Temporary total disability benefits provide partial wage replacement while an Illinois employee is temporarily unable to work because of a compensable workplace injury.
An employee may also qualify when a doctor releases the worker to light-duty employment but the employer cannot provide work within the medical restrictions. TTD generally continues until the employee returns to work or reaches maximum medical improvement, subject to disputes concerning work capacity, suitable modified duty, treatment, and medical causation.
The basic Illinois TTD formula is:
Average Weekly Wage × 66⅔ Percent = Weekly TTD Rate
This calculation is subject to statutory minimum and maximum rates. The correct payment therefore requires an accurate average weekly wage, the rate table applicable to the injury date, and medical evidence establishing the period during which the employee was temporarily unable to work.
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TTD benefits replace part of the wages an employee loses while recovering from a work-related injury.
The benefits may apply during a period in which the employee:
TTD does not require the worker to be permanently disabled. The benefit addresses a temporary inability to earn regular wages during the healing period.
An employee working temporary light duty at reduced earnings may qualify for temporary partial disability rather than TTD.
Section 8(b) of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act establishes a TTD rate equal to 66⅔ percent of the employee’s average weekly wage, subject to applicable minimum and maximum limits.
For example, assume an employee has an average weekly wage of $900.
$900 × 66⅔ percent = $600 weekly TTD rate
If the employee has an AWW of $1,200:
$1,200 × 66⅔ percent = $800 weekly TTD rate
These examples assume that the calculated amount falls between the statutory minimum and maximum rates applicable to the accident date.
The TTD rate is not ordinarily based on the employee’s net paycheck. Average weekly wage generally begins with gross earnings before taxes and payroll deductions.
The average weekly wage, commonly called AWW, is the foundation of the TTD calculation.
Illinois generally looks at the employee’s includable gross earnings during the 52 weeks preceding the accident. Different methods apply when the employee worked less than 52 weeks, lost at least five calendar days during the period, had unusually short or casual employment, or worked qualifying concurrent jobs.
AWW disputes may involve:
The insurance carrier’s wage statement should not automatically be assumed correct. Even a small weekly error can significantly affect the amount paid over an extended disability period.
For a detailed explanation of the four Illinois wage-calculation methods, read How To Calculate Average Weekly Wage In Illinois.
After determining the correct AWW, multiply it by two-thirds, or 66⅔ percent.
An employee earning $750 per week would ordinarily have a preliminary TTD rate of:
$750 × 66⅔ percent = $500 per week
An employee earning $1,500 per week would ordinarily have a preliminary rate of:
$1,500 × 66⅔ percent = $1,000 per week
The preliminary rate must then be compared with the statutory minimum and maximum.
The calculation should use 66⅔ percent rather than an imprecise 66 percent. On a short claim, the difference may be modest. Over many months or years, an understated percentage can produce a meaningful underpayment.
Illinois places a maximum on the amount of weekly TTD benefits.
The maximum changes based on the statewide average weekly wage, known as the SAWW. The Illinois Department of Employment Security calculates the SAWW, and the IWCC posts updated workers’ compensation rates in January and July.
If two-thirds of the employee’s AWW exceeds the maximum applicable to the accident date, the employee receives the statutory maximum rather than the unrestricted two-thirds calculation.
For example, assume a high-wage employee’s preliminary calculation produces a TTD rate of $2,000 per week. If the applicable statutory maximum were lower, the weekly benefit would be capped at that maximum.
The accident date matters. A current maximum should not be applied automatically to an injury that occurred during an earlier rate period.
The IWCC benefit-rate table should be checked for the exact date of injury. The statute controls if a published table conflicts with the law.
Illinois also provides minimum TTD rates based on the state or federal minimum wage, whichever produces the higher statutory calculation.
The minimum can increase based on the employee’s spouse and qualifying children. Section 8(b) provides a 10 percent increase for each spouse and child, subject to the statutory caps. The payment cannot exceed the employee’s actual AWW.
This last limitation is important for lower-wage and part-time employees. A statutory minimum cannot increase TTD above the employee’s actual average weekly wage.
Suppose a part-time worker has an AWW of $240. Even when the published minimum for the worker’s dependent category is higher, the TTD benefit cannot exceed the worker’s $240 AWW.
The current IWCC rate table identifies the applicable minimums according to the accident period and number of qualifying dependents.
Illinois has a three-working-day waiting period.
When temporary total incapacity lasts more than three working days, benefits are paid beginning on the fourth working day of incapacity. The employee ordinarily does not receive TTD for the first three lost working days when the total disability period is shorter than 14 days.
