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A Guide to Temporary Partial Disability Benefits in Arizona

Published September 30, 2024 by Matt Fendon Law Group | Workers' Compensation

Arizona workers’ compensation pays benefits to injured employees whose injuries are work-related. How much compensation you can receive depends on the nature of your injury. In turn, this determines whether you can receive temporary partial disability benefits, temporary total disability benefits, permanent partial disability benefits, or permanent total disability payments.

At the Matt Fendon Law Group, we help Arizona injured workers receive the maximum benefits they are entitled to under Arizona’s system of workers’ compensation. Here, we focus on temporary partial disability benefits: what they are, how much you might receive in compensation, and how long your compensation payments can continue.

If you have suffered an injury at work or an employment-related medical condition, call us at (800) 229-3880 to speak with an Arizona workers’ compensation law specialist about your possible claim.

What is a Temporary Partial Disability?

A work-related injury or medical condition is considered temporary if there’s a chance of recovery. In contrast, a permanent disability could last a lifetime.

A temporary partial disability is a disability that a worker can recover from. While recovering, the worker may continue working with limited hours, physical restrictions, or even regular duties while receiving treatment.

A custom graphic describing what it means to have a temporary partial disability.

What are Temporary Partial Disability Benefits?

Arizona statute ARS 23-1062(D) outlines the guidelines if your doctor clears you to return to light or regular work while still receiving medical treatment after an injury.

  1. Compensation is not paid for the first seven days after the injury.
  2. Compensation begins on the eighth day after the injury if the incapacity lasts more than seven days but less than two weeks.
  3. Compensation is calculated if you are still incapacitated after seven day of the incident. 
  4. Compensation is paid every 30 days during the period of temporary partial disability.
  5. Compensation is calculated by taking 66 and 2/3% (.6667) of the difference between the average monthly wage and the current wages, as outlined in ARS 23-1044(A).
Consecutive days missed from workBenefit status
0 to 7No compensation is payable.
8 to 13Compensation is payable for the remaining days of injury after deducting the first seven days.
14 or moreCompensation is payable from the first day of disability.

How Do I Qualify for Temporary Partial Disability Benefits?

To qualify for temporary partial disability benefits, you must:

  1. Be unable for medical reasons to earn as much as you did before your workplace injury
  2. Be able to return to work but still need medical treatment
  3. Have a doctor’s certification stating your inability to perform your previous job duties

How Much Can I Receive in Temporary Partial Disability?

Arizona statutory law sets how much you are eligible for in temporary disability benefits as a percentage of your wages before your injury happened:

“For temporary partial disability there shall be paid during the period thereof sixty-six and two-thirds percent of the difference between the wages earned before the injury and the wages that the injured person is able to earn thereafter.”

What is the Maximum Pre-Injury Monthly Wage for Which Arizona Will Calculate Temporary Partial Disability?

One limitation on how much you can receive in temporary total disability compensation is the Arizona monthly wage cap. This limitation is set annually by the Industrial Commission of Arizona on January 1st of every year.

For example, the maximum wage cap was set to $5,393.37 per month in 2023. If your average pre-injury monthly wage was more than that, Arizona will not include the extra amount you earn beyond the maximum cap.

Wage MaximumFor Injuries Sustained On or AfterThrough
$5,663.0401-01-202412-31-2024
$5,393.3701-01-202312-31-2023
$5,161.1201-01-202212-31-2022
$5,030.3301-01-202112-31-2021
$4,888.5601-01-202012-31-2020

For 2024, the maximum monthly wage for Arizona temporary partial disability calculation is $5,663.04.

Unemployment benefits you receive while temporarily disabled are counted as wages.

Example: Imagine your average monthly wage before your work-related injury was $6,000 in 2024. Although you cannot work, you also collect unemployment compensation of $3,000 monthly. Your Arizona temporary partial disability benefit would be $1,775.18 monthly (66.66% of $2663.04, which is the difference between your statutorily set maximum monthly wage of $5663.04 and your current unemployment income of $3000).

What Else Does Arizona Consider in Establishing Temporary Partial Disability Benefits?

The example above is not the final determination of the maximum temporary partial disability benefits you may receive. When calculating your benefits, the difference between your pre-injury average monthly wage and your current income is just the starting point in determining the overall compensation amount.

Other factors can also influence this calculation, including:

  • Any previous disability you may have had
  • Your occupational history
  • The nature and extent of your physical disability
  • The kind of work you can do after your injury
  • Wages you have received since the injury
  • How old you were at the time of your injury

An experienced workers’ compensation benefits attorney, like one at the Matt Fendon Law Group, can help you understand how these additional considerations affect your unique Arizona workers’ compensation benefits claim for temporary partial disability compensation. You can also see our temporary disability benefits calculator on our Arizona Workers Comp Settlement Chart page.

How Long do Temporary Partial Disability Benefits Last?

There is no time limit on how long you can receive temporary partial disability compensation.

How long it lasts is based on when a doctor believes you can be released to work, your maximum medical improvement, and whether you can return to the average monthly wage you made before your injury.

While you are temporarily disabled, your doctor and your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company will monitor your medical treatment and progress toward recovery. Your doctor can place you on no-work status or clear you to return to work on a light-duty or full-time status.

  • While you are on no-work status (temporary total disability), you will receive temporary benefits compensation every two weeks.
  • When you are cleared to go back to work but are still eligible to receive benefits, the benefit payments will happen once a month.
  • If you can return to work at your pre-injury average monthly wage, your temporary disability benefits will cease.

While you are under active medical care, the workers’ comp insurance carrier has the right to have you periodically examined by a doctor at a reasonably convenient time and place. Refusing or failing to attend this examination could result in the suspension of your benefits and require you to pay for the missed exam.

If you are cleared to return to work, you must make a sincere and conscientious effort to find work. You must also report your efforts to find work and report any income you earn, including unemployment benefits, to the workers’ comp insurer.

Once you return to work, your temporary partial disability compensation benefits are no longer guaranteed.

If the workers’ compensation insurance company concludes you can return to work at full pre-injury capacity, it may stop paying you benefits. You will receive a written notice from the insurance carrier stating the change. You can dispute this decision to reduce or stop benefits by filing a claim with a worker’s compensation attorney like one of ours at the Matt Fendon Law Group.

Contact the Matt Fendon Law Group About Your Arizona Workers’ Compensation Claim

At the Matt Fendon Law Group, our workers’ compensation benefits lawyers know how to navigate an Arizona workers’ comp case through all the benefits schedules and regulations to ensure that you receive a fair settlement for your claims as an injured employee.

Don’t leave your benefits to chance. Call our law firm today at (800) 229-3880 to talk with one of our workers’ compensation specialists about your workers’ comp case:

  • We offer free initial consultations for workers’ compensation claims, and we are available by telephone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
  • For your convenience, we have law offices in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Prescott, Tucson, and Flagstaff.

Call today or reach out online.

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