The ER provides a wage statement for the employee showing irregular earnings. What is the correct TD rate?

• A. two-thirds of earnings the week of injury
• B. MIN TD
• C. Max TD
• D. two-thirds of actual weekly earnings averaged for this period of time

Answer: (D)

In California, Temporary Disability benefits are set at two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wage, with minimum and maximum limits. When earnings are irregular, you don’t base the TD rate on the week of injury. Instead, you take two-thirds of the actual weekly earnings averaged over the base period used to determine the average weekly wage. This means you calculate the average weekly wage from the prior period (often the base 13 weeks), then apply two-thirds to that average. If that amount falls outside the state’s minimum or maximum TD rates, those limits apply, but the correct calculation starts with two-thirds of the actual weekly earnings averaged over the base period. For example, if the average weekly earnings in the base period are $500, the TD rate would be $333.33 per week (subject to min/max).