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Andrea Dalessandro
✦ Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law — Certified by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization ✦
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By Eman Yazdchi, Esq. · Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization
In California, Labor Code §4656 caps aggregate temporary disability at 104 weeks within five years of the date of injury for most claims. Specific chronic conditions — HIV, hepatitis, severe burns, amputations, chronic lung disease — qualify for an extended cap under §4656.
California Labor Code §4656 caps aggregate temporary disability at 104 weeks within five years of the California worker's date of injury for most comp claims. Under §4656, the California TD clock starts ticking from the first day of TD payment and runs cumulatively — the 104-week count adds up every week the California worker is on TD, even when the disability is intermittent and the worker returns to modified or full work briefly between TD periods. The §4656 California rule is the legislative limit on how long the comp system pays wage-replacement during recovery before the California worker must transition off TD (typically to permanent-disability or return-to-work status).
Under California Labor Code §4656, the California 104-week TD count is aggregate — every week of TD payment counts, in any combination, until the cumulative total reaches 104 weeks. The §4656 California five-year window starts on the date of injury and runs forward five years. A California worker on TD for 60 weeks in year one, who returns to modified work for a year, then has a flare-up and goes back on TD for 30 more weeks in year three, has consumed 90 of the 104 weeks. The §4656 California aggregate count makes TD termination predictable and binds California insurers as well as workers — the cap protects the insurer's exposure but also defines the worker's TD horizon.
Under California Labor Code §4656, the California 104-week TD cap operates within a five-year window starting from the date of injury. The §4656 California rule means TD payments cannot extend more than five years past the date of injury under the basic 104-week framework — even if fewer than 104 weeks have actually been paid. The §4656 California five-year cap and the 104-week aggregate cap operate together: TD ends at whichever cap arrives first. A California worker whose TD is intermittent across five years still loses TD eligibility at the five-year mark even when the 104-week count is unfinished.
Under California Labor Code §4656, specific chronic catastrophic conditions qualify for an extended TD cap. The §4656 California expanded list includes acute and chronic hepatitis B and C, amputations, severe burns, HIV, high-velocity eye injuries, chemical burns to the eyes, pulmonary fibrosis, and chronic lung disease. For each §4656 California listed condition, the TD cap extends to 240 weeks of payment within five years of the date of injury — substantially more generous than the basic 104-week framework. The §4656 California extended list reflects the legislative recognition that catastrophic chronic injuries need longer wage-replacement runways.
Under California Labor Code §4656 (TD cap) and California Labor Code §4658 (PD payment schedule), once the California 104-week TD cap is reached the California worker transitions off TD. The California Labor Code §4658 California PD payments begin (after the worker reaches permanent and stationary status under the California Labor Code §4660 rating framework) and run under the §4658 California weeks-payable schedule. For California workers with high PD ratings (70-99%), the California Labor Code §4659 California life pension kicks in after the §4658 California scheduled weeks are exhausted and pays for life. The §4656 California TD endpoint is the transition into the PD / life-pension framework for permanently impaired California workers.
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Tap to call →Last reviewed by Eman Yazdchi, Esq., May 2026.
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