Labor Code §4453 – Average Weekly Earnings & TD Limits

Labor Code §4453 is the workers’ comp statute that defines your “average weekly earnings” (AWE), the earnings figure your temporary and permanent disability checks are calculated from, and sets the minimum and maximum earnings that can be used. For 2026 injuries, those limits keep temporary disability (TD) between $264.61 and $1,764.11 a week.

Your TD rate is two-thirds of AWE under §4653, and permanent disability (PD) is also figured from AWE. Section 4453 decides what goes into that number. For this year’s rate chart, see our post on the 2026 temporary disability rate increase. For how the two-thirds formula and payment timing work, see our Labor Code §4653 explainer, and to estimate your own numbers, use our workers’ comp calculator.

What Labor Code §4453 says

Section 4453 has four subdivisions. According to the california.public.law mirror, it was last amended effective January 1, 2013.

Subdivision	What it does (paraphrased)
(a)	Sets the minimum and maximum AWE used for temporary disability and permanent total disability. For injuries on or after January 1, 2006, the starting limits were $189 and $1,260 a week. “Commencing on January 1, 2007, and each January 1 thereafter,” those limits rise by the percentage increase in the state average weekly wage.
(b)	Sets separate, fixed AWE limits for permanent partial disability, by date of injury and, for 2013 injuries, by PD rating.
(c)	Gives four methods for computing AWE, depending on how you work and are paid.
(d)	Says benefits are calculated using the limits in effect on the date of injury and stay that way for the whole disability, except as provided in §4661.5.

The statute defines the state average weekly wage as the average weekly wage paid to employees covered by unemployment insurance, “as reported by the United States Department of Labor for California for the 12 months ending March 31” of the calendar year before the year of injury.

By the numbers$1,764.11

Who §4453 covers

Section 4453 applies to every worker whose comp claim pays disability benefits: TD while you recover, PD after you reach maximum improvement, and permanent total disability. It covers hourly, salaried, piece-rate and commission workers, part-timers and people who work more than one job. A related section, §4455, covers workers under 18 with a permanent disability: their AWE is the amount they would probably earn at age 18, within the §4453 limits, or the maximum if that can’t reasonably be determined.

Watch: injured at work in California

Our attorneys explain what your employer must do after a work injury, and what to do in the first 24 hours to protect your claim.

The rules, subdivision by subdivision

§4453(a): limits for TD and permanent total disability

Because the subdivision (a) limits are indexed, the dollar figures change every January 1. The DWC publishes the resulting rates:

Date of injury	AWE range paid at two-thirds	TD minimum / week	TD maximum / week
Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2026	$396.93 – $2,646.17	$264.61	$1,764.11
Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2025	$378.06 – $2,520.43	$252.03	$1,680.29

The DWC sets each year’s limits by raising the prior year’s minimum and maximum earnings by the percentage increase in the state average weekly wage, then paying two-thirds. For 2026 that increase was 4.98826%, as the state average weekly wage rose from $1,704 to $1,789 (DIR News Release 2025-116, Nov. 21, 2025). As of November 2, 2026, the DWC had not published limits for 2027 injuries.

§4453(b): limits for permanent partial disability

PD limits are written into the statute and are not indexed. PD is two-thirds of AWE, so the AWE limits translate into these weekly PD rates:

Date of injury	Final PD rating	AWE floor – ceiling	PD per week
On or after Jan. 1, 2014	Under 100%	$240 – $435	$160 – $290
Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2013	Under 55%	$240 – $345	$160 – $230
Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2013	55% to under 70%	$240 – $405	$160 – $270
Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2013	70% to under 100%	$240 – $435	$160 – $290

Older injuries use older limits in the same subdivision. Life pensions for ratings of 70% to 99.75% use a separate earnings cap in §4659.

§4453(c): four ways to compute AWE

1. Full-time work (30 or more hours and five or more days a week): “the number of working days a week times the daily earnings at the time of the injury.”
2. Two or more employers at or about the time of injury: your earnings from all of them are added together and computed in terms of one week. Earnings from the other jobs are not taken at a higher rate than the hourly rate paid at the job where you were hurt.
3. Irregular earnings such as “piecework, or on a commission basis,” or pay set by the week, month or other period: your actual weekly earnings averaged over a period “not exceeding one year.”
4. Everything else (under 30 hours a week, or when the other methods can’t reasonably be applied): “100 percent of the sum which reasonably represents the average weekly earning capacity,” based on actual earnings from all sources and employments.

Section 4454 fills in what counts as earnings: AWE includes “overtime and the market value of board, lodging, fuel, and other advantages” that are part of your pay and have a reasonable, definite value. It does not include money the employer pays to cover special expenses, or the value of certain employer-paid programs, such as savings, wage-continuation and stock plans.

§4453(d): the date-of-injury rule

Benefits are calculated using the limits “in effect on the date of injury,” and those limits stay in place “for the duration of any disability resulting from the injury.” The one exception is §4661.5.

Exceptions

• Temporary total disability paid two or more years after injury (§4661.5). Each such payment uses the earnings limits in effect on the date it is made, unless that would produce a lower payment because of a reduced minimum.
• Older injuries. Injuries before 2006 use the earlier fixed limits in §4453(a), some of which set the minimum as the lesser of a dollar figure or 1.5 times your actual earnings.
• Minors (§4455). Permanent disability for workers under 18 is based on probable earnings at age 18.

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Remedies and penalties

Section 4453 has no penalty of its own. If your AWE was set too low, the remedy is payment of the benefits you should have received. A late TD or PD payment is generally increased 10 percent, subject to limited exceptions, under §4650(d), and an unreasonable delay or refusal can support a separate penalty under §5814. If you and the claims administrator can’t agree on AWE, a workers’ compensation judge can decide it.

By the numbers$435

Deadlines

Rule	Timing	Source
New TD minimum and maximum take effect	Each January 1, for injuries that year	§4453(a)(10)
Which limits apply	Those in effect on your date of injury, for the life of the disability	§4453(d)
Temporary total disability paid two or more years after injury	Limits in effect on the payment date apply	§4661.5
First TD payment	Within 14 days after the employer knows of the injury and disability	§4650(a)
Filing with the WCAB	Generally one year; see the §5405 page for when the year starts	§5405

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Related sections

Section	What it covers
§4653	TD equals two-thirds of AWE
§4654	Temporary partial disability: two-thirds of weekly wage loss
§4658	PD weeks and payments
§4659	Permanent total disability and life pensions
§4454	What counts as earnings, including overtime
§4455	AWE for injured workers under 18
§4661.5	Current limits for TD paid two or more years after injury
§4650	Payment timing and the 10% late-payment increase

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How it plays out

💡 Example: Ana, a hypothetical warehouse picker, is hurt in May 2026. She works 40 hours a week at $22 an hour, which is $880 a week. She also works 15 hours a week at a restaurant for $26 an hour. Under §4453(c)(2), the second job counts at no more than her $22 rate at the job where she was hurt: 15 × $22 = $330. Her AWE is $880 + $330 = $1,210. Her TD rate is two-thirds of $1,210, or $806.67 a week, which is inside the 2026 range. If the claims administrator left out the restaurant job, her TD would be two-thirds of $880, or $586.67, which is $220 a week less. When her TD ends and PD begins, §4453(b) counts no more than $435 of her AWE, so her PD rate is two-thirds of $435, or $290 a week.

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What to do

• Ask the claims administrator, in writing, for its AWE calculation and which §4453(c) method it used.
• Gather a year of pay stubs, including overtime and pay from any second job.
• Note any housing, meals or other non-cash pay you received as part of your wages.
• Check that the limits for your injury year were used, and whether §4661.5 raised your rate after two years.

Our temporary disability benefits page covers getting TD started and kept on track.

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Frequently asked questions

What does “average weekly earnings” mean in California workers’ comp?

It is the weekly earnings figure computed under Labor Code §4453(c), using one of four methods. Your TD and PD rates are two-thirds of it, within the limits for your injury date.

What is the state average weekly wage?

The average weekly wage paid to California employees covered by unemployment insurance, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor for the 12 months ending March 31 of the year before your injury. The TD limits rise each January 1 by its percentage increase.

Does overtime count toward my average weekly earnings?

Yes. Labor Code §4454 says overtime is included, along with the market value of board, lodging, fuel and similar advantages that are part of your pay.

Why is my PD check smaller than my TD check?

PD uses the fixed limits in §4453(b). For injuries on or after January 1, 2014, no more than $435 of AWE counts, so PD tops out at $290 a week. The difference between the two benefits is explained in our TD vs. PD guide.

When do the §4453 limits change?

The TD and permanent total disability limits in §4453(a) rise each January 1 with the state average weekly wage and apply to injuries in that year. As of November 2, 2026, the DWC had not published the 2027 figures. The PD limits in §4453(b) are fixed in the statute and do not change each year.

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Sources

• California Labor Code §4453
• California Labor Code §4454
• California Labor Code §4455
• California Labor Code §4650
• California Labor Code §4661.5
• DIR News Release 2025-116: 2026 TD rates (Nov. 21, 2025)
• DWC, Workers’ Compensation Benefits rate chart

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