Should the Claimant Present a Clear and Comprehensive Evidence of Employment for Calculation of Wages ?

In Ricketts v. Industrial Comm'n, 251 Ill. App. 3d 809, 623 N.E.2d 847, 191 Ill. Dec. 257 (1993), the Commission determined that claimant worked for four days over a three-week period and essentially applied the "total-weeks-worked formula." The Commission multiplied claimant's hourly wage of $ 14.85 by 32 hours, equaling total wages of $ 475.20, which it then divided by 3, to arrive at an average weekly wage of $ 158.40. On review, the circuit court reversed and applied the "full-weeks-worked formula" to arrive at an average weekly wage of $ 594. The Court reversed the circuit court and reinstated the Commission's determination, again noting that claimant had the burden of establishing his weekly average earnings, that "the evidence presented by claimant was less than clear or comprehensive," and "claimant's testimony concerning his prior employment was, to say the least, equivocal and unsubstantiated." Ricketts, 251 Ill. App. 3d at 810, 623 N.E.2d at 848.