How Long Does It Take to Get a Workers’ Comp Check?
By Alexander D. Napolin, Esq. | Last reviewed November 8, 2026
Short answer: California law says the first temporary disability payment is due “not later than 14 days after knowledge of the injury and disability,” unless liability for the injury is earlier denied (Lab. Code, § 4650, subd. (a)). A late indemnity payment under that section is increased 10 percent, with three exceptions the statute lists (subd. (d)). Section 4651 limits the form a payment may take, but the sections I read do not say how long delivery takes.
How long does it take to get my first workers' comp check?
The statute sets a 14-day deadline for the first payment. “If an injury causes temporary disability, the first payment of temporary disability indemnity shall be made not later than 14 days after knowledge of the injury and disability, on which date all indemnity then due shall be paid, unless liability for the injury is earlier denied” (Lab. Code, § 4650, subd. (a)).
Temporary disability payments are paid for the period of disability caused by a work injury. Section 4653 sets the payment for temporary total disability, and section 4654 sets it for temporary partial disability. For temporary total disability, the payment is “two-thirds of the average weekly earnings during the period of such disability, consideration being given to the ability of the injured employee to compete in an open labor market” (Lab. Code, § 4653). For temporary partial disability, it is “two-thirds of the weekly loss in wages during the period of such disability”, reduced by the unemployment compensation benefits and extended duration benefits you received in that period (Lab. Code, § 4654). This article covers when a payment is due, not how much it is. I did not read every section that bears on the weekly amount, so I do not say whether it has other limits.
The 14 days run from “knowledge of the injury and disability”. Section 4650 does not say whose knowledge counts or define the phrase, and I have not read a court decision on it. Section 5402, subdivision (a), says that “[k]nowledge of an injury, obtained from any source, on the part of an employer, the employer’s managing agent, superintendent, foreman, or other person in authority, … is equivalent to service under Section 5400” (Lab. Code, § 5402, subd. (a)). That subdivision does not mention section 4650 or its 14 days, and I have not read a source that applies it to them. Write down the dates your employer was told about the injury and about the time you missed from work, and the dates anyone handling your claim was told. Section 4650 does not say which of those dates starts the 14 days.
The 14-day rule does not apply if liability for the injury “is earlier denied” (Lab. Code, § 4650, subd. (a)). A denial is a separate subject, and this article does not cover it.
What is the three-day waiting period?
The law generally does not pay temporary disability for the first three days. The statute says “no temporary disability indemnity is recoverable for the disability suffered during the first three days after the employee leaves work as a result of the injury unless temporary disability continues for more than 14 days or the employee is hospitalized as an inpatient for treatment required by the injury, in either of which cases temporary disability indemnity shall be payable from the date of disability” (Lab. Code, § 4652). Section 4652 begins “Except as otherwise provided by Section 4650.5,” and it adds that the day of the injury counts toward the three days “unless the employee was paid full wages for that day.”
Section 4650.5 is the exception it points to. For state civil service employees, employees of the Regents of the University of California, and employees of the Board of Trustees of the California State University, the payment “shall be made from the first day the injured employee leaves work as a result of the injury, if the injury is the result of a criminal act of violence against the employee” (Lab. Code, § 4650.5).
The first payment is due together with “all indemnity then due” (Lab. Code, § 4650, subd. (a)). Whether that includes the first three days depends on section 4652, described above.
How often are payments made after the first one?
Every two weeks. Later payments “shall be made as due every two weeks on the day designated with the first payment” (Lab. Code, § 4650, subd. (c)). The subdivision covers payments of temporary or permanent disability indemnity after the first one.
How is my workers' comp check sent?
