California temporary disability in 2026: rates, timing, caps and late-payment penalties

Temporary disability (TD) is the wage replacement an injured worker gets while unable to do the usual job. For most applicant clients it is the benefit they notice first and the one most often paid late, short or not at all. This guide covers the 2026 rates, how the payment is computed, when it is due, when it stops and what the Labor Code adds when it is late. It is general information, not legal advice.

What TD pays

There are two kinds:

• Temporary total disability (TTD) is paid when the worker can't work at all, or the employer can't accommodate restrictions. It is two-thirds of average weekly earnings, within the yearly minimum and maximum.
• Temporary partial disability (TPD) is paid when the worker earns less while recovering, such as on light duty with fewer hours. It is two-thirds of the weekly wage loss.

Average weekly earnings are computed under Labor Code 4453, and the minimum and maximum earnings figures rise each January 1 by the change in the state average weekly wage (Labor Code 4453(a)(10)).

2026 TD rates

For injuries on or after January 1, 2026, the DWC's figures are:

The 2026 change reflects a 4.99% rise in the state average weekly wage, from $1,704 to $1,789 for the year ending March 31, 2025, as announced in DIR news release 2025-116. A worker whose average weekly earnings are below $396.92 gets the $264.61 minimum.

One rule surprises clients: under Labor Code 4661.5, TTD paid two or more years after the date of injury is paid at the rate in effect on the date of payment, not the date of injury. A long-running case can move to a higher maximum partway through.

Use the California TD rate calculator to check a rate from wage data.

When the first payment is due

The 10% increase in Labor Code 4650(d) has exceptions, including payments due within 14 days after the claim form was filed when the employer sends a timely written notice of delay. Any 4650(d) amount is credited against a later 5814 award. The 4650 penalty and the 5814 penalty entries in our glossary go further, and the TD late-payment penalty calculator does the arithmetic.

How long TD lasts

For injuries on or after January 1, 2008, Labor Code 4656(c) caps TD at 104 compensable weeks within five years of the date of injury. Nine conditions get up to 240 weeks within five years: acute and chronic hepatitis B, acute and chronic hepatitis C, amputations, severe burns, HIV, high-velocity eye injuries, chemical burns to the eyes, pulmonary fibrosis and chronic lung disease.

TD ends earlier when:

• The doctor releases the worker to the usual job.
• The worker returns to the usual or a modified job at regular wages.
• The worker becomes permanent and stationary.
• The 104-week (or 240-week) cap is reached.

When TD ends and some permanent disability is expected, permanent disability advances should begin within 14 days of the last TD payment (Labor Code 4650(b)). Our guide to permanent disability ratings covers that next step.

EDD and TD overlap

Workers who can't get TD paid often apply for State Disability Insurance. When EDD pays for days that turn out to be TD days, it can claim reimbursement as a lien under Labor Code 4903(f), so the same weeks show up twice in the file. Keep EDD payments next to TD payments in the benefits ledger so the overlap is visible before settlement. Our liens guide covers how EDD liens are filed.

A benefits audit checklist

Run this on every open case at intake, after each new work status report and before any settlement conference:

• Collect the benefit printout from the claims administrator.
• List every period the treating doctor certified the worker as off work or on restrictions.
• Check that each period was paid, and at what rate.
• Recompute the rate from the wage statement, including overtime and concurrent employment.
• Check the first payment date against the 14-day rule and every later gap against the two-week rule.
• Check whether the 10% self-imposed increase was paid on late payments.
• Count weeks paid against the 104-week cap and the five-year window.
• Note any EDD payments for the same days.
• Flag periods that are certified but unpaid.

Common TD problems

The same errors come up again and again in applicant files:

• Rate set too low. The wage statement leaves out overtime, a second job or regular bonuses, so average weekly earnings are understated. Ask for payroll records, not a summary.
• Gaps between periods. A new work status report extends disability, but payments don't restart until someone calls. Each report should be checked against the next payment.
• TD stopped without a basis. Payments end when a report is read as a release to work, or when modified work is offered but never actually provided. Read the report and confirm the job exists.
• TPD not paid. A client on light duty at fewer hours is owed two-thirds of the wage loss, and it is easy to miss when the client is back at work.
• Late payments with no increase. The 10% self-imposed increase is supposed to be paid automatically, and often isn't.
• The cap counted wrong. Weeks paid toward the 104-week limit should count compensable weeks within five years of the injury, not calendar time since the first check.

Clients also need plain answers: when the next check should arrive, why it is the amount it is, and what happens when it stops.

How a firm can track this

The audit is tedious because the facts live in three places: doctors' work status reports, the carrier's benefit printout and the wage statement. Firms that do it well keep a benefits ledger on each case and rerun it when a new report arrives.

PlaintiffStack's workers' comp setup has a Benefits page on each case and a benefits audit tool that reads the case documents and proposes TD periods, rates and late-payment exposure for a person to accept. A morning check flags certified disability with no payment. The audit reads searchable documents only; scanned benefit printouts need to be entered by hand.