Workers' comp · PA
Pennsylvania workers' comp calculator
Pennsylvania does not apply one percentage to everyone: the Act sorts injured workers into four wage bands, each with its own rule.
Rules read on official Pennsylvania pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Benefit rate
- 66.67%
- Gross average weekly wage before taxes
- Weekly maximum
- $1,394
- from January 1, 2026
- Weekly minimum
- $697
- floor
- Waiting period
- 7 days
- paid back past 13 days
The Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act pays wage-loss benefits through a four-band schedule that the Department of Labor & Industry updates every January 1. For injuries on and after January 1, 2026, a worker whose average weekly wage is about $774 or less receives 90% of it; a wage between that point and roughly $1,045 earns a flat $697; from there up to about $2,091, the benefit is two thirds of the wage; above it, the check stops at $1,394, equal to the statewide average weekly wage. A nurse earning $1,500 a week therefore receives $1,000. The first 7 days of disability are paid only if it lasts 14 days or more. Total disability has no week limit, but after 104 weeks the employer may request an impairment rating evaluation that can turn it into partial disability, payable for no more than 500 weeks.
Weekly temporary total disability benefit in Pennsylvania
$733
$3,178 a month · 66.67% of the wage, tax-free
| 66.67% of $1,100 | $733 |
| Weekly maximum / minimum | $1,394 / $697 |
| 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 Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, Bureau of Workers' Compensation rates. Medical care is paid separately; partial disability, permanent impairment ratings and settlements follow other rules. How this is calculated.
Which band are you in?
The L&I statewide average weekly wage notice prints the 2026 schedule as four blocks, read down the column for the year of injury. Here is what each block means for a real paycheck in western Pennsylvania.
- A home health aide earning $650 falls in the bottom band and receives 90% of her wage: $585.
- A welder earning $900 sits in the flat band. Two thirds of his wage would be $600, but the Act pays everyone in this band the same $697, so he receives $697.
- A nurse at $1,500 is in the two-thirds band: $1,000.
- An engineer at $2,600 hits the ceiling: $1,394.
The flat middle band is the odd one: inside it, a raise does not change the benefit at all. The bottom band protects low earners twice, first with a percentage well above two thirds, then with the flat amount once 90% of the wage would exceed it.
Seven days, fourteen days
Indemnity starts on the eighth day of disability. If the nurse is out ten days, she receives $429; if she is out sixteen, the first 7 days are added back and she receives $2,286. The days count continuously from the day after the injury, weekends and scheduled days off included. The employer or insurer must pay or deny within 21 days of learning of the injury, and late payments carry interest.
The 104-week evaluation
Total disability benefits can run as long as the worker remains unable to work. After 104 weeks of them, the employer may ask the Bureau of Workers' Compensation to designate a physician for an impairment rating evaluation; a whole-body impairment under 50% converts the claim to partial disability, which ends after 500 weeks. Partial disability pays two thirds of the wage loss for workers back at reduced pay. Specific losses, from a finger to an eye, are paid for a scheduled number of weeks. Indemnity may be offset by unemployment compensation (injuries from 8/31/93), employer-funded pensions (from 6/24/96) and Social Security old-age benefits.
For settlements, see how much workers’ comp pays; for comp income in a support case, the Pennsylvania child support calculator.
The Pennsylvania rules this calculator applies
| Rule | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Temporary total disability rate | 66.67% of gross average weekly wage before taxes |
| Weekly maximum | $1,394 |
| Weekly minimum | $697 |
| Applies to | injuries occurring on and after January 1, 2026 (statewide average weekly wage $1,394.00, Act § 105.1) |
| 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. Indemnity equals two-thirds of the weekly wage with statutory minimum and maximum adjustments (Workers' Compensation Act § 306(a), 77 P.S. § 511). 2026 schedule: AWW $774.43 or lower = 90% of AWW; $774.44 to $1,045.50 = $697.00; $1,045.51 to $2,091.00 = 66 2/3% of AWW; $2,091.01 or more = $1,394.00. source
Waiting period. Indemnity is payable from the eighth day if disability lasts more than seven calendar days but less than 14 days; the first seven days are not payable unless disability lasts 14 days or more (Act § 306(e), 77 P.S. § 514). source
Duration. Total disability benefits may last indefinitely while the employee remains unable to work; after 104 weeks of total disability the employer may request an impairment rating evaluation, and a whole-body impairment under 50% converts benefits to partial disability, payable for a maximum of 500 weeks (Act § 306(a.3), § 306(b)). source
Permanent disability. Partial disability is paid at two-thirds of the wage loss, for a maximum of 500 weeks (Act § 306(b)). Specific losses (amputation or permanent loss of use of body parts, eyes, hearing, disfigurement) are paid for a set number of weeks under the schedule in Act § 306(c), 77 P.S. § 513. source
Worth knowing in Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania uses a four-band rate schedule: low-wage workers receive 90% of their wage, a middle band receives a flat amount ($697.00 in 2026), and only the upper band receives two-thirds of wages. source
- Indemnity must be paid (or the claim denied) within 21 days of the employer's knowledge of the injury; late payments carry 10% interest. source
- Indemnity may be offset by unemployment compensation (injuries from 8/31/93), employer-funded pensions (from 6/24/96) and Social Security old-age benefits. source
- The 2026 statewide average weekly wage also sets the medical fee update: payments for treatment from January 1, 2026 rise by 3.5%. source