Workers' comp wage-loss checks usually do not cover the first few days you are off work after a job injury. This waiting period is 3 to 7 days in the states below, and in most of them the waiting days are paid back if the disability lasts long enough. This workers' comp waiting period calculator shows your state's rule, the first day benefits cover, the day the waiting days become payable and, if you enter your weekly benefit, the amount owed for the days so far.
All 50 states and the District of Columbia are listed, each from its statute or its workers' compensation agency. "Paid back" means the waiting days are paid once the disability lasts the stated time.
| State | Waiting period and pay-back rule |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 3 days; paid back if disability lasts 21 days |
| Alaska | 3 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 28 days |
| Arizona | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts 14 days (one week beyond the first seven) |
| Arkansas | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts 14 days |
| California | 3 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 14 days or you are hospitalized as an inpatient |
| Colorado | 3 shifts (days); paid back if disability lasts more than 2 weeks |
| Connecticut | 3 days; paid back if incapacity lasts 7 days |
| Delaware | 3 days; paid back if incapacity lasts 7 days or more, counting the day of injury |
| District of Columbia | 3 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 14 days |
| Florida | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 21 days |
| Georgia | 7 days; paid back once disability reaches 21 consecutive days |
| Hawaii | 3 days; not paid back |
| Idaho | 5 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 2 weeks; none if hospitalized as an inpatient |
| Illinois | 3 working days; paid back if incapacity lasts 14 days or more from the day of the accident |
| Indiana | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 21 days |
| Iowa | 3 days; paid back if incapacity lasts beyond the 14th day after the injury |
| Kansas | 7 days (first week); paid back if TTD lasts 3 consecutive weeks |
| Kentucky | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 2 weeks |
| Louisiana | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts 2 weeks or longer |
| Maine | 7 days; paid back if incapacity lasts more than 14 days |
| Maryland | 3 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 14 days |
| Massachusetts | 5 days; paid back if incapacity lasts 21 days or more |
| Michigan | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts 2 weeks or longer |
| Minnesota | 3 days; paid back if disability lasts 10 days or longer |
| Mississippi | 5 days; paid back if disability lasts 14 days or more |
| Missouri | 3 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 14 days |
| Montana | 32 hours or 4 days, whichever is less; paid back if totally disabled 21 days or longer |
| Nebraska | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts 6 weeks or longer |
| Nevada | No benefits unless incapacity lasts 5 consecutive days (or 5 days within 20 days); then paid from the date of injury |
| New Hampshire | 3 days; paid back if disability lasts 14 days or longer |
| New Jersey | No benefits unless disability lasts more than 7 days; then paid from the first day |
| New Mexico | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 4 weeks |
| New York | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 14 days |
| North Carolina | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 21 days |
| North Dakota | No benefits unless disability lasts 5 consecutive days; then paid from the first day |
| Ohio | 7 days; paid back after 2 continuous weeks of total disability |
| Oklahoma | 3 days; not paid back |
| Oregon | 3 days; paid back after 14 consecutive days of total disability or an inpatient hospital admission |
| Pennsylvania | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts 14 days or more |
| Rhode Island | 3 days; not paid back |
| South Carolina | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 14 days |
| South Dakota | No benefits unless incapacity lasts 7 consecutive days; then paid from the date of injury |
| Tennessee | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts 14 days or more |
| Texas | 7 days; paid back if disability lasts 2 weeks or longer |
| Utah | 3 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 14 days |
| Vermont | 3 days; paid back if disability continues 7 consecutive days after the third day |
| Virginia | 7 days; paid back if incapacity lasts more than 3 weeks |
| Washington | 3 days after the day of injury; paid back if still disabled on the 7th day after the injury |
| West Virginia | 3 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 7 days |
| Wisconsin | 3 days; paid back if disability lasts more than 7 days |
| Wyoming | 3 days; paid back if incapacity lasts more than 8 days |
The waiting period applies to disability (wage-loss) checks. Day 1 is usually the first day you cannot work because of the injury; several states count the day of injury only if you were not paid in full for it. During the waiting days no wage-loss benefit is paid. If the disability lasts past the state's pay-back point, the insurer also pays the waiting days, so benefits run from the first day. If the disability ends before that point, the waiting days are not paid.
The pay-back point is the length of disability after which the waiting days are paid too:
Florida. A worker is off work from September 1 to September 25, 2026, 25 days in all. The first 7 days are the waiting period, so benefits first cover September 8. On day 22, September 22, the disability has lasted more than 21 days, so the first 7 days become payable as well. At a weekly benefit of $700 ($100 a day), the 25 days are worth $2,500.00.
It is the number of days at the start of a work disability for which no wage-loss benefit is paid. In the states on this page it runs from 3 to 7 days; 3 days is the most common length. A few states instead require a minimum length of disability and then pay from the first day.
In most states, yes, if the disability lasts long enough: the pay-back point ranges from about one week to six weeks, depending on the state. Hawaii, Oklahoma and Rhode Island never pay the waiting days back.
Benefits cover the first day after the waiting period, and each state sets when the first check is due. For example, Georgia's Board says the first check should be mailed within 21 days of the first missed day, Michigan says the first check is due on the 14th day of disability, and Indiana says the first installment should be mailed 15 days after the injury.
Not in the states whose rules address it. Alaska, Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey and New York say the waiting period does not apply to medical care; it applies to wage-loss checks.
In some states. In California and Idaho an inpatient hospital stay for the injury removes the waiting period, and in Oregon an inpatient admission within 14 days of the start of total disability does. The calculator has a checkbox for those states.