If you get hurt on the job and can’t do your usual work for a while, you may be eligible for temporary disability (TD) benefits.

TD benefits are payments you receive if you lose wages because:

• Your treating doctor says you can’t do your usual work for more than three days days, or you are hospitalized overnight. -and-
• Your employer does not offer you other work that pays your usual wages while you recover.

Two Types of TD—Total and Partial

There are two types of TD benefits, depending on whether you can or cannot work while recovering. If you can’t work at all while recovering, you receive temporary total disability (TTD) payments. TTD payments are described on pages 2-3. If you can do some work while recovering, you receive temporary partial disability (TPD) payments . TPD payments are described on pages 3-4.

TD Payment Amounts

As a general rule, TD pays two-thirds of the gross (pre-tax) wages you lose while you’re recovering from a job injury. However, you can’t receive more than a maximum weekly amount set by law.

Note: You don’t pay federal, state, or local income taxes on TD benefits. Also, you don’t pay Social Security taxes, union dues, or retirement fund contributions.

The information in this factsheet gives you a rough idea of TD benefits amounts. Determining exact TD amounts can be complicated, especially for workers who:

• had a second job when injured
• had seasonal jobs
• had wages that rose or fell
• were scheduled for a wage increase after the date of injury
• received TD benefits for over two years

Temporary Total Disability (TTD)

TTD payments are usually two-thirds of the wages you were earning (from all your jobs) before you were injured. However, they can be greater than this if you were scheduled for a wage increase after the date of injury.

Example: If the gross wages that you would be earning if you were not injured are $300 per week, your TTD payments will be $200 per week.

Maximum Limits on TTD payments

You can’t receive more than a maximum weekly amount set by law. Depending on the amount of your wages before you were injured, you could receive less than two-thirds of those wages.

TTD Payments for Low-Wage Workers

Different rules apply to low-wage workers. If you gross wages were less than $189 per week before you were injured, you receive more than two-thirds of those wages:

• If your gross wages were between $126 and $189 per week before you were injured, your TTD payments will be $126 per week.
• If your gross wages were less than $126 per week before you were injured, your TTD payments will be the same as those gross wages.

Temporary Partial Disability (TPD)

Your employer may offer you different work that you can do safely while recovering. Or your employer may give you a reduced work schedule. If you don’t earn as much as you did before you were injured, you may be eligible to receive TPD payments. These are usually two-thirds or your lost wages.

Example: If the gross wages you were earning before you were injured were $300 per week and you are now back at work making $210 per week, your loss in wages is $90 per week. Your TPD payments are $60 per week (two thirds of $90).

Maximum Limits on TPD Payments

You can’t receive more than a maximum weekly amount set by law. Depending on the wages you were earning before you were injured, you may receive less than two-thirds of your lost wages.

TPD Payments for Low-Wage Workers

Different rules apply to low-wage workers. If you earned less than $189 per week before you were injured, you receive more than two-thirds of your lost wages.

When TD Payments Begin

If your injury is covered by workers’ compensation, your first TD payment is due within 14 days after your employer learns that:

• You have a job injury or illness -and-
• Your treating doctor says you can’t do your usual job.

You should receive this payment from a claims administrator, a person who handles workers’ compensation claims for your employer. The claims administrator must also send you a letter explaining how the payment amount was calculated.

After the first payment, TD benefits must be paid every two weeks, for as long as you are eligible.

Q. Can my first TD payment be delayed?

A. Sometimes. If the claims administrator can’t determine whether your injury is covered by workers’ compensation, he or she may delay your first TD payment while investigating. A delay is usually not longer than 90 days.

If there is a delay, the claims administrator must send you a delay letter. It must explain:

• Why you won’t receive payments within the first 14 days
• What information the claims administrator needs to order to decide if you are eligible for TD benefits
• When a decision will be made.

If there are further delays, the claims administrator must send you additional delay letters.

(If the claims administrator doesn’t send you a letter denying your claim within 90 days after you filed the claim form, you claim is considered accepted in most cases.)

Q. Is the claims administrator required to pay a penalty for delays in TD payments?

A. It depends. If the claims administrator sends a payment late, he or she must pay you an additional 10% of the payment. This is true even if there was a reasonable, excuse for the delay. However, there’s no penalty if the claims administrator sends you a delay letter as explained above.

You could be awarded a substantial extra payment if there was no reasonable excuse for the delay.

When TD Payments End

TD payments end when:

• Your treating doctor says you can return to you usual job (whether or not you actually return to work) -or-
• You return to your usual job or to modified work at your regular pay -or-
• Your treating doctor says that you will never recover completely and that you have reached a point where your condition is not improving and not getting worse. (When this happens, you condition is called permanent and stationary.)

When TD payments end, the claims administrator must send you a letter explaining why the payments are ending. The letter must list all TD payments sent to you. This letter must be sent within 14 days after your final TD payment.

If you treating doctor says that you will never recover completely, you may be eligible to receive permanent disability benefits or vocational rehabilitation services and payments (or both).

Notices About TD Payments

The claims administrator must keep you up to date by sending letters that explain:

• How TD payment amounts were determined
• Why TD payments will be delayed
• Reasons for changes in TD payment amounts
• Why TD benefits are ending