Workers' comp · LA
Louisiana workers' comp calculator
Louisiana is the state whose benefit year turns over on September 1, so two injuries a few days apart in late summer can carry different caps.
Rules read on official Louisiana pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Benefit rate
- 66.67%
- Gross average weekly wage before taxes
- Weekly maximum
- $903
- from September 1, 2026
- Weekly minimum
- $241
- or the wage, if lower
- Waiting period
- 7 days
- paid back past 13 days
Temporary total disability in Louisiana is 66.67% of the injured worker's wages, within limits the Office of Workers' Compensation Administration sets every September 1 from the statewide average weekly wage. For injuries from September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027 the weekly maximum is $903 and the minimum $241; a worker who earned less than the minimum is paid the actual wage instead (La. R.S. 23:1202). The cap bites at about $1,354 of weekly earnings. Nothing is paid for the first 7 days, and that week is paid back once disability lasts two weeks (La. R.S. 23:1224). An aide earning $640 who misses thirty days receives $427 a week, $1,829 in total. TTD has no week limit but ends when regular medical treatment is no longer needed, and a worker who is not working must prove total inability to work by clear and convincing evidence. Partial wage loss is paid afterwards as supplemental earnings benefits for up to 520 weeks.
Weekly temporary total disability benefit in Louisiana
$733
$3,178 a month · 66.67% of the wage, tax-free
| 66.67% of $1,100 | $733 |
| Weekly maximum / minimum | $903 / $241 |
| 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 Louisiana Workforce Commission, Office of Workers' Compensation Administration (OWCA) rates. Medical care is paid separately; partial disability, permanent impairment ratings and settlements follow other rules. How this is calculated.
A benefit year that starts on September 1
Most states move their ceiling on January 1 or July 1. Under La. R.S. 23:1202(B), the administrator of the Louisiana Employment Security Law fixes the average weekly wage by August 1, and it governs every injury in the twelve months that begin the following September 1. The OWCA notice for the current cycle lists $903 and $241 for injuries from September 1, 2026; the injury date, not the date of the claim or the first check, decides which line applies for the life of the case. The 2026-2027 limits are based on a statewide average weekly wage of $1,204.02; Louisiana resets its maximum and minimum every September 1 (La. R.S. 23:1202(B), OWCA notice).
A roustabout averaging $1,600 a week would compute to $1,067 but is limited to $903. A part-time worker paid $210 a week falls below the floor, and Louisiana then pays the wage itself: $210 a week, not the minimum.
Proving you cannot work at all
Louisiana's TTD definition is unusually strict. Benefits are refused to anyone engaged in any employment or self-employment, including odd-lot or sheltered work and work done in pain (La. R.S. 23:1221(1)(b)). A claimant who is not working must prove by clear and convincing evidence, unaided by any presumption, that he or she is physically unable to do any job at all. TTD stops when the condition has resolved enough to measure the lasting disability and regular treatment by a physician is no longer required.
The first week is the cost of a short injury. An aide earning $640 back after nine days receives $122, with 7 unpaid days. Out thirty days, the waiting week is caught up after the second week and the claim totals $1,829.
Supplemental earnings benefits instead of a rating
Louisiana does not pay permanent partial disability on an impairment rating for back or neck injuries. Permanent partial benefits under La. R.S. 23:1221(4) are limited to amputation or anatomical loss of use of listed members, such as fifty weeks for a thumb or two hundred for an arm. Everyone else who returns at lower pay moves to supplemental earnings benefits (SEB): 66.67% of the gap between pre-injury monthly wages and what the worker earns or could earn, once earnings fall below 90% of the old wage. SEB ends after 520 weeks, and the monthly SEB check can never exceed 4.3 times the weekly TTD amount.
Medical care follows its own rules: the employee may pick one treating physician in each specialty, and a denied choice can be taken to an expedited hearing (La. R.S. 23:1121). For the settlement side of a claim, see how much workers’ comp pays.
The Louisiana rules this calculator applies
| Rule | Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Temporary total disability rate | 66.67% of gross average weekly wage before taxes |
| Weekly maximum | $903 |
| Weekly minimum | $241 |
| Applies to | injuries from September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027 (injuries September 1, 2025 - August 31, 2026: max $877.00, min $234.00) |
| Waiting period | 7 days, paid back when the disability lasts more than 13 days |
| Limit on temporary total benefits | no fixed number of weeks |
Rate. Sixty-six and two-thirds percent of wages during the period of disability (La. R.S. 23:1221(1)(a)); maximum 75% and minimum 20% of the statewide average weekly wage, rounded to the nearest dollar (La. R.S. 23:1202(A)(2)). source
Waiting period. No compensation is paid for the first week after the injury; if disability continues for two weeks or longer, compensation for the first week is paid after the first two weeks have elapsed (La. R.S. 23:1224). source
Duration. No fixed week cap: TTD ceases once the condition has resolved enough to determine the extent of disability and continued regular treatment by a physician is no longer required (La. R.S. 23:1221(1)(d)). Supplemental earnings benefits are limited to 520 weeks (La. R.S. 23:1221(3)). source
Permanent disability. PPD is paid solely for anatomical loss of use or amputation, at 66-2/3% of wages for a scheduled number of weeks (e.g. thumb 50 weeks, hand 150 weeks, arm 200 weeks) (La. R.S. 23:1221(4)). Wage loss after return to work is paid as supplemental earnings benefits: 66-2/3% of the difference between pre-injury and post-injury monthly wages when earnings fall below 90% (La. R.S. 23:1221(3)). source
Worth knowing in Louisiana
- The 2026-2027 limits are based on a statewide average weekly wage of $1,204.02; Louisiana resets its maximum and minimum every September 1 (La. R.S. 23:1202(B), OWCA notice). source
- Medical mileage reimbursement is $0.76 per mile effective July 1, 2026 (La. R.S. 23:1203(D), OWCA notice). source
- The injured employee may select one treating physician in any field or specialty and can obtain an expedited hearing if that choice is denied (La. R.S. 23:1121(B)(1)). source
- To receive TTD while not working, the employee must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he or she is physically unable to engage in any employment, including work in pain (La. R.S. 23:1221(1)(c)). source
- Monthly supplemental earnings benefits may never exceed 4.3 times the weekly TTD benefit (La. R.S. 23:1202(A)(2)). source