Workers’ comp, state disability (SDI) and Social Security disability: can you receive more than one?

Usually not for the same weeks, though there are exceptions. Workers’ comp temporary disability (TD) pays when a work injury keeps someone off the job. State disability insurance (SDI) from the Employment Development Department (EDD) is meant for illness or injury that is not work-related. EDD says it may still pay while a comp claim is delayed or denied, then files a lien to be repaid from the comp case. Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) is federal, and the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) says those benefits “may be reduced by workers’ compensation payments.”

Which program pays depends on why the worker is out and whether the comp claim is moving.

How is workers’ comp temporary disability different from SDI?

They differ in who pays and what they are for. TD comes from the employer’s claims administrator (the insurer or adjusting company that handles the claim) and replaces wages lost to a work injury. Temporary total disability is two-thirds of average weekly earnings (Labor Code 4653), between $264.61 and $1,764.11 a week for an injury in 2026 (DWC’s 2026 rate announcement). A payment made two years or more after the date of injury uses the minimum and maximum in effect when it is paid (Labor Code 4661.5). For injuries on or after January 1, 2008, TD lasts up to 104 weeks within five years of the date of injury (Labor Code 4656(c)(2)). For a short list of conditions that includes amputations, severe burns and chronic lung disease, the limit is 240 weeks (Labor Code 4656(c)(3)). How much does workers’ comp pay in California? has the full rate table and payment schedule.

SDI is a state insurance program that workers pay into. EDD’s Disability Insurance is the part of SDI that pays a worker’s own claim, and it is for a “non-work-related illness, injury, or pregnancy.”

What does SDI pay?

EDD estimates the weekly amount at 70 to 90 percent of wages earned 5 to 18 months before the claim start date, up to $1,765 a week, for up to 52 weeks (EDD benefit amounts). A physician or practitioner must certify the disability. EDD says the payroll deduction shows as “CASDI” on a paystub. A claim requires having paid into SDI during the base period, the stretch of past wages EDD uses.

When can SDI pay while a workers’ comp claim is open?

EDD’s workers’ comp FAQ lists four situations in which a worker may receive full or partial disability benefits:

• The employer or the comp insurer delays benefits.
• The employer or the comp insurer denies benefits.
• The comp weekly benefit is less than the SDI weekly benefit, and EDD may pay the difference.
• The comp benefit covers only medical expenses.

The DWC guidebook makes the same point from its side. It says SDI is paid by EDD “when workers’ compensation payments are delayed or denied.” It also recommends applying for SDI even while the claims administrator is paying, “in case there is a problem with your workers’ compensation claim,” and says to tell EDD about the comp claim (Guidebook, Chapter 2).

How does EDD get paid back?

Through a lien on the comp case. EDD’s workers’ comp and disability page says: “If SDI pays benefits while a workers’ compensation case is pending, a lien will be filed to recover those benefits once the case is settled.” The authority is Labor Code 4903(f). It lets the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB), the state’s workers’ comp court, allow a lien for disability benefits paid under the Unemployment Insurance Code. The lien covers benefits paid while the comp case was pending and it was uncertain which program owed them.

The guidebook also warns that SDI benefits “may be reduced by the workers’ compensation payments that you receive.” The DWC’s Compromise and Release form has lines for liens to be paid out of the settlement before the worker’s balance.

Where does Social Security disability fit?

SSDI is a federal benefit run by the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), separate from both state programs. The DWC guidebook describes Social Security disability benefits as paid “for total disability” and warns that “these benefits may be reduced by workers’ compensation payments that you receive.” SSA’s own publication on the subject sets the rule: when a person receives workers’ compensation or another public disability benefit and SSDI, the total “cannot exceed 80% of your average current earnings before you had a disability,” and SSA reduces the SSDI payment by the excess. A lump-sum workers’ comp settlement can affect the SSDI amount too, and SSA asks to be told right away when one is paid. The DWC glossary groups SSDI with Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a separate SSA program, and says both may be reduced by the workers’ comp payments a worker receives.

Settlement can matter here too. Paragraph 11 of the Compromise and Release form warns that settling a claim that way may affect other benefits, including Social Security, Medicare and long-term disability. Stipulations vs. Compromise and Release explains the two settlement forms.

How do the three programs compare?

The biggest differences are who pays, what the benefit is for, and what happens when two of them cover the same weeks.

	Workers’ comp TD	SDI (EDD Disability Insurance)	Social Security disability (SSDI)
Who pays	The employer’s claims administrator	EDD	U.S. Social Security Administration
What it is for	Wages lost to a work injury while recovering	Non-work illness, injury or pregnancy; may pay while a comp claim is delayed or denied	Total disability, as the DWC guidebook describes it
Weekly amount (2026 figures)	Two-thirds of average weekly earnings; $264.61 to $1,764.11 for a 2026 injury	About 70 to 90 percent of base-period wages, $50 to $1,765	Set by SSA
How long	Up to 104 weeks within five years of the injury (240 weeks for listed conditions)	Up to 52 weeks	Set by SSA
When comp also pays	It is the comp benefit	Usually not paid for the same weeks; exceptions apply, and EDD files a lien	Reduced so that SSDI plus comp do not exceed 80 percent of average current earnings (SSA Publication 05-10018)
Who to call	The claims administrator, or DWC Information and Assistance at 1-800-736-7401	EDD at 1-800-480-3287	SSA at 1-800-772-1213

Sources: DIR newsline 2025-116 (Nov. 21, 2025); Labor Code 4653, 4656 and 4661.5; EDD benefit amounts and workers’ comp FAQ; DWC Guidebook Chapter 2 and Chapter 11 (May 2024). All read October 8, 2026.

What do people get wrong about workers’ comp and SDI?

• “SDI and comp can both be kept in full for the same weeks.” EDD files a lien to recover SDI it paid while the comp case was pending.
• “A denied comp claim means no income until the WCAB rules.” EDD lists a delay or denial of comp benefits as a reason it may pay.
• “Once comp accepts the claim, SDI does not matter.” DWC Fact Sheet C says filing an SDI claim even when the comp case is accepted allows SDI payments after the 104 weeks of TD if the worker is still too sick or hurt to go back to work.
• “Using the SJDB retraining voucher ends SDI.” EDD says using the supplemental job displacement voucher will not prevent a worker from qualifying for disability benefits.

Where does the firm fit?

The Law Office of Jesse Melendrez works on the workers’ comp side: the claim, temporary disability disputes, the WCAB case, and the liens resolved in it, including EDD’s. SDI claims are filed with EDD, and SSDI claims with SSA.

This page is general information, not advice about any one claim or benefit. If checks stopped or never started after a work injury, tell us what happened.

What should I read next?

• How TD is figured and paid: temporary disability benefits
• How settlements treat liens and other benefits: Stipulations vs. Compromise and Release
• If the comp claim was denied: My workers’ comp claim was denied in California. What now?