Georgia Workers’ Comp Weekly Benefit Calculator: The Complete 2026 Guide

Quick Answer: In Georgia, workers’ comp pays 66.67% of your average weekly wage (AWW), up to a maximum of $800.00 per week and a minimum of $50.00 per week. For most workers, your AWW is calculated by averaging your gross wages over the 13 weeks immediately before your injury. This cap means workers earning above approximately $1,200/week per week all receive the same maximum benefit — a significant income cut.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. I am not a lawyer. Consult a licensed workers’ comp attorney in your state.

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From Shane: What Living on 66.67% Actually Feels Like

I remember the exact moment I realized what 66.67% meant in real terms. It wasn’t a percentage on a page — it was a $400 shortfall on my first month’s bills. Nobody warns you that workers’ comp is not full pay. Nobody tells you to have a plan.

Here is what I wish someone had told me: Pull your last three months of bank statements the day you get injured. Know your real number before you need it. The 66.67% figure sounds manageable until your mortgage doesn’t care about your injury date.

If your benefit will be close to the $800.00 cap, you have some predictability to plan around. If you are a variable-hours or gig-adjacent worker, your AWW fight is the most important financial battle of your entire claim — because every dollar of AWW miscalculation costs you 67 cents per week, every single week you are out.

Build a lean budget immediately. Prioritize housing, utilities, food, and transportation to medical appointments. Everything else negotiates. Your claim can last months. Plan for it.

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The Exact Calculation Formula Georgia Law Requires

Georgia workers’ comp weekly benefits are governed by O.C.G.A. § 34-9-260. The formula is:

Weekly Benefit = AWW × 0.6667

Capped at $800.00/week (2026 maximum) and floored at $50.00/week.

How Georgia Calculates Your Average Weekly Wage (AWW)

Your AWW is the average of your gross weekly wages (before taxes) over the 13 full calendar weeks immediately preceding your injury date. This is the standard method. Georgia law provides two fallback methods if 13 weeks of data are unavailable:

Scenario	AWW Calculation Method
Worked 13+ weeks for employer	Average gross wages over prior 13 weeks
Worked fewer than 13 weeks	Average gross wages over actual weeks worked
Highly irregular earnings	Fair and reasonable wage for the class of work performed

Does Georgia Include Overtime, Bonuses, and Second Jobs?

This is where employers routinely miscalculate — and where you can lose significant money if you are not paying attention.

Wage Component	Included in Georgia AWW?	Notes
Regular hourly wages	✅ Yes	All gross wages included
Overtime pay	✅ Yes	Included if regularly earned during 13-week period
Bonuses	✅ Yes, if regular	Excluded if truly one-time/discretionary
Tips	✅ Yes	Must document; use W-2 or employer records
Second job wages	✅ Yes	If employer knew about second job at time of injury
Health insurance (employer-paid)	❌ No	Fringe benefits are excluded
Employer 401(k) contributions	❌ No	Not wages
Mileage reimbursements	❌ No	Reimbursements excluded

The second-job rule is critical. Under Georgia law, wages from concurrent employment are included in your AWW only if your primary employer had actual or constructive knowledge of that employment before the injury. If you never disclosed a side job, you may lose that income from the calculation.

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Pre-Calculated Georgia Workers’ Comp Benefit Table (2026)

Use this table to find your estimated weekly benefit. Find your average weekly wage in the left column. Your estimated weekly workers’ comp benefit is in the right column.

Average Weekly Wage (AWW)	Weekly Benefit (66.67%)	Notes
$300	$200.01
$400	$266.68
$500	$333.35
$600	$400.02
$700	$466.69
$800	$533.36
$900	$600.03
$1,000	$666.70
$1,100	$733.37
$1,150	$766.71
$1,199	$799.37	Just below cap
$1,200	$800.00	Cap applies here
$1,300	$800.00	Capped
$1,400	$800.00	Capped
$1,500	$800.00	Capped
$1,600	$800.00	Capped
$1,700	$800.00	Capped
$1,800	$800.00	Capped
$1,900	$800.00	Capped
$2,000	$800.00	Capped
$2,100	$800.00	Capped
$2,200	$800.00	Capped
$2,300	$800.00	Capped
$2,400	$800.00	Capped
$2,500	$800.00	Capped
$2,600	$800.00	Capped
$2,700	$800.00	Capped
$2,800	$800.00	Capped
$2,900	$800.00	Capped
$3,000	$800.00	Capped

Note: Any worker earning $1,200/week or more receives the same $800.00/week maximum benefit. A worker earning $3,000/week loses $1,200/week in income compared to only $267/week lost by someone earning $400/week. The cap disproportionately impacts higher earners.

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What the Law Says vs. What Actually Happens

Georgia law is clear. Employers and insurers do not always follow it clearly.

The Four Most Common AWW Miscalculation Tactics

1. Excluding overtime from the 13-week average.
This is the single most common manipulation. An adjuster will calculate your AWW using only your base hourly rate × 40 hours, ignoring the overtime you worked consistently for the prior quarter. If you worked 50+ hours most weeks, this omission can reduce your AWW by hundreds of dollars.

