Sec. 1. 39-A MRSA §212, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §8 and affected by §§9 to 11, is amended to read:

1. Total incapacity. While the incapacity for work resulting from the injury is total, the employer shall pay the injured employee a weekly compensation equal to 80% of the employee's after-tax average weekly wage, but not more than the maximum benefit under section 211. Compensation must be paid for the duration of the incapacity.

The compensation must be adjusted annually so that it continues to bear the same percentage relationship to the state average weekly wage, as computed by the Maine Unemployment Insurance Commission, as the compensation compared to the state average weekly wage at the time of the injury.

Any employee who is able to perform full-time remunerative work in the ordinary competitive labor market in the State, regardless of the availability of such work in and around that employee's community, is not eligible for compensation under this section, but may be eligible for compensation under section 213.

SUMMARY

This bill requires an annual adjustment to benefits for those receiving workers' compensation because of total incapacity.