The sections I read (Lab. Code, § 4650) set when a payment is due. They do not say how a payment is mailed, and I did not find a source for how long delivery takes, so I do not state either. Section 4651 sets conditions on the form a payment may take. “A disability indemnity payment shall not be made by any written instrument unless it is immediately negotiable and payable in cash, on demand, without discount, at some established place of business in the state” (Lab. Code, § 4651, subd. (a)(1)). The section does not prohibit an employer from depositing the payment in an account of the employee's choice in this state if the employee “has voluntarily authorized the deposit”, or from depositing it electronically in an account the employee has previously authorized to receive electronic deposits of payroll, unless the employee has asked in writing that benefits not be electronically deposited there (subd. (a)(2)). In the version in effect until January 1, 2027, an employer may also run a program of payments into a prepaid card account if the employee gives written consent, subject to conditions in subdivision (a)(3). That version is repealed as of January 1, 2027, and the version operative that day, which has subdivisions (a) to (d), does not contain the prepaid card provision. In the later version, the written-instrument rule is in subdivision (a) and the deposit rule is in subdivision (b). Ask the person handling your claim how and when your payment will be sent, and keep your contact information current with them.
What if my first check is late?
A late indemnity payment under section 4650 is increased by law. “If any indemnity payment is not made timely as required by this section, the amount of the late payment shall be increased 10 percent and shall be paid, without application, to the employee,” with three exceptions (Lab. Code, § 4650, subd. (d)):
- The employer continues your wages under a salary continuation plan. Subdivision (g) defines the plan as one the employer pays for under a statute, a collective bargaining agreement, a memorandum of understanding or established employer policy, that gives you on your regular payday salary not less than you are entitled to receive under a statute, collective bargaining agreement, memorandum of understanding or established employer policy, and not less than you would otherwise receive in indemnity payments. The plan must meet both of those requirements: the employer pays for it, and it gives you the salary described.
- The payment was due “prior to or within 14 days after the date the claim form was submitted to the employer under Section 5401.” The claim form is the form your employer must give you within one working day of receiving notice or knowledge of an injury that results in lost time beyond your work shift at the time of injury or in medical treatment beyond first aid (Lab. Code, § 5401, subd. (a)). Section 5401 also says the claim form “shall be filed with the employer prior to the injured employee's entitlement to late payment supplements under subdivision (d) of Section 4650” (subd. (d)).
- Within the 14 days, the employer is unable to determine whether payments are owed and advises you “why payments cannot be made within the 14-day period, what additional information is required to make the decision whether temporary disability indemnity payments are owed, and when the employer expects to have the information required to make the decision.” The statute says this advice is given “in the manner prescribed in rules and regulations adopted pursuant to Section 138.4”. I have not read those rules, so I do not say what form the advice must take.
If a payment was unreasonably delayed or refused, Labor Code section 5814 also provides for an increase. “When payment of compensation has been unreasonably delayed or refused, either prior to or subsequent to the issuance of an award, the amount of the payment unreasonably delayed or refused shall be increased up to 25 percent or up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000), whichever is less” (Lab. Code, § 5814, subd. (a)). The same subdivision says that in a proceeding under the section “the appeals board shall use its discretion to accomplish a fair balance and substantial justice between the parties.” The section does not define “unreasonably”, and I have not read a court decision on it.
Four more rules in Labor Code section 5814 matter if a payment was unreasonably delayed or refused:
- An employer that discovers a potential violation before you claim a penalty may, within 90 days of discovering it, pay a self-imposed penalty of 10 percent of the amount of the payment unreasonably delayed or refused, along with the amount of the payment delayed or refused, “in lieu of the penalty in subdivision (a)” (Lab. Code, § 5814, subd. (b)).
- If the appeals board approves a compromise and release, findings and awards, or stipulations and orders, “it shall be conclusively presumed that any accrued claims for penalty have been resolved, regardless of whether a petition for penalty has been filed, unless the claim for penalty is expressly excluded by the terms of the order or award.” When any issue is submitted for decision at a regular trial hearing, the same presumption applies to any accrued claim for penalty in connection with the benefit at issue, unless the penalty issue is also submitted or is expressly excluded in the statement of issues being submitted (Lab. Code, § 5814, subd. (c)).
- The payment of any increased award under subdivision (a) “shall be reduced by any amount paid under subdivision (d) of Section 4650 on the same unreasonably delayed or refused benefit payment” (Lab. Code, § 5814, subd. (d)).