The statute should not be described as providing payment beginning on the third day. The first payable day in a shorter qualifying disability period is the fourth working day.
Assume an employee is medically unable to work for seven working days.
The first three working days are the waiting period. TTD is payable for working days four through seven.
The employee therefore receives benefits for four of the seven lost working days, subject to the manner in which the insurer calculates the partial benefit period.
Assume an employee misses three working days and then returns.
The employee ordinarily does not receive TTD because the disability did not last more than three working days. Medical benefits may still be available even when no TTD is payable.
When temporary total incapacity continues for 14 days or more from the accident, compensation becomes payable retroactively beginning the day after the accident. The employee then receives payment for the initial three-day waiting period as part of the total disability period.
This rule is based on the duration of incapacity from the accident, not simply 14 scheduled shifts.
Assume an employee is injured on June 1 and remains temporarily totally disabled for at least 14 days.
Rather than losing the first three working days, the employee becomes entitled to TTD beginning June 2, subject to the medical evidence and other claim requirements.
A medical provider’s work-status opinion is usually central to TTD eligibility.
An employee may qualify when the treating doctor states that the worker cannot perform any employment because of the work injury. The restriction should identify the disability period and explain the medical basis when possible.
An employee may also qualify after being released to restricted work if the employer cannot provide a job within those restrictions. The IWCC handbook expressly identifies both complete inability to work and unavailable light duty as circumstances supporting TTD.
The employer or insurer may dispute whether the restrictions are related to the workplace injury, remain medically necessary, or actually prevent suitable employment.
A valid light-duty offer can affect TTD.
The employee should provide the proposed job description to the treating doctor and determine whether the duties fall within the medical restrictions. A suitable job may need to be accepted.
The job title alone does not establish that the work is medically appropriate. The actual lifting, bending, standing, reaching, driving, production, and scheduling requirements should be compared with the doctor’s limitations.
Refusing suitable work without a medically supported reason can place continuing TTD at risk. An employee should document concerns rather than simply failing to report.
When the worker accepts temporary light duty but earns less than the pre-injury position would currently pay, temporary partial disability may be available.
Temporary partial disability, or TPD, applies when an employee remains in the healing period, performs modified or part-time work, and earns less because of the injury.
For injuries on or after June 28, 2011, TPD generally equals 66⅔ percent of the difference between what the employee would currently earn in the pre-injury employment and the gross amount earned in temporary light duty.
Assume the employee would be earning $1,000 per week in the regular position but earns $600 in light duty.
$1,000 − $600 = $400 wage difference
$400 × 66⅔ percent = approximately $266.67 in weekly TPD
The employee would receive the $600 light-duty wage plus approximately $266.67 in TPD, subject to the applicable rules and limits.
TTD generally ends when the employee returns to work or reaches maximum medical improvement.
Depending on the evidence, TTD may also end when:
Returning with temporary restrictions does not necessarily mean that all wage-replacement benefits end. TPD may replace TTD if the modified job pays less.
Reaching MMI does not mean that the employee is fully recovered. It generally means that the condition has stabilized and is no longer temporary. The claim may then shift toward permanent partial disability, wage differential, vocational rehabilitation, maintenance, or permanent total disability.
An employer may require the employee to attend a Section 12 medical examination with a doctor selected by the employer.
That examiner may state that the employee can work, needs no further treatment, or has reached MMI. The insurer may rely on the opinion to terminate TTD even when the treating physician disagrees.
The employer’s examiner does not automatically control the legal outcome. An IWCC arbitrator may evaluate both medical opinions, the treatment history, examination findings, job requirements, surveillance, and other evidence.
The employee should continue obtaining updated work-status documentation from the treating provider and promptly address any written termination notice.
The IWCC handbook states that the employer should make the first TTD payment within 14 days after receiving notice of the injury. The Commission recommends that the employee provide a written demand for TTD together with the doctor’s off-work note to help facilitate payment.
TTD should generally be paid at the same interval at which the employee was paid before the injury. A worker formerly paid every week would ordinarily receive weekly TTD payments, while a biweekly employee would ordinarily receive payments every two weeks.
When an employer stops TTD before the employee returns to work, the IWCC handbook states that the employer should provide a written explanation no later than the date of the last payment.
Yes. A worker who proves entitlement may recover unpaid TTD for an earlier disability period.
A retroactive calculation should identify:
Past-due TTD may be resolved through voluntary payment, settlement, an expedited hearing, or an arbitration award.
