation shall submit the job search statements
completed pursuant to this rule, at a minimum, every four weeks to the bureau
of workers' compensation or the self-insuring employer in self-insured employer
claims during the period when working wage loss compensation is
requested;
(d) Job search
statements shall include the name and address of each employer contacted, the
employer's telephone number, the position sought, a reasonable identification
by name or position of the person contacted, the date and method of contact,
for on-line job searches, a copy of the online posting and verification of the
application submission, the result of the contact, and any other information
required by the bureau of workers' compensation job search statement;
(2) Job search statements shall be
submitted on forms provided by the bureau of workers' compensation or
equivalent forms.
(3) Failure to
perform a job search as required by paragraph (D) of this rule will be
construed as a voluntary limitation of income in accordance with paragraph
(G)(2) of this rule.
(4) When an
injured worker qualifies for compensation for temporary total disability
pursuant to division (A) of section
4123.56
of the Revised Code, working wage loss compensation may be payable, but no job
search is required, when the injured worker returns to alternative employment
with the same employer, or another employer at the direction of the employer of
record, as provided in division (A) of section
4123.56
of the Revised Code and rule
4121-3-32 of
the Administrative Code.
(5)
Working wage loss compensation may be payable, but no job search is required,
when the injured worker must miss work in order to obtain treatment for the
allowed conditions that cannot be obtained outside of work hours. Under
paragraph (D)(5) of this rule, an injured worker must file an application for
wage loss compensation in addition to providing documentation that:
(a) The treatment was medically necessary for
the injured worker to perform his or her job;
(b) The injured worker could not continue to
work full time without the treatment; and
(c) The treatment was available only during
the injured worker's hours of employment.
(E) Factors to consider in the adjudication
of an application for wage loss compensation
The injured worker is responsible for and bears the burden of
producing evidence regarding his or her entitlement to wage loss compensation.
Unless the injured worker meets this burden, wage loss compensation shall be
denied. A party who asserts, as a defense to the payment of wage loss
compensation, that the injured worker has failed to meet his burden of
producing evidence regarding his or her entitlement to wage loss compensation
is not required to produce evidence to support that assertion. However, any
party asserting a defense to the payment of wage loss compensation, for a
reason other than the injured worker's failure to produce evidence, through
motion, appeal, or otherwise is solely responsible for and bears the burden of
producing evidence to support those defenses. If there is insufficient evidence
to support a defense to the payment of wage loss compensation, that defense
shall not be used as a grounds to deny such compensation. In no case shall this
rule be construed as placing on the industrial commission any burden to produce
evidence.
In considering an injured worker's eligibility for wage loss
compensation the adjudicator shall give consideration to, and base the
determinations on, evidence in the file, or presented at hearing, relating
to:
(1) The injured worker's search
for suitable employment when required under the provisions of this rule.
(a) As a prerequisite to receiving
non-working wage loss compensation, and working wage loss compensation unless
excused under paragraph (D) of this rule, for any period during which such
compensation is requested, the injured worker shall demonstrate that he or she
has:
(i) Complied with paragraph (B)(2) of
this rule and, if applicable, with paragraph (B)(3) of this rule;
(ii) Sought suitable employment with the
employer of record at the onset of the first period for which wage loss
compensation is requested unless the injured worker establishes that it would
be futile to seek suitable employment with the employer of record. (e.g. The
injured worker was discharged or the employer of record is out of business.);
and
(iii) In the case of
non-working wage loss, the injured worker must register with the Ohio
department of job and family services or, if the injured worker is an
out-of-state resident, must register with the equivalent of the Ohio department
of job and family services in the state of residence and begin or continue a
job search if no suitable employment is available with the employer of record.
Proof of registration with the applicable agency is required for both instate
and out-of-state residents to demonstrate compliance with this rule.
(b) An injured worker may first
search for suitable employment which is within his or her skills, prior
employment history, and educational background. If within sixty days from the
commencement of the injured worker's job search, he or she is unable to find
such employment, the injured worker shall expand his or her job search to
include entry level and/or unskilled employment opportunities.
