In a recent case, William Benson v. Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals held that assault pay, in addition to Workers’ Compensation benefits, is available to corrections officers injured on the job as a result of inmate violence. The Court of Appeals did distinguish between the two benefits in regards to how the amounts are calculated. The Court of Appeals ruled that additional pay, such as night-shift differential and weekend differential, is included in the calculation of the average weekly wage for the calculation of Workers’ Compensation benefits, but not in the calculation of assault pay benefits. The Court of Appeals held that including the employee’s additional pay in the employees assault pay would amount to double payment.
