Kentucky Statutes 342.730 – Determination of income benefits for disability — Survivors’ rights — Termination — Offsets — Notification of return to work — Professional athletes
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(1) Except as provided in KRS § 342.732, income benefits for disability shall be paid to the employee as follows:
(a) For temporary or permanent total disability, sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66-2/3%) of the employee’s average weekly wage but not more than one hundred ten percent (110%) of the state average weekly wage and not less than twenty percent (20%) of the state average weekly wage as determined in KRS § 342.740 during that disability. Nonwork-related impairment and conditions compensable under KRS § 342.732 and hearing loss covered in KRS
342.7305 shall not be considered in determining whether the employee is totally disabled for purposes of this subsection.
(b) For permanent partial disability, sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66-2/3%) of the employee’s average weekly wage but not more than eighty-two and one- half percent (82.5%) of the state average weekly wage as determined by KRS
342.740, multiplied by the permanent impairment rating caused by the injury or occupational disease as determined by the “Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment,” times the factor set forth in the table that follows:
AMA Impairment Factor
0 to 5% 0.65
6 to 10% 0.85
11 to 15% 1.00
16 to 20% 1.00
21 to 25% 1.15
26 to 30% 1.35
31 to 35% 1.50
36% and above 1.70
Any temporary total disability period within the maximum period for permanent, partial disability benefits shall extend the maximum period but shall not make payable a weekly benefit exceeding that determined in subsection (1)(a) of this section. Notwithstanding any section of this chapter to the contrary, there shall be no minimum weekly income benefit for permanent partial disability and medical benefits shall be paid for the duration of the disability.
(c) 1. If, due to an injury, an employee does not retain the physical capacity to return to the type of work that the employee performed at the time of injury, the benefit for permanent partial disability shall be multiplied by three (3) times the amount otherwise determined under paragraph (b) of this subsection, but this provision shall not be construed so as to extend the duration of payments; or
2. If an employee returns to work at a weekly wage equal to or greater than the average weekly wage at the time of injury, the weekly benefit for
permanent partial disability shall be determined under paragraph (b) of this subsection for each week during which that employment is sustained. During any period of cessation of that employment, temporary or permanent, for any reason, with or without cause, payment of weekly benefits for permanent partial disability during the period of cessation shall be two (2) times the amount otherwise payable under paragraph (b) of this subsection. This provision shall not be construed so as to extend the duration of payments.
3. Recognizing that limited education and advancing age impact an employee’s post-injury earning capacity, an education and age factor, when applicable, shall be added to the income benefit multiplier set forth in paragraph (c)1. of this subsection. If at the time of injury, the employee had less than eight (8) years of formal education, the multiplier shall be increased by four-tenths (0.4); if the employee had less than twelve (12) years of education or a high school Equivalency diploma, the multiplier shall be increased by two-tenths (0.2); if the employee was age sixty (60) or older, the multiplier shall be increased by six-tenths (0.6); if the employee was age fifty-five (55) or older, the multiplier shall be increased by four-tenths (0.4); or if the employee was age fifty (50) or older, the multiplier shall be increased by two-tenths (0.2).
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of KRS § 342.125, a claim may be reopened at any time during the period of permanent partial disability in order to conform the award payments with the requirements of subparagraph 2. of this paragraph.
(d) For permanent partial disability, if an employee has a permanent disability rating of fifty percent (50%) or less as a result of a work-related injury, the compensable permanent partial disability period shall be four hundred twenty- five (425) weeks, and if the permanent disability rating is greater than fifty percent (50%), the compensable permanent partial disability period shall be five hundred twenty (520) weeks from the date the impairment or disability exceeding fifty percent (50%) arises. Benefits payable for permanent partial disability shall not exceed ninety-nine percent (99%) of sixty-six and two- thirds percent (66-2/3%) of the employee’s average weekly wage as determined under KRS § 342.740 and shall not exceed eighty-two and one-half percent (82.5%) of the state average weekly wage, except for benefits payable pursuant to paragraph (c)1. of this subsection, which shall not exceed one hundred ten percent (110%) of the state average weekly wage, nor shall benefits for permanent partial disability be payable for a period exceeding five hundred twenty (520) weeks, notwithstanding that multiplication of impairment times the factor set forth in paragraph (b) of this subsection would yield a greater percentage of disability.
(e) For permanent partial disability, impairment for nonwork-related disabilities, conditions previously compensated under this chapter, conditions covered by
KRS § 342.732, and hearing loss covered in KRS § 342.7305 shall not be considered in determining the extent of disability or duration of benefits under this chapter.
