Mistake in Dept. of Labor Data Table Causes SAWW/TD Rate Confusion

CWCI received a call yesterday from DWC noting that the U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL) had updated its Unemployment Insurance (UI) Database to revise California’s State Average Weekly Wage (SAWW) for the first quarter of 2019.  This is the amount used to calculate increases in TD rates and other benefits, so the Division called to alert us that they were preparing a Newsline to announce another revision to the TD rates for injuries that take effect on or after 1/1/20. 

In checking the UI database, we found that the SAWW for the first quarter of 2019, which had been listed as $1,325 in the UI database when DWC announced the 2020 TD rates in September, was now shown as $1,360, which would require a significant bump in TD rates, COLAs and other benefits.  Upon closer inspection, however, we noted that the total wage data in the UI database (used in the SAWW calculation) had gone down since September, which seemed odd, and the revision date of the table showing the SAWW at $1,360 was May 22 – four months before the table that DWC used to determine the SAWW increase in September.  Because of these discrepancies, we suspected the “updated” SAWW of $1,360 was incorrect. After reviewing the situation with the Division, the AD agreed to hold off on issuing a Newsline announcing another revision to the 2020 TD rates until the issues were sorted out.

Unable to reach the person who manages the UI database, we moved forward on our own and calculated the 2019 SAWW using the formula and total wage and covered employment figures that DOL has posted on the UI database.  Doing so, we determined that the SAWW for Q1 2019 was, in fact, $1,325, as DOL had originally announced in September, and not $1,360. This was confirmed in an email to CWCI from Thomas Stengle of DOL this afternoon in which he noted: 

I was informed that you had called USDOL questioning the 3/31/2019 AWW for California that appears in our UI Data Summary.

The UI Data Summary lists the value at $1,360, however when I manually compute the weekly wage I get $1,325, which I believe is the value you were expecting.  I’m not exactly sure how this glitch occurred, but we will review and correct the information asap. 

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Bottomline:  For the 12 months ending March 31, 2019, the SAWW increased from $1,276 to $1,325 – an increase of 3.84013 percent, which is the percentage change your claims departments should apply when adjusting TTD and permanent total disability (PTD) rates for 2020 claims, TTD paid two years or more after injury, life pension and PTD payments for injuries on or after January 1, 2003, and installment payments on death claims.  

Given this outcome, the AD emailed the Institute this afternoon to confirm that the DWC has suspended plans to issue a Newsline announcing an additional increase in benefits tied to the SAWW for 2020.  However, if anyone on your staff has been using the UI database to verify changes in benefits that take effect 1/1/20, please have them double check to make sure they did not use the incorrect SAWW figure, which as of this afternoon has not yet been corrected to $1,325. 

 BY/