Read Can I Get Retroactive Payments If Workers’ Comp Is Delayed? for a focused discussion of unpaid benefits.
Potential penalties and attorney fees may be available when medical or TTD benefits are unreasonably delayed, underpaid, or terminated without an adequate basis.
Penalties are not automatic whenever payment is late. The employer or insurer may have a genuine dispute over causation, work status, notice, average weekly wage, or another issue.
The employee should preserve written demands, medical restrictions, benefit checks, payment records, denial letters, and communications explaining the delay.
For more details read What Is The Penalty For Late Workers’ Comp Payment?
The worker should preserve payroll records establishing AWW and medical records establishing the disability period.
Important records can include pay stubs, wage statements, time sheets, W-2 forms, work schedules, concurrent-employment records, off-work slips, restrictions, treatment notes, light-duty offers, job descriptions, TTD checks, and payment histories.
A simple spreadsheet can compare the amount that should have been paid with the amount actually received. The calculation should identify each payment period and any underpaid or missing weeks.
Not necessarily. It is generally 66⅔ percent of the legally calculated AWW, not two-thirds of net take-home pay or necessarily two-thirds of the most recent paycheck. Minimum and maximum rates also apply.
AWW generally begins with gross pretax wages. Specific compensation may be included or excluded under Illinois wage-calculation rules.
Voluntary and irregular overtime may be excluded. Required or consistently scheduled additional hours may qualify as regular earnings depending on the evidence.
Potentially. Qualifying concurrent employment may be included when the respondent employer knew about the second job before the injury.
Not ordinarily when the total disability period is shorter than 14 days. If incapacity continues for at least 14 days from the accident, benefits become payable retroactively beginning the day after the accident.
When disability lasts more than three working days but less than 14 days, payment begins on the fourth working day.
Yes, when the employer cannot provide suitable work within the temporary restrictions. If suitable reduced-wage work is provided, TPD may apply instead.
Generally, yes. TTD addresses temporary incapacity and ordinarily ends when the employee returns to work or reaches MMI. Other benefits may then become relevant.
The insurer may terminate benefits based on an employer-selected medical opinion or another defense. The termination can be challenged before the IWCC.
No. TTD is statutory wage replacement. Illinois workers’ compensation does not ordinarily provide a separate pain-and-suffering award.
Yes. Any unpaid TTD should be evaluated separately from PPD, future medical treatment, wage loss, and other settlement components.
The IWCC handbook states that TTD should be paid at the same interval as the employee’s pre-injury wages, such as weekly or biweekly.
Request the wage calculation and payment history, gather complete payroll evidence, and compare the carrier’s rate with Section 10 and the applicable IWCC rate table.
Temporary total disability disputes can involve an understated average weekly wage, an incorrect waiting period, unpaid dependents, missing weeks, an employer-selected examination, unsuitable light duty, or an unsupported determination that the employee reached MMI.
Robert Edens Law Office represents injured employees throughout Antioch, Waukegan, Grayslake, Lake Zurich, Woodstock, Barrington, Lake County, McHenry County, and surrounding Northern Illinois communities.
Call (847) 395-2200 or contact Robert Edens Law Office to request a consultation about an Illinois temporary total disability calculation or benefit termination.
For a broader explanation of disability payments, permanent benefits, medical care, and settlement valuation, read Illinois Workers’ Compensation Benefits And Claim Value.
For the underlying wage formula, read How To Calculate Average Weekly Wage In Illinois.
This page provides general legal information and does not guarantee eligibility, a particular TTD rate, or a case result. The correct calculation depends on the injury date, wage records, medical evidence, work restrictions, dependents, statutory limits, and applicable Illinois law.
The Law Offices of Robert T. Edens, Personal Injury and Workers' Compensation Law Office, have offices in Antioch, Waukegan, Grayslake, Woodstock and Barrington. We represent clients throughout the communities of Antioch, Waukegan, Grayslake, Barrington, Woodstock, Buffalo Grove, Deer Park, Gurnee, Lake Zurich, Round Lake, McHenry, Cary, Crystal Lake, Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Mundelein, Vernon Hills, Wheeling, North Chicago, Zion, Inverness, Palatine, Wauconda, Island Lake, Fox Lake, Barrington Hills, Spring Grove, Lake Bluff, Lakemoor, Long Grove, Lake Villa, Kildeer, Wadsworth, Indian Creek, Fox River Grove, Lindenhurst and other cities within Lake and McHenry Counties Illinois.
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