Your rights

Workers' comp: how much it pays, and how to check your weekly check

STATEState law: each state runs its own workers' compensation system, and federal employees are covered by FECA. California, Texas, New York and New Jersey are compared with current figures; Florida's rules are given in words.Checked by the Justice legal team against official sources · Last reviewed Oct 21, 2026

Short answer

Workers' comp pays your medical care and, while you cannot work, a weekly check of about two-thirds (66.67%) of your average weekly wage, between a state minimum and maximum. California pays up to $1,764.11 a week, Texas 70% up to $1,314, New York up to $1,281.50 and New Jersey 70% up to $1,199.

Calculator · 4 states

How much will workers' comp pay you a week?

Each state's share, weekly minimum and maximum read from its workers' comp agency, for injuries in the periods shown · checked Oct 21, 2026

Which state?

Your average weekly wage before the injuryGross pay before taxes, with overtime and tips. See how your state counts it below the calculator.Your hourly payTexas pays 75% for the first 26 weeks if you earned less than $10 an hour.

Pick the state where you were hurt and enter your average weekly wage.

Rehearse the adjuster call The rates, state by state

Each rule comes from the official source linked in the result. It runs on your device: nothing you type is stored or sent. General information, not legal advice.

Key points

The formula: Your weekly check is a share of your average weekly wage: two-thirds (66.67%) in California and New York, 70% in Texas and New Jersey. It is not taxed in California or New Jersey.
The limits: Each state sets a weekly minimum and maximum by date of injury. For a 2026 injury the maximum is $1,764.11 in California and $1,199 in New Jersey; Texas pays up to $1,314 from October 1, 2026, and New York $1,281.50 from July 1, 2026.
The wait: The first 3 days (California) or 7 days (Texas, New York, New Jersey, Florida) are not paid, unless the disability lasts long enough; then they are paid back to the first day.
Who pays: Your employer's insurer pays, whoever was at fault. Medical care is owed even if you miss no work. In Texas, most private employers may choose not to carry it.

Workers' comp replaces part of your pay, not all of it. If a job injury or illness keeps you off work, your employer's insurer pays your medical care and a weekly check called temporary disability. The check is a set share of your average weekly wage, usually two-thirds, and it can never go above the state's weekly maximum or below its minimum. The figures change every year and depend on the date you were hurt.

Below: what workers' comp pays, the formula, the current weekly minimum and maximum in California, Texas, New York and New Jersey (and Florida's rules), how your average weekly wage is counted, how long checks last, the deadlines to report and file, who is covered, and what to say when the check is late or low. The calculator at the top does the arithmetic. How to file a claim, step by step, is on hurt at work: getting workers' compensation. This page explains the law; it is not legal advice.

What workers' comp pays: medical care, weekly checks and more

Workers' comp is insurance your employer pays for. New York's Workers' Compensation Board puts it plainly: employers pay for this insurance and may not make you contribute to its cost, and no one is found at fault, so your own carelessness does not cut your benefits. Most benefits fall into five groups. WCB: What is workers' compensation · DWC Guidebook, Chapter 1

Medical care, from the first day. Reasonable and necessary treatment for the injury, paid by the insurer, whether or not you miss work. In California your employer must authorize treatment within one working day after you file the claim form, and you can receive up to $10,000 of treatment while the claim is being decided. In New Jersey the employer or its insurer can choose the doctor.DWC: How to file a claim · NJDOL FAQ
Temporary disability: the weekly check. A share of your average weekly wage while you are recovering and cannot work, or work at lower pay. This is the payment the calculator at the top works out. Texas calls it temporary income benefits (TIBs); New York calls it lost wage benefits.DWC: Temporary disability · TDI-DWC: TIBs · WCB: Lost wage benefits
Permanent disability, if you do not fully recover. Paid when a doctor finds a lasting impairment. In California permanent disability for an injury on or after January 1, 2026 is paid at $160 to $290 a week, starting within 14 days after temporary disability ends; at 100% it is paid for life at the temporary disability rate. Texas pays impairment income benefits up to $920 a week for injuries from October 1, 2026.DWC: Benefits chart · DWC FAQ · TDI-DWC: Maximum and minimum weekly benefits
Help getting back to work. In California, a supplemental job displacement voucher of $6,000 for injuries on or after January 1, 2013 when your employer offers no suitable work, and a one-time $5,000 Return-to-Work Supplement for some workers who received the voucher.DWC FAQ · California Department of Insurance
Death benefits for the family. Weekly payments to a spouse, children or other dependents, plus burial costs: in California up to $10,000 for injuries on or after January 1, 2013. In Texas, the spouse of a first responder can get death benefits for life even after remarrying (for marriages on or after September 1, 2017).DWC: Benefits chart · TDI-DWC: Income and medical benefits

Tip. Not taxed. California's Division of Workers' Compensation says you don't pay federal, state or local income tax on temporary disability, and New Jersey says workers' comp benefits are not taxable under its gross income tax law (NJSA 54A:6-6). So the check can come closer to your old take-home pay than the percentage suggests.