(c) A good faith effort to search for
suitable employment that is comparably paying work is required of those seeking
non-working wage loss compensation pursuant to paragraph (C) of this rule and
of those seeking working-wage loss compensation pursuant to paragraph (D) of
this rule, who have not returned to suitable employment that is comparably
paying work, except for those injured workers who are receiving public relief
and are defined as work relief employees in Chapter 4127. of the Revised Code.
A good faith effort necessitates the injured worker's consistent, sincere, and
best attempts to obtain suitable employment that will eliminate the wage loss.
In evaluating whether the injured worker has made a good faith effort,
attention will be given to the evidence regarding all relevant factors
including, but not limited to:
(i) The
injured worker's skills, prior employment history, and educational background.
These factors may be considered a positive or negative asset to securing
suitable employment;
(ii) The
number, quality (e.g., in-person, internet / e-mail, telephone, U.S. mail, with
resume), and regularity of contacts made by the injured worker with prospective
employers, public and private employment services;
(iii) Except as provided in paragraph
(E)(1)(c)(v) of this rule, for an injured worker seeking any amount of
non-working wage loss compensation, the amount of time devoted to making
prospective employer contacts during the period for which non-working wage loss
compensation is sought as compared with the time spent working at the former
position of employment or number of hours able to work due to the restrictions;
while the adjudicator shall consider this comparison in reaching a
determination of whether there was a good faith job search, the fact that an
injured worker did not search for work for as many hours as were worked in the
former position of employment shall not necessarily be dispositive;
(iv) Except as provided in paragraph
(E)(1)(c)(v) of this rule, for an injured worker seeking any amount of working
wage loss compensation, the amount of time devoted to making prospective
employer contacts during the period for which working wage loss compensation is
sought as well as the number of hours spent working; and any claim-related or
non-claim related limitations on the injured worker's opportunity to make
prospective employer contacts because of his or her working; while the
adjudicator shall consider this comparison in reaching a determination of
whether there was a good faith job search, the fact that the sum of the hours
the injured worker spent searching for work and working is not as many hours as
were worked in the former position of employment shall not necessarily be
dispositive;
(v) Where the injured
worker, in the former position of employment, worked a variable number of hours
per week, the adjudicator shall determine, with respect to the former position
of employment, for the period of fifty-two calendar weeks preceding the injury,
or in occupational disease cases, the date of disability, the minimum, maximum,
and average number of hours per week the injured worker worked. If the injured
worker worked less than fifty-two calendar weeks in the former position of
employment, the determination shall be based on the number of weeks the injured
worker actually worked. The adjudicator shall consider these determinations in
relation to:
(a) The amount of time devoted to
making prospective employer contacts during the period for which working wage
loss is sought as well as the number of hours spent working, for an injured
worker seeking any amount of working wage loss; and
(b) The amount of time devoted to making
prospective employer contacts during the period for which non-working wage loss
is sought as compared with the time spent working at the former position of
employment, for an injured worker seeking non-working wage loss; while the
adjudicator shall consider the determinations arrived at pursuant to paragraph
(E)(1)(c)(v) of this rule in reaching a conclusion as to whether there was a
good faith job search, the number of hours per week, in and of itself, shall
not necessarily be dispositive.
(vi) Any refusal without good cause by the
injured worker to accept assistance from the bureau of workers' compensation in
finding employment;
(vii) Any
refusal by the injured worker to accept the assistance, where such assistance
is rendered free of charge to the injured worker, of any public or private
entity or the assistance of the employer of record in finding
employment;
(viii) Labor market
conditions including, but not limited to, the numbers and types of employers
located in the geographical area surrounding the injured worker's place of
residence;
(ix) The injured
worker's restrictions;
(x) Any
recent activity on the part of the injured worker to change his or her place of
residence and the impact such a change, if made, would have on the reasonable
probability of success in the search for employment;
(xi) The injured worker's economic status as
it impacts on his or her ability to search for employment including, but not
limited to, such things as access to public and private transportation and
telephone service and other means of communications;
(xii) The self-employed injured worker's
documentation of efforts undertaken on a weekly basis to produce
self-employment income;
(xiii) Any
part-time employment engaged in by the injured worker and whether that
employment constitutes a voluntary limitation on the injured worker's present
earnings;
(xiv) Whether the injured
worker restricts his or her search to employment that would require him or her
to work fewer hours per week than he or she worked in the former position of
employment. However, the injured worker shall not be required to seek
employment which would require him or her to work a greater number of hours per
week than he or she worked in the former position of employment; and
(xv) Whether, as a result of the restrictions
arising from the allowed conditions in the claim, the injured worker is
enrolled in a rehabilitation program with the opportunities for ohioans with
disabilities agency whereby the injured worker attends an educational
institution approved by the opportunities for ohioans with disabilities
agency.
