Workers' comp weekly benefit in North Dakota: how much it pays

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 North Dakota

Maximum: $1,614 a week (on or after July 1, 2026)
Minimum: $775 a week (on or after July 1, 2026)
Minimum rule: The minimum is $775 a week (60% of the state average weekly wage) for disability beginning on or after July 1, 2026, but your benefit plus any dependency allowance can never be more than your weekly wage after Social Security and federal income tax are taken out.
Applies to: Disability first beginning on or after July 1, 2026 (rates in effect on the date of first disability)
How your wages are figured: Benefits are based on your gross weekly wage before the injury. If you went back to work for at least 3 consecutive months and then became disabled again, benefits are generally based on your wage when the disability came back.
How long it can last: Temporary total disability continues while your medical provider verifies you cannot work. It usually ends when your employer offers modified duty, your provider releases you to your regular job, or you reach maximum medical improvement. Temporary partial disability can be paid for up to 5 years.

Wage-loss benefits are two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) average weekly wage, between a minimum of $775 and a maximum of $1,614 a week for disability beginning on or after July 1, 2026, but never more than your weekly wage after Social Security and federal income tax. You also get $15 a week for each child (dependency allowance). Your rate is set by your wage and the rates in effect on the date you were first disabled.

Law: N.D.C.C. §§ 65-05-09, 65-05-09.1

Source: workforcesafety.com

Changes in 2024–2026

Weekly benefit levels change each July 1: for disability beginning on or after July 1, 2026 the maximum is $1,614 and the minimum $775 (state average weekly wage $1,291); from July 1, 2025 they were $1,569 and $753, and from July 1, 2024 $1,514 and $727 (WSI benefit levels table).

Benefit estimate calculator

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

Sources

The official sources for North Dakota are listed on the North Dakota 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.