Can You Collect Both California State Disability and Workers' Compensation?

If you cannot work because of an illness or injury, the stress of worrying about how to pay bills is the last thing you need as you try to recover and return to work. Fortunately, the California State Disability and workers’ comp programs may provide much-needed wage replacement and other benefits to prevent or relieve financial challenges created by being unable to work and earn a living.

California SDI and workers’ compensation may be similar in providing wage replacement benefits, but it’s important to know and understand the differences in the programs. For example, a common question asked of the disability lawyers at Sackett and Associates is, “Can you get SDI and workers’ compensation simultaneously?”

The answer requires an explanation of how the programs work, their eligibility requirements, and the benefits provided by each of them. That is why Sackett Law, the outstanding disability law firm in Northern California with 45 years of experience, presents this article.

What Is The State Disability Insurance Program In California?

The California State Disability Insurance (SDI) program offers wage replacement benefits to eligible workers who are disabled and unable to work because of physical or mental illnesses or injuries that are not work-related. The California Employment Development Department administers the program.

You must have lost wages from requiring time away from work because of any of the following:

1. Illness or injury
2. Surgery
3. Pregnancy or childbirth

The physical or mental health condition preventing you from working cannot be work-related. For example, an injury or illness caused by an accident or

You must meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. Be unable to work for a minimum of eight days.
2. You cannot work because of a
3. The disability preventing you from working caused you to lose wages.
4. You must be working or looking for work at the onset of the disability.
5. Your quarterly earnings were at least $300 when working, and you paid into the SDI program through wage deductions.
6. A physician or medical practitioner must certify that you are disabled.

If you meet the eligibility requirements for SDI, you can receive up to 52 weeks of benefits. How much you get depends on your income earned during the five to 18 months prior to the start of your claim.

Although you can apply for state disability insurance with workers’ compensation, receiving benefits from both programs for the same period of disability is not usually allowed. However, there are exceptions.

California Workers’ Compensation Overview

States, including California, enacted workers’ compensation laws to provide an alternative to the practice of injured workers having to sue their employers to recover the cost of medical treatment and lost wages. The laws created a state-mandated system requiring employers to provide insurance coverage for medical care and other employee benefits for work-related injuries and illnesses. In exchange, the laws prohibit lawsuits by injured workers against their employers except in limited circumstances.

Employers in California must provide their workers with the following benefits under the state’s workers’ compensation laws:

1. Medical care benefits.
2. Temporary disability benefits.
3. Permanent disability benefits.
4. Death benefits.

To be eligible for benefits through workers’ compensation, a person must be injured or become sick due to a work-related injury, such as a fall or a motor vehicle accident. Also covered are illnesses caused by exposure to chemicals or other substances or conditions at work.

Can You Receive SDI And Workers’ Compensation Together?

Receiving SDI and workers’ comp benefits at the same time usually cannot occur, but that does not prevent you from applying for benefits SDI and workers’ comp together. You may wish to do this when you have a medical condition and are unsure whether or not it’s work-related.

Workers’ compensation claims must be filed within one year from the date of the injury or illness. SDI claims must be filed no later than 49 days from when your disability begins. If you miss the SDI filing deadline, you must show good cause for the delay and request an extension.  

If you file for benefits through both programs, which pays: CA disability vs. workers’ comp? The answer depends on the results of the medical report submitted by your doctor to your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company. If your disabling condition is work-related, then compensation pays.

There are exceptions to the rule prohibiting you from receiving SDI and workers’ comp benefits simultaneously.  One is when your workers’ comp claim is denied or delayed, but SDI retains a lien to recover payments it makes to you if the compensation claim is approved.

The other situation when you can receive benefits through both programs is when the weekly benefits you get from workers’ compensation are less than you would get from SDI. You can receive enough from SDI to make up the difference.

Learn More About Your Benefits From Sackett Law

When you have questions or need representation related to disability benefits and claims, contact the team at Sackett and Associates for a free consultation. We’ve been helping people in Northern California and throughout the country for over four decades.