(2) The period of any income benefits payable under this section on account of any injury shall be reduced by the period of income benefits paid or payable under this chapter on account of a prior injury if income benefits in both cases are for disability of the same member or function, or different parts of the same member or function, and the income benefits payable on account of the subsequent disability in whole or in part would duplicate the income benefits payable on account of the pre- existing disability.
(3) Subject to the limitations contained in subsection (4) of this section, when an employee, who has sustained disability compensable under this chapter, and who has filed, or could have timely filed, a valid claim in his or her lifetime, dies from causes other than the injury before the expiration of the compensable period specified, portions of the income benefits specified and unpaid at the individual’s death, whether or not accrued or due at his or her death, shall be paid, under an award made before or after the death, for the period specified in this section, to and for the benefit of the persons within the classes at the time of death and in the proportions and upon the conditions specified in this section and in the order named:
(a) To the widow or widower, if there is no child under the age of eighteen (18) or incapable of self-support, benefits at fifty percent (50%) of the rate specified in the award; or
(b) If there are both a widow or widower and such a child or children, to the widow or widower, forty-five percent (45%) of the benefits specified in the award, or forty percent (40%) of those benefits if such a child or children are not living with the widow or widower; and, in addition thereto, fifteen percent (15%) of the benefits specified in the award to each child. Where there are more than two (2) such children, the indemnity benefits payable on account of two (2) children shall be divided among all the children, share and share alike; or
(c) If there is no widow or widower but such a child or children, then to the child or children, fifty percent (50%) of the benefits specified in the award to one (1) child, and fifteen percent (15%) of those benefits to a second child, to be shared equally. If there are more than two (2) such children, the indemnity benefits payable on account of two (2) children shall be divided equally among all the children; or
(d) If there is no survivor in the above classes, then the parent or parents wholly or partly actually dependent for support upon the decedent, or to other wholly or partly actually dependent relatives listed in paragraph (g) of subsection (1) of KRS § 342.750, or to both, in proportions that the commissioner provides by administrative regulation.
(e) To the widow or widower upon remarriage, up to two (2) years, benefits as specified in the award and proportioned under paragraphs (a) or (b) of this
subsection, if the proportioned benefits remain unpaid, to be paid in a lump sum.
(4) All income benefits payable pursuant to this chapter shall terminate as of the date upon which the employee reaches the age of seventy (70), or four (4) years after the employee’s injury or last exposure, whichever last occurs. In like manner all income benefits payable pursuant to this chapter to spouses and dependents shall terminate as of the date upon which the employee would have reached age seventy (70) or four (4) years after the employee’s date of injury or date of last exposure, whichever last occurs.
(5) All income benefits pursuant to this chapter otherwise payable for temporary total and permanent total disability shall be offset by unemployment insurance benefits paid for unemployment during the period of temporary total or permanent total disability.
(6) All income benefits otherwise payable pursuant to this chapter shall be offset by payments made under an exclusively employer-funded disability plan, exclusively employer-funded disability retirement plan, exclusively employer-funded sickness and accident plan, or salary continuation, which extends income benefits for the same disability covered by this chapter, except where the employer-funded plan contains an internal offset provision for workers’ compensation benefits which is inconsistent with this provision.
(7) Income benefits otherwise payable pursuant to this chapter for temporary total disability during the period the employee has returned to a light-duty or other alternative job position shall be offset by an amount equal to the employee’s gross income minus applicable taxes during the period of light-duty work or work in an alternative job position.
(8) If an employee receiving a permanent total disability award returns to work, that employee shall notify the employer, payment obligor, insurance carrier, or special fund as applicable.
(9) Income benefits otherwise payable pursuant to this chapter for temporary total disability to a professional athlete under the direction and control of an employer that is a professional team located in Kentucky, absent any collective bargaining agreement, shall terminate no later than the date on which the contract for hire upon which the employment is based expires, so long as the professional athlete has been released to return to employment for which he or she has prior training or experience.
Effective: July 14, 2018
History: Amended 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 40, sec. 13, effective July 14, 2018. — Amended
2017 Ky. Acts ch. 63, sec. 34, effective June 29, 2017. — Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 24, sec. 1841, effective July 15, 2010; and ch. 90, sec. 5, effective July 15, 2010.
— Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 514, sec. 30, effective July 14, 2000. — Amended
1996 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 1, sec. 30, effective December 12, 1996. — Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 181, Part 7, sec. 25, effective April 4, 1994. — Amended
1990 Ky. Acts ch. 17, sec. 1, effective July 13, 1990; and ch. 99, sec. 3, effective July 13, 1990. — Amended 1987 (1st Extra Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 1, sec. 55, effective October 26, 1987. — Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 278, sec. 23, effective July 15,
1982. — Amended 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 104, sec. 15, effective July 15, 1980. — Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 256, sec. 4, effective June 17, 1978. — Amended 1976 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 26, sec. 1, effective January 1, 1977. — Amended 1976
Ky. Acts ch. 160, sec. 9. — Amended 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 386, sec. 63. — Created 1972
Ky. Acts ch. 78, sec. 14.
