The employee earns $2,000 per week while working six months per year and collects EDD benefits the rest of the year. He returns to work and is injured on his first day back. The correct total TD rate is?

The employee earns $2,000 per week while working six months per year and collects EDD benefits the rest of the year. He returns to work and is injured on his first day back. The correct total TD rate is?

• A. $840.00
• B. $881.66
• C. Max TD
• D. Max TD during the season and $666.67 out of season

Answer: (D)

Temporary Disability benefits in California are two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wage, but they are capped by a maximum weekly TD rate. For seasonal workers, the rate you receive can differ between the season when earnings are high and the off-season when earnings drop or cease. In this case, the employee earns $2,000 per week during the six-month season, so two-thirds would normally be $1,333.33, which exceeds the cap. Therefore, during the season the TD rate is the maximum allowed (Max TD). When the worker is out of season and not earning wages, the TD rate uses the lower base, resulting in two-thirds of that base, which is $666.67. Hence the total TD rate across the year is the Max TD during the season and $666.67 out of season.

Temporary Disability benefits in California are two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wage, but they are capped by a maximum weekly TD rate. For seasonal workers, the rate you receive can differ between the season when earnings are high and the off-season when earnings drop or cease.

In this case, the employee earns $2,000 per week during the six-month season, so two-thirds would normally be $1,333.33, which exceeds the cap. Therefore, during the season the TD rate is the maximum allowed (Max TD). When the worker is out of season and not earning wages, the TD rate uses the lower base, resulting in two-thirds of that base, which is $666.67. Hence the total TD rate across the year is the Max TD during the season and $666.67 out of season.