Workers' comp · AL
Alabama workers' comp calculator
Alabama settles contested claims in circuit court, not before a state board, and its waiting period is one of the longest to win back.
Rules read on official Alabama pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Benefit rate
- 66.67%
- Gross average weekly wage before taxes
- Weekly maximum
- $1,219
- from July 1, 2026
- Weekly minimum
- $335
- or the wage, if lower
- Waiting period
- 3 days
- paid back past 21 days
An Alabama worker who cannot work at all after a job injury receives 66.67% of the average weekly earnings of the 52 weeks before the accident, never more than $1,219 a week for injuries on or after July 1, 2026 (Code of Ala. § 25-5-57, § 25-5-68). The Department of Workforce sets that ceiling every July at the prior year's state average weekly wage. The floor is $335, except that a worker who earned less than the floor is paid the full wage instead. The first 3 days are unpaid; they are added to the first check due after the disability reaches 21 days (§ 25-5-59). A line worker earning $760 a week who misses 25 days collects $507 a week and $1,810 in all. Temporary total benefits have no week limit, but permanent partial and temporary partial benefits stop at 300 weeks, and the law reaches only employers with five or more employees.
Weekly temporary total disability benefit in Alabama
$733
$3,178 a month · 66.67% of the wage, tax-free
| 66.67% of $1,100 | $733 |
| Weekly maximum / minimum | $1,219 / $335 |
| Days paid / unpaid waiting days | 30 / 0 |
| Total for the time off | $3,143 |
Estimate of wage-loss benefits for a total disability, from the Workers' Compensation Division, Alabama Department of Workforce rates. Medical care is paid separately; partial disability, permanent impairment ratings and settlements follow other rules. How this is calculated.
A three-week line before the first days are repaid
Most states give the waiting days back after two weeks. Alabama waits for 21. Under § 25-5-59 compensation starts on the fourth day, and the first 3 days are paid only if the disability lasts as much as 21 days, with the first installment due after that point. The difference is real on a modest wage. A poultry-plant line worker at $760 a week who returns on day 18 receives $1,086 for 15 paid days; the same worker out 25 days receives $1,810 for all 25. The Workers’ Compensation Division guide also reminds employees that nothing is due unless the employer knew of the injury or was told within the statutory period: five days in principle, ninety at the outside.
The July reset and the wage floor
Alabama recalculates its band each summer. The State’s Average Weekly Wage notice signed in May 2026 fixed $1,219 as the ceiling and $335 as the floor for accidents from July 1, 2026; an injury in June 2026 still uses the previous year's figures. You reach the ceiling at about $1,828 of gross weekly pay, so a shipyard welder in Mobile earning $1,950 is held to $1,219 rather than $1,300. At the bottom, the floor never pays more than the wage itself: a part-time stocker averaging $300 a week receives $300, the whole wage, because the statute replaces 100% of earnings below the minimum.
Circuit court, a doctor panel of four, and a 15% fee cap
There is no administrative hearing system for disputed benefits. Claims are resolved in circuit court: a verified complaint must be filed within two years of the accident or of the last compensation payment. The Division's ombudsmen try to settle disputes first, but a judge decides the rest. The employer chooses the authorized treating physician; a worker unhappy with that doctor can ask for a panel of four and pick a second one from it. Lawyers are paid out of the award, and the circuit judge must approve the fee, which cannot exceed 15% of the compensation.
Coverage has its own gap. The law generally covers employers of five or more employees; domestic servants, casual employees, farm laborers and certain owner/leased operators of interstate common carriers are excluded. Small businesses with four employees or fewer are outside the act unless they elect in.
After the healing period
Temporary total disability runs as long as the disability does. Once the doctor rates a permanent impairment, permanent partial benefits continue at the same 66.67% rate for scheduled members such as a hand or a leg, or for up to 300 weeks for injuries to the body as a whole. For what a lump-sum settlement may add, read how much workers’ comp pays.
The Alabama rules this calculator applies
| Rule | Alabama |
|---|---|
| Temporary total disability rate | 66.67% of gross average weekly wage before taxes |
| Weekly maximum | $1,219 |
| Weekly minimum | $335 |
| Applies to | injuries occurring on and after July 1, 2026 (State's average weekly wage for calendar year 2025 = $1,219.14) |
| Waiting period | 3 days, paid back when the disability lasts more than 21 days |
| Limit on temporary total benefits | no fixed number of weeks |
Rate. 66 2/3% of the employee's average weekly earnings during the 52 weeks prior to the injury, not exceeding the maximum in effect on the date of injury (Code of Ala. § 25-5-57, § 25-5-68). source
Waiting period. No compensation for the first three days after disability; compensation begins on the fourth day. If the disability lasts as much as 21 days, compensation for the first three days is paid with the first installment due after the 21 days (Code of Ala. § 25-5-59). source
Duration. Temporary total disability: unlimited duration (temporary partial: 300 weeks), per the Division's claim limitations (Code of Ala. § 25-5-57). source
Permanent disability. Permanent partial disability is paid as weekly benefits at 66 2/3% of average weekly earnings (within the max/min), limited to 300 weeks for permanent partial body injuries per the Division's claim limitations (Code of Ala. § 25-5-57(a)(3)). source
Worth knowing in Alabama
- The law generally covers employers of five or more employees; domestic servants, casual employees, farm laborers and certain owner/leased operators of interstate common carriers are excluded. source
- Attorney fees cannot exceed 15% of the compensation awarded or paid, and are fixed by the circuit court judge. source
- The employer selects the authorized treating physician; a dissatisfied employee may request a panel of four physicians from the employer and choose a second physician from it. source
- Claims are resolved in circuit court: a verified complaint must be filed within two years of the accident or of the last compensation payment. source
- The maximum (100% of the state AWW) and minimum change each July 1: $1,172/$322 from July 1, 2025, $1,219/$335 from July 1, 2026. source