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/14/2018). This statute was amended in Section 13 of 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 40. Subsection (2) of Section 20 of that Act reads, “Sections 2, 4, and 5 and subsection (7) of Section 13 of this Act are remedial and shall apply to all claims irrespective of the date of injury or last exposure, provided that, as applied to any fully and finally adjudicated claim, the amount of indemnity ordered or awarded shall not be reduced and the duration of medical benefits shall not be limited in any way.” Subsection (3) of Section 20 of that Act reads, “Subsection (4) of Section 13 of this Act shall apply prospectively and retroactively to all claims: (a) For which the date of injury or date of last exposure occurred on or after December 12, 1996; and (b) That have not been fully and finally adjudicated, or are in the appellate process, or for which time to file an appeal has not lapsed, as of the effective date of this Act.”
(a) For temporary or permanent total disability, sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66-2/3%) of the employee’s average weekly wage but not more than one hundred ten percent (110%) of the state average weekly wage and not less than twenty percent (20%) of the state average weekly wage as determined in KRS § 342.740 during that disability. Nonwork-related impairment and conditions compensable under KRS § 342.732 and hearing loss covered in KRS
Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 342.730
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
- Carrier: means any insurer, or legal representative thereof, authorized to insure the liability of employers under this chapter and includes a self-insurer. See Kentucky Statutes 342.0011
- Child: includes stepchildren, legally adopted children, posthumous children and recognized children born out of wedlock, but does not include married children unless actually dependent. See Kentucky Statutes 342.085
- Commissioner: means the commissioner of the Department of Workers' Claims under the direction and supervision of the secretary of the Education and Labor Cabinet. See Kentucky Statutes 342.0011
- Compensation: means all payments made under the provisions of this chapter representing the sum of income benefits and medical and related benefits. See Kentucky Statutes 342.0011
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Death: means death resulting from an injury or occupational disease. See Kentucky Statutes 342.0011
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Income benefits: means payments made under the provisions of this chapter to the disabled worker or his dependents in case of death, excluding medical and related benefits. See Kentucky Statutes 342.0011
- Injury: when used generally, unless the context indicates otherwise, shall include an occupational disease and damage to a prosthetic appliance, but shall not include a psychological, psychiatric, or stress-related change in the human organism, unless it is a direct result of a physical injury. See Kentucky Statutes 342.0011
- Occupational disease: means a disease arising out of and in the course of the employment. See Kentucky Statutes 342.0011
- Parent: includes stepparents and parents by adoption. See Kentucky Statutes 342.085
- Permanent disability rating: means the permanent impairment rating selected by an administrative law judge times the factor set forth in the table that appears at KRS
342. See Kentucky Statutes 342.0011 - Permanent impairment rating: means percentage of whole body impairment caused by the injury or occupational disease as determined by the "Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment". See Kentucky Statutes 342.0011
- Permanent partial disability: means the condition of an employee who, due to an injury, has a permanent disability rating but retains the ability to work. See Kentucky Statutes 342.0011
- Permanent total disability: means the condition of an employee who, due to an injury, has a permanent disability rating and has a complete and permanent inability to perform any type of work as a result of an injury, except that total disability shall be irrebuttably presumed to exist for an injury that results in:
1. See Kentucky Statutes 342.0011 - State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes territories, outlying possessions, and the District of Columbia. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- Temporary total disability: means the condition of an employee who has not reached maximum medical improvement from an injury and has not reached a level of improvement that would permit a return to employment. See Kentucky Statutes 342.0011
- Work: means providing services to another in return for remuneration on a regular and sustained basis in a competitive economy. See Kentucky Statutes 342.0011
342.7305 shall not be considered in determining whether the employee is totally disabled for purposes of this subsection.
(b) For permanent partial disability, sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66-2/3%) of the employee’s average weekly wage but not more than eighty-two and one- half percent (82.5%) of the state average weekly wage as determined by KRS
342.740, multiplied by the permanent impairment rating caused by the injury or occupational disease as determined by the “Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment,” times the factor set forth in the table that follows:
AMA Impairment Factor
0 to 5% 0.65
6 to 10% 0.85
11 to 15% 1.00
16 to 20% 1.00
21 to 25% 1.15
26 to 30% 1.35
31 to 35% 1.50
36% and above 1.70
Any temporary total disability period within the maximum period for permanent, partial disability benefits shall extend the maximum period but shall not make payable a weekly benefit exceeding that determined in subsection (1)(a) of this section. Notwithstanding any section of this chapter to the contrary, there shall be no minimum weekly income benefit for permanent partial disability and medical benefits shall be paid for the duration of the disability.
(c) 1. If, due to an injury, an employee does not retain the physical capacity to return to the type of work that the employee performed at the time of injury, the benefit for permanent partial disability shall be multiplied by three (3) times the amount otherwise determined under paragraph (b) of this subsection, but this provision shall not be construed so as to extend the duration of payments; or
2. If an employee returns to work at a weekly wage equal to or greater than the average weekly wage at the time of injury, the weekly benefit for
permanent partial disability shall be determined under paragraph (b) of this subsection for each week during which that employment is sustained. During any period of cessation of that employment, temporary or permanent, for any reason, with or without cause, payment of weekly benefits for permanent partial disability during the period of cessation shall be two (2) times the amount otherwise payable under paragraph (b) of this subsection. This provision shall not be construed so as to extend the duration of payments.
3. Recognizing that limited education and advancing age impact an employee’s post-injury earning capacity, an education and age factor, when applicable, shall be added to the income benefit multiplier set forth in paragraph (c)1. of this subsection. If at the time of injury, the employee had less than eight (8) years of formal education, the multiplier shall be increased by four-tenths (0.4); if the employee had less than twelve (12) years of education or a high school Equivalency diploma, the multiplier shall be increased by two-tenths (0.2); if the employee was age sixty (60) or older, the multiplier shall be increased by six-tenths (0.6); if the employee was age fifty-five (55) or older, the multiplier shall be increased by four-tenths (0.4); or if the employee was age fifty (50) or older, the multiplier shall be increased by two-tenths (0.2).
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of KRS § 342.125, a claim may be reopened at any time during the period of permanent partial disability in order to conform the award payments with the requirements of subparagraph 2. of this paragraph.
(d) For permanent partial disability, if an employee has a permanent disability rating of fifty percent (50%) or less as a result of a work-related injury, the compensable permanent partial disability period shall be four hundred twenty- five (425) weeks, and if the permanent disability rating is greater than fifty percent (50%), the compensable permanent partial disability period shall be five hundred twenty (520) weeks from the date the impairment or disability exceeding fifty percent (50%) arises. Benefits payable for permanent partial disability shall not exceed ninety-nine percent (99%) of sixty-six and two- thirds percent (66-2/3%) of the employee’s average weekly wage as determined under KRS § 342.740 and shall not exceed eighty-two and one-half percent (82.5%) of the state average weekly wage, except for benefits payable pursuant to paragraph (c)1. of this subsection, which shall not exceed one hundred ten percent (110%) of the state average weekly wage, nor shall benefits for permanent partial disability be payable for a period exceeding five hundred twenty (520) weeks, notwithstanding that multiplication of impairment times the factor set forth in paragraph (b) of this subsection would yield a greater percentage of disability.
(e) For permanent partial disability, impairment for nonwork-related disabilities, conditions previously compensated under this chapter, conditions covered by
KRS § 342.732, and hearing loss covered in KRS § 342.7305 shall not be considered in determining the extent of disability or duration of benefits under this chapter.
(2) The period of any income benefits payable under this section on account of any injury shall be reduced by the period of income benefits paid or payable under this chapter on account of a prior injury if income benefits in both cases are for disability of the same member or function, or different parts of the same member or function, and the income benefits payable on account of the subsequent disability in whole or in part would duplicate the income benefits payable on account of the pre- existing disability.
(3) Subject to the limitations contained in subsection (4) of this section, when an employee, who has sustained disability compensable under this chapter, and who has filed, or could have timely filed, a valid claim in his or her lifetime, dies from causes other than the injury before the expiration of the compensable period specified, portions of the income benefits specified and unpaid at the individual’s death, whether or not accrued or due at his or her death, shall be paid, under an award made before or after the death, for the period specified in this section, to and for the benefit of the persons within the classes at the time of death and in the proportions and upon the conditions specified in this section and in the order named:
(a) To the widow or widower, if there is no child under the age of eighteen (18) or incapable of self-support, benefits at fifty percent (50%) of the rate specified in the award; or
(b) If there are both a widow or widower and such a child or children, to the widow or widower, forty-five percent (45%) of the benefits specified in the award, or forty percent (40%) of those benefits if such a child or children are not living with the widow or widower; and, in addition thereto, fifteen percent (15%) of the benefits specified in the award to each child. Where there are more than two (2) such children, the indemnity benefits payable on account of two (2) children shall be divided among all the children, share and share alike; or
(c) If there is no widow or widower but such a child or children, then to the child or children, fifty percent (50%) of the benefits specified in the award to one (1) child, and fifteen percent (15%) of those benefits to a second child, to be shared equally. If there are more than two (2) such children, the indemnity benefits payable on account of two (2) children shall be divided equally among all the children; or
(d) If there is no survivor in the above classes, then the parent or parents wholly or partly actually dependent for support upon the decedent, or to other wholly or partly actually dependent relatives listed in paragraph (g) of subsection (1) of KRS § 342.750, or to both, in proportions that the commissioner provides by administrative regulation.
