The first payment of temporary disability is due no later than how many days after knowledge of the injury and disability?

• A. 7
• B. 10
• C. 14
• D. 21

Answer: (C)

In California workers’ compensation, the timing of the first temporary disability payment is tied to when the employer first knows there’s an injury and that the worker is disabled. The rule is that this initial TD payment must be issued no later than 14 days after that knowledge becomes known. This 14-day window is designed to ensure prompt wage replacement for workers who are off work due to a work-related injury and to encourage timely medical determination of disability. If the employer becomes aware of the injury and the disability any time after the injury occurs, the 14-day clock starts then, not from the date of the injury alone.

So, the correct timeframe is 14 days. The other options don’t fit the statutory requirement: they either cut the window too short or too long relative to the mandated 14-day period.