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

Temporary disability (TD) benefits can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,764.11 a week in 2026.

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 California

What it pays: Two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages
Maximum: $1,764.11 a week in 2026
Minimum: $264.61 a week in 2026
Minimum rule: If your average weekly earnings are below $396.92, you receive the minimum of $264.61 a week.
Applies to: Injuries on or after January 1, 2026
How your wages are figured: Your earnings include all income from work: wages, tips, commissions, overtime, bonuses, and the value of food and lodging. They can also include earnings from other jobs you had when you were injured. Give proof of these earnings to the claims administrator.
How long it can last: For injuries on or after January 1, 2008, temporary disability can be paid for up to 104 weeks within 5 years from the date of injury. Some serious injuries, such as amputations, severe burns, HIV, hepatitis B or C, high-velocity eye injuries, chemical eye burns, pulmonary fibrosis and chronic lung disease, can be paid for up to 240 weeks within 5 years.

Temporary total disability pays two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) average weekly earnings. For injuries in 2026 the most you can get is $1,764.11 a week and the least is $264.61 a week. The limits change every January 1.

Law: Cal. Lab. Code §§ 4453(a)(10), 4653, 4656(c)

Source: dir.ca.gov

Changes in 2024–2026

For injuries in 2026 the temporary disability maximum rose to $1,764.11 and the minimum to $264.61 a week. AB 1870 requires the workplace workers' compensation poster to say that an injured worker may consult a licensed attorney and that attorney fees are usually paid from the worker's recovery. AB 1239 changes the rules for how disability payments may be paid (direct deposit to an account the worker authorized) from January 1, 2027. SB 230 amended the injury presumptions for firefighters and peace officers.

Law: Stats. 2024, ch. 87, effective January 1, 2025; Stats. 2024, ch. 806; Stats. 2025, ch. 404, effective January 1, 2026; Lab. Code 3212 et seq

Benefit estimate calculator

Estimate your weekly benefit with the calculator

Sources

The official sources for California are listed on the California 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.