(a) Computation of compensation under this chapter shall be on the basis of an employee’s spendable weekly wage at the time of injury. An employee’s spendable weekly wage is the employee’s gross weekly earnings minus payroll tax deductions. An employee’s gross weekly earnings shall be calculated as follows:

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Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 23.30.220

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • month: means a calendar month unless otherwise expressed. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
(1) if at the time of injury the employee’s earnings are calculated by the week, the weekly amount is the employee’s gross weekly earnings;
(2) if at the time of injury the employee’s earnings are calculated by the month, the employee’s gross weekly earnings are the monthly earnings multiplied by 12 and divided by 52;
(3) if at the time of injury the employee’s earnings are calculated by the year, the employee’s gross weekly earnings are the yearly earnings divided by 52;
(4) if at the time of injury the employee’s earnings are calculated by the day, by the hour, or by the output of the employee, then the employee’s gross weekly earnings are 1/50 of the total wages that the employee earned from all occupations during either of the two calendar years immediately preceding the injury, whichever is most favorable to the employee;
(5) if at the time of injury the employee’s earnings have not been fixed or cannot be ascertained, the employee’s earnings for the purpose of calculating compensation are the usual wage for similar services when the services are rendered by paid employees;
(6) if at the time of injury the employee’s earnings are calculated by the week under (1) of this subsection or by the month under (2) of this subsection and the employment is exclusively seasonal or temporary, then the gross weekly earnings are 1/50 of the total wages that the employee has earned from all occupations during the 12 calendar months immediately preceding the injury;
(7) when the employee is working under concurrent contracts with two or more employers, the employee’s earnings from all employers is considered as if earned from the employer liable for compensation;
(8) if an employee when injured is a minor, an apprentice, or a trainee in a formalized training program, as determined by the board, whose wages under normal conditions would increase during the period of disability, the projected increase may be considered by the board in computing the gross weekly earnings of the employee; if the minor, apprentice, or trainee would have likely continued that training program, then the compensation shall be the average weekly wage at the time of injury rather than that based on the individual’s prior earnings;
(9) if the employee is injured while performing duties as a volunteer ambulance attendant, volunteer police officer, or volunteer firefighter, then, notwithstanding (1) – (6) of this subsection, the gross weekly earnings for calculating compensation shall be the minimum gross weekly earnings paid a full-time ambulance attendant, police officer, or firefighter employed in the political subdivision where the injury occurred, or, if the political subdivision has no full-time ambulance attendants, police officers, or firefighters, at a reasonable figure previously set by the political subdivision to make this determination, but in no case may the gross weekly earnings for calculating compensation be less than the minimum wage computed on the basis of 40 hours work per week;
(10) if an employee is entitled to compensation under Alaska Stat. § 23.30.180 and the board determines that calculation of the employee’s gross weekly earnings under (1) – (7) of this subsection does not fairly reflect the employee’s earnings during the period of disability, the board shall determine gross weekly earnings by considering the nature of the employee’s work, work history, and resulting disability, but compensation calculated under this paragraph may not exceed the employee’s gross weekly earnings at the time of injury.
(b) The commissioner shall annually prepare formulas that shall be used to calculate an employee’s spendable weekly wage on the basis of gross weekly earnings, number of dependents, marital status, and payroll tax deductions.
(c) In this section,

(1) “seasonal work” means employment that is not intended to continue through an entire calendar year, but recurs on an annual basis;
(2) “temporary work” means employment that is not permanent, ends upon completion of the task, job, or contract, and ends within six months from the date of injury.
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