Hurt at work in Michigan? Deadlines, weekly benefit and how to file

Tell your employer within 90 days (the date of the injury, or the date you knew or should have known of the injury). File your claim within 2 years.

Weekly wage loss benefits (total disability) can pay 80% of your after-tax wages, up to $1,201 a week in 2026.

Your employer's insurer, not the state, usually decides first. If they deny or delay, the free help listed here can explain your options.

In Michigan, wage loss benefits pay about 80% of your after-tax average weekly wage while a work injury keeps you from earning your wages. Your employer's insurance company (or a self-insured employer) pays the claim, and disputes go to mediation or to a workers' compensation magistrate at the WDCA.

What are my deadlines?How much will I get?Who is my doctor?Claim denied?

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

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

Free tools for Michigan

Free tools that run in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent until you download, copy or print a document.

Deadline helper

Worked out in your browser. Nothing you enter here is saved or sent.

If you are not sure of the exact day, use the earliest day you think it could be.

Enter the date of injury

We add the number from the law to your date. Nothing is saved.

Written notice to your employer

A letter that tells your employer, in writing, that you were hurt or made sick by your work.

Where the reply should be sent.

Required when you mail it. Not needed if you hand it in person.

In your own words, in English. Keep it short and factual. Do not guess why it happened.

It goes into the letter as you type it.

Other formats

Claim checklist: what to gather and do

A printable list of papers to keep and steps to take.

What you already have

Michigan
Other formats

Your checklist

Deadlines in Michigan

Tell your employer
90 days
File your claim
2 years
Waiting period

No wage loss benefits are paid for an injury that does not keep you from earning full wages for at least 1 week.

All the details →

Weekly benefit in Michigan

What it pays
80% of your after-tax wages
Maximum
$1,201 a week in 2026
Minimum rule

Michigan has no minimum weekly rate for wage loss (total disability) benefits; the minimums on the Agency's chart apply only to death, specific loss and total and permanent disability cases.

Applies to
Injuries occurring in 2026

Law: MCL 418.351(1), 418.355(2)

Source: michigan.gov

We do not offer a calculator for Michigan: its rule has parts that a simple estimate cannot show. Read the rule above and ask the state agency.

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Who is your doctor in Michigan?

Who chooses
Your employer or its insurer chooses

During the first 28 days of medical care, your employer has the right to choose the doctor.

After 28 days you may change to a doctor of your choice by telling your employer (and its insurer), preferably in writing, the doctor's name and that you intend to treat with that doctor. The employer or carrier can file a petition objecting to the doctor you chose.

Law: MCL 418.315(1)

Source: michigan.gov

Who is covered in Michigan

Size of employer

Private employers that regularly employ 3 or more employees at one time must have coverage. Employers with fewer than 3 employees must have coverage if at least one employee has worked 35 or more hours a week for 13 weeks or longer in the past 52 weeks. All public employers are covered regardless of size.

Special rules
  • Small private employers: An employer with fewer than 3 employees is covered if at least 1 employee has been regularly employed 35 or more hours a week for 13 weeks or longer during the preceding 52 weeks.
  • Public employers: All public employers, regardless of the number of employees.
  • Agriculture: Agricultural employers of 3 or more regular employees paid by the hour or salary (not piecework) who work 35 or more hours a week for 13 or more consecutive weeks. Agricultural employers of 1 or more employees working 35 or more hours a week for 5 or more consecutive weeks must provide medical and hospital coverage.
  • Household domestic workers: A private employer is not liable for a household domestic worker employed less than 35 hours a week for 13 weeks or longer during the preceding 52 weeks. Family members living in the home are not employees.
Not covered
  • Small private employers below the thresholds
  • Household domestic workers employed less than 35 hours a week for 13 weeks or longer in the last 52 weeks
  • Agricultural workers below the agricultural thresholds
  • Family members of an agricultural employer living in the home or on the premises
  • Independent contractors who keep a separate business, offer services to the public and are employers subject to the Act
Contractors

You are treated as an employee if, for that work, you do not maintain a separate business, do not hold yourself out to and serve the public, and are not an employer subject to the Act. If your employer is required to withhold federal income tax from your pay, you are presumed to be an employee.