How much workers' comp pays a week: the formula

The states on this page use the same three steps: take your average weekly wage before the injury, multiply it by the state's share, then apply the state's weekly minimum and maximum for your date of injury. The figures below are the ones in force on October 21, 2026.

California: two-thirds (66.67%), $264.61 to $1,764.11 a week. Temporary disability pays two-thirds of the gross (pre-tax) wages you lose. For injuries on or after January 1, 2026 the minimum is $264.61 and the maximum is $1,764.11 a week. The maximum applies once your wages pass $2,646.16 a week; the minimum applies below $396.91. So gross wages of $900 a week mean a check of $600 a week, and anyone earning more than $2,646.16 gets $1,764.11. Both limits are reset each January 1 under Labor Code § 4453(a)(10).Cal. Lab. Code § 4453 · DWC news release 2025-116 · DWC Guidebook, Chapter 5
Texas: 70%, or 75% under $10 an hour, $197 to $1,314 a week. Temporary income benefits are 70% of the difference between your average weekly wage and what you earn after the injury. If you earned less than $10 an hour, it is 75% for the first 26 weeks, but not more than your actual earnings for the previous year. For injuries from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 (state fiscal year 2027) the minimum is $197 and the maximum is $1,314 a week: 15% and 100% of the state average weekly wage of $1,314.32.Tex. Lab. Code §§ 408.103, 408.061, 408.062 · TDI-DWC
New York: two-thirds (66.67%), $384.45 to $1,281.50 a week. The weekly benefit is two-thirds of your average weekly wage times your degree of disability. So a worker earning $1,500 a week who is totally (100%) disabled gets $1,000 a week; at 50% partial disability, $500. For accidents from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 the maximum is $1,281.50 and the minimum is $384.45, or your full wages if they are less. Your benefit, with what you still earn, can never exceed your wages at the time of the injury.N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law §§ 2(16), 15(6) · WCB: Lost wage benefits · WCB: Schedule of maximum weekly benefit
New Jersey: 70%, $320 to $1,199 a week. If you are disabled for more than seven days you get 70% of your average weekly wage, not above the maximum or below the minimum for the year of the accident. For injuries in 2026 (January 1 to December 31) the maximum is $1,199 and the minimum is $320 a week.NJDOL: Workers' compensation FAQ · NJDOL: Rates and statistics
Florida: 66.67%, up to the state average weekly wage. Florida pays 66 2/3 or 66.67 percent of your average weekly wages for temporary total disability, up to 104 weeks, capped at 100 percent of the statewide average weekly wage for the year of the injury. The current dollar maximum is not on an official source this guide uses, so Florida is not in the calculator.Fla. Stat. §§ 440.15(2), 440.12(2)
Federal employees (FECA): 66 2/3 percent, or 75% with a dependent. Federal law pays 66 2/3 percent of your monthly pay for total disability, plus 8 1/3 percent if you have one or more dependents. The process is on hurt at work.5 U.S.C. §§ 8105, 8110

Tip. Back at work for less? If you return at lower pay, the check is a share of the wages you lose, within the same limits. In California and New York it is two-thirds of the difference: $900 a week before and $600 now is a $300 loss, so $200 a week. Texas pays 70% of the difference.