(e) To the widow or widower upon remarriage, up to two (2) years, benefits as specified in the award and proportioned under paragraphs (a) or (b) of this
subsection, if the proportioned benefits remain unpaid, to be paid in a lump sum.
(4) All income benefits payable pursuant to this chapter shall terminate as of the date upon which the employee reaches the age of seventy (70), or four (4) years after the employee’s injury or last exposure, whichever last occurs. In like manner all income benefits payable pursuant to this chapter to spouses and dependents shall terminate as of the date upon which the employee would have reached age seventy (70) or four (4) years after the employee’s date of injury or date of last exposure, whichever last occurs.
(5) All income benefits pursuant to this chapter otherwise payable for temporary total and permanent total disability shall be offset by unemployment insurance benefits paid for unemployment during the period of temporary total or permanent total disability.
(6) All income benefits otherwise payable pursuant to this chapter shall be offset by payments made under an exclusively employer-funded disability plan, exclusively employer-funded disability retirement plan, exclusively employer-funded sickness and accident plan, or salary continuation, which extends income benefits for the same disability covered by this chapter, except where the employer-funded plan contains an internal offset provision for workers’ compensation benefits which is inconsistent with this provision.
(7) Income benefits otherwise payable pursuant to this chapter for temporary total disability during the period the employee has returned to a light-duty or other alternative job position shall be offset by an amount equal to the employee’s gross income minus applicable taxes during the period of light-duty work or work in an alternative job position.
(8) If an employee receiving a permanent total disability award returns to work, that employee shall notify the employer, payment obligor, insurance carrier, or special fund as applicable.
(9) Income benefits otherwise payable pursuant to this chapter for temporary total disability to a professional athlete under the direction and control of an employer that is a professional team located in Kentucky, absent any collective bargaining agreement, shall terminate no later than the date on which the contract for hire upon which the employment is based expires, so long as the professional athlete has been released to return to employment for which he or she has prior training or experience.
Effective: July 14, 2018
History: Amended 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 40, sec. 13, effective July 14, 2018. — Amended
2017 Ky. Acts ch. 63, sec. 34, effective June 29, 2017. — Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 24, sec. 1841, effective July 15, 2010; and ch. 90, sec. 5, effective July 15, 2010.
— Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 514, sec. 30, effective July 14, 2000. — Amended
1996 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 1, sec. 30, effective December 12, 1996. — Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 181, Part 7, sec. 25, effective April 4, 1994. — Amended
1990 Ky. Acts ch. 17, sec. 1, effective July 13, 1990; and ch. 99, sec. 3, effective July 13, 1990. — Amended 1987 (1st Extra Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 1, sec. 55, effective October 26, 1987. — Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 278, sec. 23, effective July 15,
1982. — Amended 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 104, sec. 15, effective July 15, 1980. — Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 256, sec. 4, effective June 17, 1978. — Amended 1976 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 26, sec. 1, effective January 1, 1977. — Amended 1976
Ky. Acts ch. 160, sec. 9. — Amended 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 386, sec. 63. — Created 1972
Ky. Acts ch. 78, sec. 14.
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/14/2018). This statute was amended in Section 13 of 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 40. Subsection (2) of Section 20 of that Act reads, “Sections 2, 4, and 5 and subsection (7) of Section 13 of this Act are remedial and shall apply to all claims irrespective of the date of injury or last exposure, provided that, as applied to any fully and finally adjudicated claim, the amount of indemnity ordered or awarded shall not be reduced and the duration of medical benefits shall not be limited in any way.” Subsection (3) of Section 20 of that Act reads, “Subsection (4) of Section 13 of this Act shall apply prospectively and retroactively to all claims: (a) For which the date of injury or date of last exposure occurred on or after December 12, 1996; and (b) That have not been fully and finally adjudicated, or are in the appellate process, or for which time to file an appeal has not lapsed, as of the effective date of this Act.”