(2)
The injured worker's failure to accept a good faith offer of suitable
employment.
(a) Offers of employment by the
employer of record will not be given consideration by the adjudicator unless
they are made in writing and contain a reasonable description of the job
duties, hours, and rate of pay.
(b)
The adjudicator shall consider employment descriptions of any jobs offered to
the injured worker by employers other than the employer of record.
(c) Although the injured worker's refusal to
accept a good faith offer of suitable employment may be considered by the
adjudicator as a reason for denying, reducing, or eliminating wage loss
compensation, the injured worker may not be required, as a precondition to the
receipt of wage loss compensation, to accept a job offer which would require
the injured worker to work a greater number of hours per week than the former
position of employment except as provided in paragraph (E)(2)(d) of this rule.
The adjudicator may consider an employer's requirement that the injured worker
work different shifts or relocate as factors in determining whether the injured
worker failed to accept a good faith offer of suitable employment.
(d) Where the injured worker, in the former
position of employment, worked a variable number of hours per week and the
injured worker is offered a job which would require the injured worker to work
a variable number of hours per week, the offer of variable hour employment
shall not be considered an offer of unsuitable employment solely because the
minimum or maximum number of hours per week to be worked by the injured worker
in the position offered is insubstantially greater or less than the minimum or
maximum number of hours per week which the injured worker worked in the former
position of employment. In determining whether, pursuant to this paragraph, an
offer of employment is suitable, the adjudicator shall:
(i) Determine, for the period of fifty-two
calendar weeks preceding the date of the industrial injury or, in occupational
disease cases, the date of disability, the maximum, minimum, and average number
of hours per week which the injured worker worked in the former position of
employment. If the injured worker worked less than fifty-two calendar weeks in
the former position of employment, the determination shall be based on the
number of weeks the injured worker actually worked; and
(ii) Compare the maximum and minimum number
of hours per week which the injured worker could be required to work in the
position of employment offered to the injured worker to the determinations made
in paragraph (E)(2)(d)(i) of this rule to assist in determining whether the
offer is one of suitable employment.
(3) Other actions of the injured worker which
result in a wage loss not causally related to the allowed conditions in the
claim, including, but not limited to, the
voluntary retirement of the injured worker
for reasons unrelated to the allowed conditions of the
claim, provided that where an injured worker has secured employment which
will likely extend beyond the short term and which will likely become
comparably paying work and/or will likely provide other employment-related
benefits, the injured worker's lack of a search for comparably paying work may
not bar his or her receipt of wage loss compensation but is a factor that may
be considered in a broader based analysis as to whether the injured worker has
voluntarily limited
chosen to limit his or her income.
(F) Orders issued by the
industrial commission and its hearing officers
The industrial commission and its hearing officers in issuing
orders granting or denying wage loss compensation shall comply with the
requirements of division (B) of section
4121.36
of the Revised Code. To comply with division (B) of said section, the
commission and/or hearing officer shall recite in those orders that they have
considered and weighed the evidence, as required by paragraph (E) of this
rule.
(1) In the event of a denial of
compensation for a week or period of weeks for which an application has been
made, the commission or hearing officer shall recite in the order that the
injured worker has not met his or her burden of proving compliance with this
rule for that week or period of weeks and shall state the evidence relied upon
to support the denial of wage loss for that week or period of weeks.
(2) If the commission or hearing officer
grants any amount of wage loss compensation for a week or period of weeks for
which an application has been made, the commission or hearing officer must find
and recite in the order that:
(a) The injured
worker's present earnings are less than the injured worker's wages;
(b) The difference between the injured
worker's wages and present earnings is the result of medical restrictions that
are causally related to an industrial injury or an occupational disease allowed
in a claim which was filed under Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code and in which
wage loss is requested;
(c) The
injured worker has made a good faith effort to search for suitable employment
which is comparably paying work, when required by paragraph (C) or (D) of this
rule, but has not returned to suitable employment which is comparably paying
work; and
(d) The injured worker
has otherwise complied with the requirements of this rule.