Workers' comp rates by state: share of wage, minimum, maximum and waiting period

The numbers the calculator at the top uses, read from each state's agency or statute on October 21, 2026. A figure applies by the date of your injury and stays the same for the whole claim. DWC · TDI-DWC · WCB · NJDOL · Fla. Stat. ch. 440 · 5 U.S.C. ch. 81

Rule	California	Texas	New York	New Jersey	Florida	Federal employees (FECA)
Share of your wage	Two-thirds (66.67%) of gross wages lost. DWC	70%; 75% for the first 26 weeks if you earned less than $10 an hour. § 408.103	Two-thirds (66.67%) times your degree of disability. WCB	70%. NJDOL	66 2/3 or 66.67 percent. § 440.15(2)	66 2/3 percent; 75% with a dependent. §§ 8105, 8110
Weekly minimum	$264.61. § 4453	$197 (15% of the state average weekly wage). § 408.062	$384.45, or your full wages if less. WCB	$320. NJDOL	Not stated on an official source this guide uses.	Not covered on this page.
Weekly maximum	$1,764.11. § 4453	$1,314 (100% of the state average weekly wage). § 408.061	$1,281.50. WCL §§ 2(16), 15(6)	$1,199. NJDOL	100 percent of the statewide average weekly wage. § 440.12(2)	Not covered on this page.
Injuries the figures apply to	On or after January 1, 2026 (reset each January 1).	October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027.	July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.	January 1 to December 31, 2026.	Set each year for the next calendar year.	—
Waiting period (not paid)	3 days. CDI · DWC 1	7 days: the first week. § 408.082	7 days. WCB	7 days. NJDOL	7 days. § 440.12(1)	3 days. § 8117
Waiting days paid back if	You are off more than 14 days, or hospitalized overnight.	The disability lasts 14 days or more.	The disability lasts more than 14 days.	You are out more than 7 days: paid back to the first day.	The disability lasts more than 21 days.	The disability exceeds 14 days.
How long the weekly check lasts	Up to 104 weeks within 5 years of the injury; up to 240 weeks for some severe injuries. DWC	Until maximum medical improvement, at most 104 weeks after the eighth day of disability. TDI-DWC	While you are disabled, at the degree your medical evidence shows. WCB	While you cannot work and are under active medical care, until you return or reach maximum medical improvement. NJDOL	Up to 104 weeks. § 440.15(2)	While the disability lasts. § 8105
First check	Due within 14 days after your employer learns of the injury and your doctor says you can't work; then every two weeks. DWC	The insurer must start paying, or refuse in writing, within 15 days of written notice. § 409.021	Within 18 days of the injury or 10 days after your employer learned of it, whichever is later, if the claim is accepted. WCB	Generally about two weeks. NJDOL	—	—

Watch out. The rate is locked to your date of injury. New York's Board says the rate does not go up when new maximums are adopted, and Texas applies the maximum in effect on the date of injury for the whole claim. If you were hurt before the dates above, ask the insurer which year's figures apply.

How your average weekly wage is figured

Your average weekly wage sets everything else, and it is where most low checks come from: a missing second job, overtime or tips left out, or the wrong weeks counted. Each state counts it its own way.

Texas: the 13 weeks before the injury, divided by 13. Add your pay for the 13 weeks before you were hurt, including overtime and other special pay, and divide by 13. Benefits your employer pays, like health insurance, a car allowance or dry cleaning, count too. The Texas Department of Insurance's example: 13 weeks of wages of $824.23 a week ($10,714.99), plus $1,066, is $11,780.99; divided by 13, an average weekly wage of $906.23. Your employer must file a wage statement within 30 days of learning of the injury.Tex. Lab. Code §§ 408.041, 408.063 · TDI-DWC: Average weekly wage
New York: the 52 weeks before the injury. Your gross pay, not take-home, including overtime, from the employer's wage statement (Form C-240). If you generally worked five days a week, the total is divided by the days paid, multiplied by 260 and divided by 52. The Board's example: $45,000 earned over 250 paid days gives an average weekly wage of $900.WCB: Calculating your average weekly wage
California: all forms of pay, from every job. Report all income from work to the claims administrator: wages, food, lodging, tips, commissions, overtime and bonuses, and earnings from other jobs you had when you were hurt. The claims administrator must send you a letter explaining how your payment was calculated.DWC: Temporary disability · DWC Guidebook, Chapter 5
Two jobs. Texas adds the wages from both jobs ($700 + $300 = a $1,000 average weekly wage) when the injury keeps you from working, and New York may add both salaries (concurrent employment). In New Jersey, benefits are based only on the job where you were hurt.TDI-DWC · WCB · NJDOL FAQ

Ask for the numbers in writing. Ask the adjuster for the average weekly wage used, the weeks counted and the rate. California requires a letter explaining the amount.
Check them against your pay stubs. Add up your gross pay for the weeks your state counts. Look for overtime, tips, bonuses, a second job and benefits like health insurance in Texas.
Send what is missing. Send copies of the missing pay records to the adjuster and keep proof of what you sent.
Then use the state's dispute process. If the adjuster won't fix it, see if the check is late, low or denied below.