If your employer has no insurance

If your employer was required to have coverage and did not, you can still file an Application for Mediation or Hearing (WC-104A) with the Agency; cases against an uninsured employer are scheduled for mediation first. The law also lets you sue an employer that failed to carry required coverage for damages in a civil action. Call the Agency's Insurance Compliance Division (517-284-8922) or use the Insurance Coverage Lookup if you are not sure whether your employer has coverage.

Check your employer's insurance

Law: MCL 418.115, 418.118, 418.161(1)(n), 418.641(2); WC-PUB-001

Source: michigan.gov

If your claim is denied or delayed in Michigan

First step

Call the Agency (1-888-396-5041 or wcinfo@michigan.gov) with questions. To have the dispute decided, file an Application for Mediation or Hearing (WC-104A) with the Agency.

Form
Application for Mediation or Hearing (WC-104A)

All the details →

Fired or punished for filing in Michigan

No one may fire you or discriminate against you in any way because you filed a complaint or started a proceeding under the workers' disability compensation law, or because you used a right the law gives you (for yourself or for others).

The law
MCL 418.301(13)

Law: MCL 418.301(13)

Source: legislature.mi.gov

Lawyers' fees and other benefits in Michigan

Fees for attorneys under the workers' compensation law must be approved by a workers' compensation magistrate, and the Agency director sets maximum attorney fees by rule.

Michigan also pays partial wage loss benefits if you return to lower-paying work, specific loss benefits for losing a body part or its use, vocational rehabilitation, death benefits and a burial allowance.

Free help in Michigan

State agency

Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, Workers' Disability Compensation Agency (WDCA)

Phone
1-888-396-5041
Address
P.O. Box 30016, Lansing, MI 48909
Find an office

Free help

Good to know in Michigan

  • Benefits are figured on after-tax wages (80% of after-tax average weekly wage), so the WDCA's own tables, not a simple gross-wage percentage, give the weekly rate.
  • Michigan law counts wages from all of your jobs covered by the Act when figuring your benefit (WC-PUB-001).
  • You should not receive a bill or a co-pay for a covered work injury; if you do, send it to your employer or its insurer (WC-PUB-001).

Changes in 2024–2026

For injuries in 2026 the maximum weekly rate rose to $1,201.00.

Questions about workers' comp in Michigan

How long do I have to tell my employer about a work injury in Michigan?

Report any injury at work to your supervisor or the person your company designates right away, however minor.

How long do I have to file a workers' comp claim in Michigan?

You must make a claim within 2 years. The claim can be made to your employer orally or in writing, or in writing to the Agency.

How much does workers' comp pay in Michigan?

Weekly wage loss benefits (total disability) can pay 80% of your after-tax wages, up to $1,201 a week in 2026.

Can I choose my own doctor for a work injury in Michigan?

During the first 28 days of medical care, your employer has the right to choose the doctor.

Can my employer fire me for filing a workers' comp claim in Michigan?

No one may fire you or discriminate against you in any way because you filed a complaint or started a proceeding under the workers' disability compensation law, or because you used a right the law gives you (for yourself or for others).

What if my workers' comp claim is denied in Michigan?

Call the Agency (1-888-396-5041 or wcinfo@michigan.gov) with questions. To have the dispute decided, file an Application for Mediation or Hearing (WC-104A) with the Agency.

Not about a work injury?

Not about a work injury? Unpaid wages → Wage Claim Map · Hurt in a car crash → Accident Claim Map · A medical bill → Medical Bill Map · Unemployment benefits → Unemployment Claim Map · Other problems → robinclaim.com

Nearby states

Sources