(G) Computation of wage loss
(1) Unless otherwise provided in paragraphs
(G)(2) and (I)(2) of this rule, diminishment of wages shall be calculated based
on the:
(a) Injured worker's average weekly
wage at the time of the injury or at the time of the disability due to
occupational disease in accordance with the provisions of section
4123.61
of the Revised Code; and
(b) The
injured worker's present earnings as defined in paragraph (A)(9) of this
rule.
(2)
Voluntary limitations
Limitations of income
(a) The wage loss compensation to be paid an
injured worker who voluntarily fails to
accept a good faith offer of suitable employment shall be calculated as
sixty-six and two-thirds per cent of the difference between the injured
worker's average weekly wage in the former position of employment and the
weekly wage the injured worker would have earned in the employment he or she
refused to accept.
(b) If the
adjudicator finds that the injured worker has returned to employment but has
voluntarily limited the number of hours
which he or she is working, or has accepted a job which does not constitute
comparably paying work, and that the injured worker is nonetheless entitled to
wage loss compensation, the adjudicator, for each week of wage loss
compensation requested by the injured worker, shall determine: the number of
hours worked by the injured worker in the employment position to which he or
she has returned, and the hourly wage earned by the injured worker in the
employment position to which he or she has returned. In such a case, the
adjudicator shall order wage loss compensation to be paid at a rate of
sixty-six and two-thirds per cent of the difference between: the injured
worker's average weekly wage in the claim and the weekly wage the injured
worker would have earned had the injured worker not voluntarily limited his or her hours.
(c) Where the adjudicator finds that the
injured worker has returned to employment and has
voluntarily limited the number of hours which he is
working
for reasons unrelated to the allowed conditions
of the claim, and that the injured worker is nonetheless entitled to wage
loss compensation, but that paragraphs (G)(2)(a) and (G)(2)(b) of this rule is
not directly applicable, the adjudicator shall have the discretion to establish
the manner to be utilized in the calculation of wage loss compensation that is
not unreasonable, unconscionable or arbitrary.
(3) If an injured worker applies for wage
loss compensation for a period during which he received amounts from a wage
replacement program fully funded by the employer, such amounts shall be
considered as present earnings for purposes of wage loss calculation.
(4) An injured worker's wage loss
compensation shall not be reduced by any amounts the injured worker receives
from unemployment compensation, social security disability benefits, or public
or private retirement plans. The wage loss compensation of an injured worker
who is receiving public relief shall not be reduced by any monies received by
the injured worker from work relief.
(5) If any wage loss compensation has been
paid for the same period or periods for which temporary non-occupational
accident and sickness insurance is or has been paid pursuant to an insurance
policy or program to which the employer has made the entire contribution or
payment for providing insurance or under a non-occupational accident and
sickness program fully funded by the employer, wage loss compensation paid for
the period or periods shall be paid only to the extent by which the payment or
payments exceeds the amount of the non-occupational insurance or program paid
or payable. Offset of the compensation shall be made only upon the prior order
of the bureau or industrial commission or agreement of the claimant
(H) Where the employer of record
is a self-insuring employer it shall:
(1)
Adjudicate the initial application for wage loss compensation and inform the
injured worker of its decision no later than thirty days after a request for
wage loss compensation is received;
(2) Adjudicate all issues which arise with
respect to the ongoing entitlement to wage loss compensation and inform the
injured worker of its decision no later than thirty days after the issue
arises; and
(3) Ensure that a copy
of any decision described in paragraphs (H)(1) and (H)(2) of this rule is filed
with the bureau of workers' compensation or the industrial commission for
placement in the claim file.
(I) Prospective application
(1) This rule shall apply to the adjudication
of all applications for wage loss compensation filed on or after the effective
date of this rule.
(2)
Notwithstanding paragraph (I)(1) of this rule, if an injured worker files an
application for wage loss compensation in a claim in which the injury occurred
or the date of disability arose prior to May 15, 1997, the wage loss
compensation paid shall be calculated based on the greater of the full weekly
wage or the average weekly wage.