Deadlines: tell your employer, then file the claim

No check comes until the claim is on file, and missing a deadline can cost you the benefits. The calculator below counts the date from your injury. The full filing process, with the forms, is on hurt at work: getting workers' compensation.

State	Tell your employer	File the claim
California	Within 30 days, or you could lose benefits. DWC Guidebook, Chapter 1	Claim form (DWC 1) to your employer right away; a case before the appeals board within 1 year of the injury or the last benefit. Cal. Lab. Code § 5405
Texas	Within 30 days. Tex. Lab. Code § 409.001	DWC Form-041 to the Division of Workers' Compensation within 1 year. § 409.003
New York	Within 30 days. WCB	Form C-3 to the Board within 2 years. WCB
New Jersey	As soon as possible; it does not have to be in writing. NJDOL	A formal claim petition within 2 years of the injury or the last payment, whichever is later. NJDOL
Florida	Within 30 days. Fla. Stat. § 440.185(1)	A petition for benefits within 2 years after you knew or should have known work caused it. § 440.19(1)
Federal employees	Written notice within 30 days. 5 U.S.C. § 8119	A claim within 3 years. § 8122(a)

Calculator

When must you report the injury and file the claim?

1. Where do you work?

2. What do you need to do?

3. Date of the injury

Fill in the steps to see the answer.

Rehearse the adjuster call

Uses only the numbers on this page, each from its official source. Nothing you type leaves your device. Not legal advice.

Who is covered: employees, contractors and Texas opt-outs

Part-time, temporary and immigrant workers. In California you may get benefits even if you are a temporary or part-time worker, and you don't have to be a legal resident of the United States to receive most workers' compensation benefits.DWC Guidebook, Chapter 1
Called an independent contractor? You may still be covered. California's Division of Workers' Compensation says that an employer calling you an independent contractor doesn't make it true. You are probably not one when the person paying you controls how you work, can fire you, pays an hourly wage or salary, supplies the tools, or sets your days or hours. If you drive or deliver through an app, ask your state's workers' comp agency how your work is classified.DWC FAQ
New York construction: presumed an employee. A worker injured while doing work for a construction contractor is presumed to be its employee, unless the employer proves all three: you are free from its control, the work is outside its usual business, and you run an independent business of that kind.WCB: Construction Industry Fair Play Act
Texas: your employer may have opted out. In Texas, private employers can choose to carry workers' compensation, but it is not required in most cases. An employer without it must tell its employees and the Division of Workers' Compensation. Without coverage there is no weekly check; see hurt at work for what you can do instead.TDI-DWC: Employer coverage

If the check is late, low or denied: what to do and what to say

If…	What to do	Good to know
Your check is late	In California, the insurer must add 10 percent to a late payment if you filed the claim form more than 14 days before it was due, and you could be awarded 25 percent of each late payment, up to $10,000, if there was no reasonable excuse. In New Jersey, an insurer that unreasonably and negligently delays denying a claim may owe you 25% more plus reasonable legal fees; a delay of 30 days or more is presumed unreasonable.	DWC Guidebook, Chapter 5 · NJDOL FAQ
Your check is too low	Ask for the average weekly wage and rate in writing, send the missing pay records, then use your state's dispute process below.	See how your average weekly wage is figured.
Your claim is denied in California	File an Application for Adjudication of Claim at the DWC office in the county where you live or were injured, within the 1-year limit, and a workers' compensation judge decides. Free Information and Assistance officers: 1-800-736-7401.	If the insurer neither accepts nor denies within 90 days of the claim form, the claim is presumed covered in most cases.
Your claim is denied in Texas	Talk to the adjuster, then ask the Division of Workers' Compensation for a benefit review conference; next a contested case hearing before an administrative law judge, then the Appeals Panel. Free ombudsman help from the Office of Injured Employee Counsel: 866-393-6432.	TDI-DWC customer service: 800-252-7031, option 1.
Your claim is denied in New York	A Workers' Compensation Law Judge decides. Appeal a judge's decision within 30 days of its filing date (Workers' Compensation Law § 23).	While the insurer disputes the claim you may get disability benefits, which are later subtracted from the award.
Your claim is denied in New Jersey	File an application for an informal hearing or a formal claim petition with the Division of Workers' Compensation. Only the formal petition stops the 2-year clock.	While the claim is contested, state Temporary Disability Insurance may pay in the meantime.

