If you receive an injury on the job, there is a good chance you are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. These pay for medical care and lost wages while you are recovering from your injuries.
If your injury prevents you from working for a period of time, you may receive temporary disability benefits. There are different types of disability benefits, and these payments help you pay bills and other expenses until you return to full working capacity.
Definition of temporary disability
According to FindLaw, a worker may be eligible for temporary disability benefits if he or she is unable to return to work right away after the injury. The benefits help to cover some of the wages lost.
The State of California Department of Industrial Relations discusses how one becomes eligible for these benefits. A medical doctor must verify that the employee will need to stay in the hospital overnight or will need more than three days off of work to recover, and that there is no other work available that pays the same wages as the worker’s regular job.
Types of temporary disability
It may be that your employer has other work available, and your doctor deems you are able to perform the duties while your recover. If the job pays less than your normal job, you will receive temporary partial disability payments. If you are unable to perform any duties while you recover, you will receive temporary total disability payments.
Payment amounts of temporary disability
In general, temporary disability payments are two-thirds of your lost wages. These wages are not subject to income taxes, Social Security taxes, union dues or retirement contributions. There are also maximum limit amounts as well as minimum limits, as the payments cannot be lower than minimum wage.