How to catch it: Pull your actual pay stubs for the 13 weeks before injury. Add up every gross pay figure. Divide by 13. That is your true AWW. Compare it to what the employer submitted on WC-1 (Employer’s First Report of Injury).

2. Using the wrong 13-week window.
Some adjusters start the count from the injury report date, not the actual injury date. Others skip weeks of leave or exclude partial weeks, changing the average in their favor.

3. Omitting a known second job.
If your supervisor knew you drove Uber on weekends or worked retail Friday nights, that income must be included. “Knowledge” does not require written disclosure — a casual mention to a coworker can be sufficient to establish employer awareness.

4. Misclassifying regular bonuses as discretionary.
Quarterly safety bonuses and production bonuses paid consistently are not discretionary. If you received the bonus every quarter for the past year, it is arguably a regular wage component.

Your defense: Request the completed WC-1 form and your employer’s payroll records as soon as possible. You have the right to challenge an incorrect AWW calculation by filing a WC-14 (Notice of Claim) and requesting a hearing before the State Board of Workers’ Compensation.

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Real Case Example: Marcus, a Construction Laborer With Fluctuating Hours

Worker: Marcus, 34, framing carpenter in Atlanta
Employer: Mid-size residential contractor
Injury: Fractured wrist from fall, total temporary disability
Claim date: October 2025

Marcus’s Actual Gross Pay — Prior 13 Weeks

Week	Gross Pay	Hours Worked
Week 1	$980	56
Week 2	$840	48
Week 3	$910	52
Week 4	$700	40
Week 5	$980	56
Week 6	$910	52
Week 7	$700	40
Week 8	$770	44
Week 9	$840	48
Week 10	$980	56
Week 11	$700	40
Week 12	$910	52
Week 13	$840	48
Total	$10,060

Correct AWW: $10,060 ÷ 13 = $773.85
Correct Weekly Benefit: $773.85 × 0.6667 = $515.93/week

What the Insurer Calculated Instead

The adjuster used only Marcus’s base rate of $17.50/hour × 40 hours = $700/week AWW, excluding all overtime.

Insurer’s AWW: $700.00
Insurer’s benefit: $700 × 0.6667 = $466.69/week

The Difference

	AWW	Weekly Benefit
Correct calculation	$773.85	$515.93
Insurer’s calculation	$700.00	$466.69
Weekly shortfall		$49.24

Over a 6-month recovery, this error would cost Marcus $1,283.24 in underpaid benefits. Marcus’s attorney caught the error during intake by reviewing pay stubs and filed a wage dispute. The correct amount was reinstated within 30 days.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How exactly does Georgia define the 13-week period — does it include the week I was injured?

A: Georgia law specifies the 13 full calendar weeks immediately preceding the date of injury. The week in which the injury actually occurred is typically excluded from the calculation because it is likely a partial work week and not representative of your earning capacity. So if you were injured on a Thursday, the calculation looks back to the Monday of the prior week and counts back 13 complete Monday-through-Sunday (or your employer’s defined) work weeks from there. This matters considerably if your injury week happened to be unusually light or unusually heavy on hours. If your employer uses a non-standard pay period (bi-weekly, semi-monthly), the calculation converts those pay periods into weekly equivalents by dividing by the appropriate factor. Bi-weekly wages are divided by 2. Semi-monthly wages are multiplied by 24 then divided by 52. Always verify the conversion method being applied — errors here are common and quietly compound across your entire benefit period.

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Q: I work seasonal construction. My last 13 weeks were slow. Can Georgia use a longer window to calculate a fairer AWW?

A: Yes, Georgia’s fallback provisions exist precisely for situations like this. O.C.G.A. § 34-9-260 gives the State Board of Workers’ Compensation authority to calculate AWW using a method that is “fair and reasonable” when the standard 13-week method would produce an unjust result due to the nature of the employment. Seasonal workers, agricultural laborers, and project-based contractors can argue that a 52-week average, or the wage earned by a comparable worker in the same class of employment, better reflects their true earning capacity. You will need to actively assert this at a hearing — the insurer will not volunteer the more favorable calculation. Bring prior-year W-2s, tax returns, and a statement from your employer documenting the seasonal nature of the work. The Board has discretion here, and presenting a full earnings history strengthens your position. An attorney experienced in Georgia workers’ comp can make this argument compellingly before a judge.

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Q: Does Georgia workers’ comp pay benefits if I can return to light-duty work at reduced wages?

A: Yes. If you return to work in a light-duty capacity at a lower wage than your pre-injury earnings, you are entitled to temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits under O.C.G.A. § 34-9-262. TPD pays two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury AWW and your current light-duty wage, subject to the same $800.00/week maximum. Example: Pre-injury AWW was $900. Light-duty wage is $500/week. Wage difference = $400. TPD benefit = $400 ×

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