You cannot be punished for claiming. California: it is illegal to punish or fire you for a job injury, for filing a claim or for testifying (Labor Code 132a). Texas: no one may fire or discriminate against you for a good-faith claim or for hiring a lawyer. New York: file a discrimination claim (Form DC-120) within 2 years. New Jersey: NJSA 34:15-39.1 bars firing you for filing a claim or testifying. Florida: no employer may fire, threaten or coerce you over a valid claim. Details and deadlines are on hurt at work and wrongful termination.Cal. Lab. Code § 132a · Tex. Lab. Code § 451.001 · WCB: Discrimination · NJDOL FAQ · Fla. Stat. § 440.205

“Your rate is what the system calculated.”

You can say: “Please send me, in writing, the average weekly wage you used, the weeks you counted and the rate. I'll check it against my pay stubs.”

“We only counted your base pay.”

In California, you can say: “My overtime, tips and my second job count toward my average weekly wage. I'm sending you the records today.”

“You weren't out long enough to be paid for the first days.”

In California or New York, you can say: “I've been out more than 14 days, so the waiting days are paid back to the first day.”

“We're still looking into it.”

You can say: “When will I get a written decision, and when is my first payment due? Please put both dates in writing.”

“You're a contractor, so workers' comp doesn't cover you.”

You can say: “Calling me a contractor doesn't decide it. You set my hours and pay me by the hour, so I'm asking the state agency to look at my claim.”

Getting help

California's Information and Assistance officers answer questions and help injured workers (1-800-736-7401), and Texas's Office of Injured Employee Counsel offers free help with claims (866-393-6432). For lawyers and their fees, see hurt at work. More programs are on the Government benefits hub.

Find a lawyer or free legal aidLegal aid and state bar referral services, with first-consultation prices.Hurt at work: getting workers' compensationReporting the injury, the claim forms, disputes, hearings and lawyer fees.Social Security disability appealIf an injury keeps you from working for a year or more, how to appeal a denial.Wrongful terminationWhen a firing after a work injury is illegal, and the deadlines to complain.Unemployment benefitsIf you lost the job: applying, and appealing a denial.

Common questions

How much does workers' comp pay?

Usually two-thirds (66.67%) of your average weekly wage in California and New York, and 70% in Texas and New Jersey, between a weekly minimum and maximum. For a 2026 injury the maximum is $1,764.11 in California and $1,199 in New Jersey; Texas pays up to $1,314 for injuries from October 1, 2026, and New York up to $1,281.50 for injuries from July 1, 2026. See the state table.

Do you get 100% of your pay on workers' comp?

No. The weekly check replaces a share of your gross wage, and high earners are held to the state maximum. Because temporary disability is not taxed in California and New Jersey, the check can come closer to your old take-home pay than the percentage suggests.

How is workers' comp calculated?

Average weekly wage times the state's share, then the state's minimum and maximum. Texas averages the 13 weeks before the injury; New York the 52 weeks. In New York the result is also multiplied by your degree of disability: a $1,500 wage at 50% disability pays $500 a week.

How long can you stay on workers' comp?

California: temporary disability up to 104 weeks within 5 years of the injury, longer for a few severe injuries. Texas: until maximum medical improvement, at most 104 weeks after the eighth day of disability. Florida: up to 104 weeks. After that, permanent disability benefits may follow if a doctor finds a lasting impairment.

Is workers' comp taxable?

California says you don't pay federal, state or local income tax on temporary disability benefits, and New Jersey says workers' comp benefits are not taxable under its income tax law.

Why wasn't I paid for the first few days?

Every state has a waiting period: 3 days in California, 7 days in Texas, New York, New Jersey and Florida. Those days are paid back if you are out long enough: more than 14 days in California and New York, 14 days or more in Texas, more than 7 days in New Jersey, more than 21 days in Florida. Medical care has no waiting period.

Can I get workers' comp as an independent contractor?

Possibly. California says an employer's label doesn't decide it: if the company controls how and when you work and pays you by the hour, you are probably an employee. New York presumes construction workers are employees of the contractor. Ask your state's workers' comp agency to look at your claim. See who is covered.

Can I be fired while on workers' comp?

Not for filing a claim: California, Texas, New York, New Jersey and Florida all bar firing you because you claimed. An employer may still act for an unrelated reason, for example New York's Board says a job can be filled if you cannot come back for a long time. See wrongful termination.

Official sources

This page explains the law in general terms. It is not legal advice about your situation. Justice is not a law firm and is not affiliated with any court or government agency.