Workers' comp weekly benefit in Alabama: how much it pays

Temporary total disability (TTD) compensation can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,219 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027).

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Deadlines are strict. If you are near one, call the state agency or free help today.

Weekly benefit in Alabama

What it pays: Two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages
Maximum: $1,219 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027)
Minimum: $335 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027)
Minimum rule: If two-thirds of your average weekly earnings is less than $335, you receive $335 a week. If your average weekly earnings were less than $335, you receive 100% of your average weekly earnings.
Applies to: Injuries occurring on and after July 1, 2026 (the limits in effect on the date of the accident apply for the whole claim)
How your wages are figured: Your average weekly wage is your earnings reportable on a federal W-2 form for the 52 weeks before the injury, divided by 52. If you worked fewer than 52 weeks, the employer may use the earnings of a similar employee.
How long it can last: Temporary total disability is paid for as long as the disability lasts (the Division lists no week limit), usually until you reach maximum medical improvement or your employer can accommodate your work restrictions. If it becomes permanent, permanent total disability rules apply. If you return to lighter work at lower pay, you may get two-thirds of the difference (temporary partial disability, up to 300 weeks).

Temporary total disability pays 66 2/3% (two-thirds) of your average weekly earnings. For injuries on or after July 1, 2026, the most you can get is $1,219 a week and the least is $335 a week (or your full average weekly earnings, if they are lower). For injuries from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, the limits are $1,172 and $322. The limits are set each July 1.

Law: Ala. Code §§ 25-5-57(a)(1), 25-5-68

Source: workforce.alabama.gov

Changes in 2024–2026

On February 1, 2025, the Alabama Department of Labor officially became the Alabama Department of Workforce under the Alabama Workforce Transformation Act of 2024 (new website workforce.alabama.gov; address 50 North Ripley Street, Montgomery). Weekly limits for injuries: $1,130 / $311 from July 1, 2024; $1,172 / $322 from July 1, 2025; $1,219 / $335 from July 1, 2026.

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Sources

The official sources for Alabama are listed on the Alabama page.

National rules that may also matter

Taxes, Social Security, leave and the ADA

Taxes on workers' compensation Workers' compensation benefits for a work injury or illness are fully exempt from federal income tax when they are paid under a workers' compensation law. Pay you get for doing light-duty work is taxable as wages. If your workers' compensation reduces your Social Security benefits, that part may be taxable as Social Security benefits. Federal employees: FECA compensation is not taxable, but continuation of pay (up to 45 days) and sick leave pay while a claim is decided are taxed as wages.

Law: IRS Publication 525 (2025), Workers' Compensation; 26 U.S.C. 104(a)(1)

Social Security disability and workers' compensation If you get Social Security disability benefits and workers' compensation at the same time, Social Security may reduce its benefit. The reduction applies when your Social Security benefits (including benefits paid to your family on your record) plus your workers' compensation are more than 80% of your 'average current earnings', or more than your family's Social Security benefit before the reduction, if that is higher. A lump-sum workers' compensation settlement can also be counted. The reduction stops when you reach full retirement age. It does not apply when the state law paying your workers' compensation reduces that benefit instead for people on Social Security, if that state rule was in place on February 18, 1981.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 424a(a), (b), (d); SSA POMS DI 52101.001, DI 52105.001

Job-protected leave (FMLA) The Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for a serious health condition, and keeps your group health coverage. It covers private employers with 50 or more employees in at least 20 workweeks of this year or last year, all public agencies, and public and private elementary and secondary schools. You are eligible if you worked there at least 12 months, worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before the leave, and work at a site with at least 50 employees within 75 miles. Time off for a work injury can count as FMLA leave if your employer designates it. If your doctor clears you only for light duty, you may turn down a light-duty job and stay on unpaid FMLA leave until it runs out, but you may lose workers' compensation payments.

Law: 29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.; 29 CFR 825.207(e); DOL Wage and Hour Division, Family and Medical Leave Act

Disability rights when you go back to work (ADA) Not every work injury is a 'disability' under the Americans with Disabilities Act. If yours is, an employer with 15 or more employees may have to make a reasonable accommodation, unless it would cause undue hardship, for example by moving minor (marginal) duties you cannot do to other workers or changing your schedule. The employer does not have to remove the essential functions of the job.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 12111(5)(A); EEOC Enforcement Guidance: Workers' Compensation and the ADA (Notice 915.002)

In these states, the state reduces some or all types of workers' compensation for people who also get Social Security disability, so Social Security does not reduce its benefit for those payments.

States that reduce workers' comp when you also get Social Security disability: Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin.