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Can you get SDI and workers' comp at the same time

By Richard Vaughn CPCU, ARM, AIS. Reviewed November 8, 2026. Richard is an insurance professional, not an attorney. This page explains the law; it is not legal advice.

Two programs with different jobs

Temporary disability (TD) and State Disability Insurance (SDI) both replace wages when you cannot work, which is why they get confused, but they come from different places and cover different things. TD is paid by your employer's workers' compensation claims administrator for an injury or illness caused by work. SDI is run by the Employment Development Department (EDD), funded by the deduction on your pay stub, and covers disabilities that are not work-related. In an ordinary claim you receive one or the other, not both.

The exceptions exist because workers' comp claims take time to decide and sometimes pay less than SDI would. EDD's rule is practical: if you are unsure whether you qualify, file an SDI claim and let EDD decide.

When SDI pays despite a work injury

EDD will pay SDI to a worker with a work injury in three situations.

The claim is delayed or denied. The claims administrator has up to 90 days after you file the claim form to accept or deny the claim (Labor Code §5402(b)), and TD is often not paid during the investigation. SDI can pay for those weeks. If the claim is then denied, SDI continues as long as you are eligible, and you can pursue the denial at the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board separately.

The TD rate is lower than the SDI rate. TD is two-thirds of average weekly earnings between the year's minimum and maximum (Labor Code §4653, §4453). SDI uses its own formula and maximum. Where the SDI weekly benefit would be higher, EDD pays the difference between the two.

Workers' comp is paying for medical treatment only. If the claims administrator has accepted the injury for medical care but is not paying TD, for example because it disputes that you are unable to work, SDI can pay while that dispute is resolved.

How EDD gets repaid

If SDI pays while a workers' comp case is pending, EDD files a lien to recover those benefits from the workers' comp case when it is accepted or settled. The claims administrator pays EDD directly from the temporary disability owed for the overlapping period. You do not write a check. If the workers' comp claim is denied and stays denied, there is nothing to recover and the SDI is yours.

What to do in practice

If you are hurt at work, report it to your employer and file the DWC-1 claim form first, because that starts the workers' comp clock and the employer's duty to authorize treatment. If two weeks pass without a TD payment or a delay letter, or you receive a delay letter, file an SDI claim through your myEDD account and answer the question about whether the condition is work-related honestly. EDD will process the claim and, if it pays, file its lien. Keep the workers' comp claim moving at the same time; SDI is a bridge, not a substitute, and it does not pay for medical treatment of a work injury or for permanent disability.

When workers' comp pays after SDI already has

The reverse problem comes up when a condition was first treated as non-work-related and SDI paid, and a doctor later connects it to work. File the workers' comp claim as soon as the connection is made; for a cumulative injury the date of injury is the first day you had disability and knew or should have known work caused it (Labor Code §5412), which is often the day the doctor said so. EDD's lien then covers the SDI already paid for the overlapping weeks, and the claims administrator settles it from the temporary disability it owes. Tell both agencies about the other claim; each asks, and the forms are designed to catch the overlap.

Unemployment insurance

Unemployment insurance is a third program and is generally not available while you are receiving temporary disability, because it requires that you be able and available to work. It becomes relevant when a doctor releases you to work with restrictions, your employer has no work within them, and TD has ended; at that point a worker who is able to do some work and is looking for it can apply. EDD decides eligibility; the DWC has no role.

Social Security disability

Social Security disability insurance is a separate federal program for a disability expected to last at least a year. Workers' comp benefits reduce it under a federal offset, so a worker receiving both does not receive the full amount of each. It is worth applying for when TD has ended under the 104-week limit and the condition is long-term; the Social Security Administration, not EDD or the DWC, decides eligibility.

Questions people ask

Richard Vaughn CPCU, ARM, AIS

Richard Vaughn spent 35 years in commercial property and casualty insurance, most of it in workers' compensation: running a self-insured group, auditing premiums, and implementing claims systems for carriers and third-party administrators. He is not an attorney. dickvaughn.com