Workers’ compensation, by itself, is not reportable as IMRF earnings. However, when an employer makes a payment (or payments) to an employee after the date of the employee's injury which is paid as a result of the employee being on workers' compensation ("supplemental payment"), both the supplemental payment and the basic workers' compensation payment must be reported to IMRF. Regardless of when the supplemental payment is paid, the workers’ compensation payment or payments become reportable.
For example, if an employer supplements the workers’ compensation by 33-1/3% allowing the employee to be paid 100% of salary (33-1/3% by the employer and 66-2/3% by the insurance carrier), the entire 100% is reported to IMRF. This allows the member’s account to be credited with 100% of wages and not just the 33% provided by the employer. The member will continue to have regular wages reported and earn service credit in the months that he or she is receiving workers' compensation.
If an employer makes a one-time supplemental payment to an employee who is receiving workers’ compensation, then all workers’ compensation payments and the employer’s one-time supplemental payment are all reported to IMRF. The one-time supplemental payment and the workers' compensation payments are subject to employee contributions and allocated as if paid to the employee at the time the employee would have received regular payroll. This is an exception provided by statute to the general cash basis reporting rule.
If an employee works until the middle of the month, is injured, and begins receiving workers' compensation payments, a regular paycheck which is paid to an employee for time worked prior to the injury, even if the check is paid after the date of injury, will not cause the workers' compensation payments to become reportable. This is because the regular paycheck is not paid as a result of workers' compensation. The workers' compensation payments will only become reportable if the employer begins to supplement the workers' compensation by making supplemental payments as a result of the workers' compensation.
Any amounts paid to an employee receiving workers' compensation which cause the employee to receive total payments which exceed the amount of the employee's regular wages are reportable in the month that they are paid. Note that any payments made to an employee such as holiday pay, vacation pay, service awards, and any other payments not paid as a result of the employee receiving workers' compensation are not considered a "supplement" and will not cause the workers' compensation payments to become reportable, even if paid while the employee is receiving workers' compensation.
In general, sick time, vacation time, and other PTO used, if paid to the employee in full, will not trigger the reporting of workers' compensation. If sick time, vacation time, or other PTO is paid to the employee at a lesser amount due to the employee receiving workers' compensation (e.g. the employee is paid 1/3 of a sick day), then these payments will trigger the reporting of all payments, including workers' compensation.