Introduction
Typically, older workers earn more than younger ones on average. Also, an older injured worker may take longer to heal. The question of whether or how wages impact duration is thus an interesting one.
Our investigation reveals that answering the question, "Do wages influence temporary disability duration?" requires a closer look.
This research brief incorporates a sophisticated inference model to further examine temporary disability duration, building off of our previous duration research brief
Temporary Disability Duration in Workers Compensation—A First Look where we shared descriptive statistics of the average temporary disability (TD) duration for four key factors—State, Age Group, Economic Sector, and Body System and Medical Condition.
Estimating the influence of wage on duration can help us better understand why some injured workers may stay out on temporary disability for a longer period of time. The model illustrates why just considering simple averages may lead to a potentially inaccurate conclusion.
Key Insights
The overall impact of wage on temporary disability (TD) duration is not a simple relationship. It is a result of intricate interactions with multiple factors, notably the injured worker age.
- The average duration for high wage earners is the longest and that of low wage earners is the shortest.
- The difference in duration among age groups is smallest for high wage earners.
- The proportion of wage earners in the low and high wage earner groups varies by age.
- The influence of wage on duration depends on claimant age. Keeping other factors constant,
- For workers age 29 years and younger, low wage earners have a meaningfully shorter duration.
- For workers in the age group 30 to 34, and those in the 64 and older age group, wage does not meaningfully influence duration.
- For workers in age groups between 35 to 64, high wage earners have a meaningfully shorter duration.
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