- “[N]o action may be brought to recover penalties that may be awarded under this section more than two years from the date the payment of compensation was due” (Lab. Code, § 5814, subd. (g)).
What should I do if my check has not come?
- Write down the dates your employer, and anyone handling your claim, learned of the injury and the disability. Section 4650 does not say whose knowledge starts the 14 days, so count from each date and compare the results to the date of your first payment (Lab. Code, § 4650, subd. (a)).
- Ask the person handling your claim whether a payment was issued, when, and where it was sent. Check that the address and contact information on your claim are correct.
- Ask whether anyone has told you, within the 14 days, why the payment cannot be made, what information is still needed, and when the employer expects to have the information it needs to decide. Exception 3 above turns on advice that covers all three.
- Confirm that you filed the claim form and keep a dated copy, because the late-payment increase in section 4650, subdivision (d), depends on it.
- Keep a record of every call, letter and payment, with dates.
- If the payment is still late after these steps, talk to a workers' compensation lawyer about your facts.
Frequently asked questions
Do I get paid for the first three days I miss?
Not always. Except in the case section 4650.5 covers (state civil service, University of California and California State University employees injured by a criminal act of violence), the law pays nothing for the first three days after you leave work because of the injury unless the disability continues for more than 14 days or you are hospitalized as an inpatient for treatment the injury requires. If either happens, payment runs from the date of disability. The day of the injury counts toward the three days unless you were paid full wages for that day (Lab. Code, § 4652).
Does the 10 percent increase apply to every late payment?
No. Section 4650, subdivision (d), lists three exceptions: a salary continuation plan, a payment due before or within 14 days after the claim form was submitted, and an employer that is unable to determine within the 14 days whether payments are owed and advises you, within those 14 days, why payments cannot be made, what additional information is needed to decide whether temporary disability payments are owed, and when it expects to have that information (Lab. Code, § 4650, subd. (d)).
How long do I have to ask for a penalty for an unreasonably delayed payment?
For the section 5814 increase, “no action may be brought to recover penalties that may be awarded under this section more than two years from the date the payment of compensation was due” (Lab. Code, § 5814, subd. (g)). The 10 percent increase in section 4650, subdivision (d), is “paid, without application,” and I did not find a deadline in that subdivision.
Can a settlement or a trial end a penalty claim for an unreasonably delayed payment?
Section 5814, subdivision (c), can treat an accrued penalty claim as resolved. Accrued penalty claims are conclusively presumed resolved when the appeals board approves a compromise and release, findings and awards, or stipulations and orders, unless the order or award expressly excludes the claim, and an accrued penalty claim in connection with a benefit at issue is conclusively presumed resolved when that issue is submitted for determination at a regular trial hearing, unless the penalty issue is also submitted or is expressly excluded in the statement of issues (Lab. Code, § 5814, subd. (c)).
Does my employer pay for medical treatment before my claim is accepted?
Within one working day after you file the claim form, the employer must authorize the provision of all treatment “consistent with Section 5307.27” (which I did not read) for the alleged injury, and continue to provide it until liability is accepted or rejected. Until then, “liability for medical treatment shall be limited to ten thousand dollars ($10,000).” Treatment provided this way “does not give rise to a presumption of liability” (Lab. Code, § 5402, subds. (c), (d)).
Sources
- Lab. Code, §§ 4650, 4650.5, 4652, 4651, 4653, 4654, 5401, 5402, 5814; read November 8, 2026, in the firm's code store built from the Legislature's bulk database (archive pubinfo_2025.20261102T052609Z.zip, dated November 2, 2026, 5:26 AM UTC).
ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT. This article is for general information purposes only and describes California law as of the “Last reviewed” date above. Nothing in it should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation; every situation turns on its own facts. This article is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.
NOTICE
Making a false or fraudulent workers’ compensation claim is a felony subject to up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to $50,000 or double the value of the fraud, whichever is greater, or by both imprisonment and fine.
NAPOLIN APC | Accident & Injury Lawyer, Alexander D. Napolin, Esq., 269 West Bonita Avenue, Claremont, California 91711
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