Powell v. Industrial Commission

In Powell v. Industrial Commission, 7 Ariz. App. 518, 520, 441 P.2d 553 (1968), the ICA determined that a teacher working pursuant to a nine-month contract of employment should be awarded workers' compensation as if she were a seasonal employee because she did not work from June through August. The ICA therefore calculated the teacher's average monthly wage by dividing her annual salary by twelve. Id. The Court disagreed with the calculation, holding that the teacher's employment "was a matter of contract," "not seasonal," and her average monthly wage should be set at the total of her two bimonthly paychecks. Id. at 522. The supreme court affirmed, also holding that the teacher was not a seasonal worker and analogizing her nine-month contract to the "employer shutdown" in Pettis. Powell v. Indus. Comm'n, 104 Ariz. 257, 263, 451 P.2d 37 (1969).