Is My Temporary Disability Rate Right? How California Figures Average Weekly Earnings

In California, temporary total disability pays two-thirds of your average weekly earnings, within a weekly minimum and maximum set for the year you were injured. For a 2026 injury that means no less than $264.61 and no more than $1,764.11 a week. So whether your check is right usually depends on one number: the average weekly earnings the claims administrator used, and how it got there.

That number can go wrong, especially if you work part time, irregular hours, get paid partly in cash or tips, or hold a second job. Here is how the law figures it and what to do if yours looks wrong.

Two-thirds of average weekly earnings, within a floor and a ceiling

Labor Code section 4653 sets temporary total disability at “two-thirds of the average weekly earnings” during the disability. Average weekly earnings of $900 produce a $600 weekly rate.

Section 4453(a) puts a floor and a ceiling on the earnings used, and raises both each January with the state average weekly wage. The Division of Workers’ Compensation announces the resulting rates:

• Injuries in 2026: minimum $264.61 a week, maximum $1,764.11 a week (the maximum applies once earnings pass $2,646.16 a week), per DWC’s November 2025 announcement.
• Injuries in 2025: minimum $252.03, maximum $1,680.29 (earnings above $2,520.43 a week), per DWC’s October 2024 announcement.

Two consequences follow. A high earner can receive less than two-thirds of actual pay, and a low earner can receive more. And the limits for your injury date stay with you: section 4453(d) says they “shall remain in effect for the duration of any disability resulting from the injury.” A 2025 injury keeps the 2025 maximum even if you are still off work in 2026. One exception: under Labor Code section 4661.5, temporary total disability paid two years or more after the injury uses the limits in effect when each payment is made, unless a reduced statutory minimum would make that payment lower. DWC’s benefits chart lists the rates by date of injury.

The four ways average weekly earnings are figured

Section 4453(c) gives four methods. In plain terms:

• Full-time work. If you worked 30 or more hours a week over five or more days, average weekly earnings are your daily earnings at the time of injury times the number of days you worked each week. At $25 an hour for 8-hour days, five days a week, that is $1,000, and temporary disability is $666.67.
• Two or more jobs. If you were working for more than one employer at or about the time of injury, earnings from all of them are added together for one week. The other jobs cannot be counted at a higher hourly rate than the job where you were hurt.
• Irregular pay. If you were paid by the piece, on commission, or by the week, month or another period, actual weekly earnings are averaged over a convenient period of up to one year.
• Everything else. If you worked fewer than 30 hours a week, or none of the other methods can “reasonably and fairly” be applied, the figure is what reasonably represents your earning capacity at the time of injury, considering actual earnings from all sources.

The second method has a limit that matters. Suppose the same worker also had a weekend job, 10 hours a week at $30 an hour. That second job counts at no more than $25 an hour, or $250. Total average weekly earnings would be $1,250, for a rate of $833.33. These figures are our illustration, not a calculation for any particular claim.

The fourth method can swing the result widely, because averaging a year of pay records that includes weeks without work, or leaves out unrecorded pay, can pull the figure down. In Gradunov v. Charles Hope Construction (WCAB Oct. 30, 2026), the judge averaged a year of pay to reach $894.71. The Appeals Board panel said “it is necessary to consider all four methods” on that record. It applied the full-time method to a $45 hourly rate and set earnings at $1,800. Our Gradunov analysis explains the facts behind that result.

Tips, overtime, cash and a second job

DWC’s temporary disability fact sheet says your wages are figured using “all forms of income you receive from work,” listing wages, food, lodging, tips, commissions, overtime and bonuses. Earnings from other jobs you held when you were hurt can count too. DWC tells workers to report these and give the claims administrator proof.

That is where records can fall short. A W-2 or payroll ledger shows only what was run through payroll. In Gradunov, cash payments appeared in no record, and the Board found that “the documentation likely under-reports applicant’s earnings.” If part of your pay came in cash, tips, a 1099 or a second paycheck, you will need other proof.

Our suggestion: useful records include pay stubs and bank deposits; the job offer, text or form showing your hourly rate and schedule; tip reports; 1099s; the second employer’s pay records; and any wage statement the employer gave the insurer. The first benefit notice can matter too. In Gradunov, the insurer’s first notice used $1,800 a week before a later notice cut it.

How to check and dispute the rate

Start with the notice. The DWC Guidebook for Injured Workers says the claims administrator must send a letter explaining how your payment amount was calculated, and further letters explaining any change. Compare the earnings figure in that letter with your own records. Ask which method was used and which weeks or documents went into it.

If the figure is wrong, send the missing proof in writing and keep a copy. If the administrator will not correct it, the rate can be decided by a workers’ compensation judge. DWC’s Information and Assistance officers provide free help and can help you request a hearing. A dispute over the amount of temporary disability qualifies for an expedited hearing under Labor Code section 5502(b). That calls for a hearing and decision within 30 days after a declaration of readiness to proceed is filed.

If the rate is raised, the difference for past weeks is owed too. In Gradunov, the award left the periods “to be adjusted by the parties, less credit for sums paid previous.” If you are weighing whether to handle a rate dispute yourself, our guide on when a workers’ comp attorney can help describes the signals.