RCW 51.32.090: Time-Loss Compensation Eligibility and Payments

RCW 51.32.090 is the Washington statute that governs time-loss compensation — the wage-replacement payments you receive under workers’ compensation when a job-related injury or illness keeps you from working. Payments run between 60 and 75 percent of your gross monthly wages at the time of injury, depending on your marital status and dependents, and for injuries on or after July 1, 2025, the maximum is $9,516 per month.¹ The statute also pays partial benefits when you return to lighter work at reduced wages.

Who Qualifies

Two things have to be in place. First, an accepted workers’ compensation claim with the Department of Labor and Industries or a self-insured employer. Second, medical certification from your attending physician stating that your injury prevents you from performing any gainful employment, supported by objective clinical findings that tie your restrictions to the workplace injury rather than a pre-existing condition.²

Once both boxes are checked, time-loss payments begin automatically. You do not need to apply separately.

How Your Payment Is Calculated

The percentage of wages you receive follows a schedule in RCW 51.32.060 that scales with dependents. An unmarried worker with no children gets 60 percent. The rate climbs with each dependent, capping at 75 percent for a married worker with five or more children, or an unmarried worker with six or more.³

“Wages” here means more than base pay. The statutory definition includes performance bonuses, the value of employer-provided healthcare, and any board, housing, or fuel you received as part of your employment. Employer contributions to retirement plans do not count. If your employer stops paying for your health insurance while you are off work, the cash value of that lost coverage gets folded into your wage figure.

Then there is the ceiling. The state adjusts the maximum monthly payment every July based on the state average wage. For injuries dated on or after July 1, 2025, that ceiling is $9,516 per month.¹ Higher earners hit that cap regardless of what the percentage formula would otherwise produce.

The Waiting Period and Payment Schedule

Washington applies a three-day waiting period after your injury. You are not paid time-loss for those first three days unless your disability keeps you off work through at least the seventh day, at which point L&I pays the initial three days retroactively.² This is a recent change. For injuries before June 6, 2024, the retroactive trigger was fourteen days.

Once payments begin, they arrive twice a month by check or direct deposit as long as your medical certification and paperwork stay current.

Keeping Your Payments Coming

Time-loss is not set-and-forget. Two streams of information have to keep reaching L&I.

Your attending provider must periodically confirm, with objective medical findings, that your injury still prevents you from working.⁴ And you must complete and return the Work Status Form every time L&I sends one, within fourteen days of receiving it.⁵

A lot of claims stall right here. If the form sits on your kitchen counter too long, payments stop — not because you lost eligibility, but because L&I treats the missing form as a gap in verification. Calling your claim manager quickly when you notice a missed payment can usually get things moving again.

Light-Duty Work and Partial Payments

RCW 51.32.090 also covers workers who can handle modified duties but earn less than before. For injuries on or after May 7, 1993, the loss-of-earning-power payment equals 80 percent of the difference between your pre-injury wages and your current earnings.⁴ The gap has to be real: your loss must exceed five percent of your pre-injury wages for the supplement to kick in.³ A small pay cut for switching to a slightly lighter role will not qualify.

If your employer offers you modified work, the offer must be in writing, describe the duties, and list the physical requirements. Your attending physician then reviews the description and confirms the job falls within your medical restrictions before the offer counts as valid.⁴ An employer cannot simply tell you to show up Monday and figure it out. Refusing a legitimate, doctor-approved light-duty offer can result in suspension of your time-loss benefits.

If you take a job with a different employer while your claim is open, you must report those earnings. L&I adjusts your partial payments so your combined income does not exceed your pre-injury wages.

Independent Medical Examinations

At various points during your claim, L&I or a self-insured employer can require you to attend an independent medical examination. Under RCW 51.36.070, the department can order one to decide whether to allow or reopen a claim, resolve a medical dispute, evaluate permanent disability, or assess your work restrictions.⁶

The exam has to take place somewhere reasonably convenient. You have the right to record it, but you must notify the IME provider at least seven calendar days before the appointment.⁷ Skipping a scheduled IME can jeopardize your benefits, because the department relies on these exams to keep the claim moving. If you disagree with the IME doctor’s conclusions, your treating physician’s records and opinion still carry weight in any dispute.

When Time-Loss Ends

Payments stop when any of several things happens. The most common is your doctor determining you have reached maximum medical improvement, meaning further treatment is not expected to meaningfully improve your condition. At that point the focus shifts from income replacement to evaluating whether you have a permanent impairment.³

Benefits also end when your earning power has been fully restored, whether you return to your old job or your doctor clears you for work that pays comparably. If vocational rehabilitation determines you are capable of gainful employment in a different field after retraining, that ends time-loss too.

L&I formally closes the claim by issuing a closing order that addresses your time-loss, any permanent partial disability rating, and remaining administrative issues.

Protesting or Appealing a Decision

If L&I issues an order you disagree with, whether it denies your claim, cuts your benefits, or closes your file, you have sixty days from the date the order is communicated to you to file a protest with L&I or an appeal with the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals. Miss that window and the order is final.⁸ If the order demands repayment of benefits, the deadline drops to twenty days.

A protest sends the matter back to L&I for reconsideration. An appeal puts it before the Board, an independent body, where both sides present evidence. Many workers file an appeal directly to preserve their rights, since filing a protest does not extend the appeal deadline if L&I takes too long to respond.

Taxes and the Social Security Offset

Time-loss payments are not taxable income. Federal law excludes amounts received under a workers’ compensation act from gross income, so you do not report these payments on your federal return and L&I does not issue a W-2 or 1099.⁹ If you return to light-duty work, the wages your employer pays you are taxable in the normal way even while any partial L&I benefit remains tax-free.

If you also receive Social Security Disability Insurance, the federal government reduces your SSDI so the combined total does not exceed 80 percent of your average current earnings before the disability.¹⁰ The Social Security Administration makes the adjustment on the SSDI check, not on your workers’ compensation payment, and the offset lasts until you reach full retirement age.

Time-Loss Does Not Protect Your Job

Time-loss replaces income, not employment. Job protection comes from a different source, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which applies only if your employer has fifty or more employees and you have worked there at least twelve months. Employers can run FMLA leave concurrently with workers’ compensation leave as long as they notify you in writing.¹¹ FMLA covers twelve weeks; beyond that, job protection depends on your employer’s policies and any accommodation duty under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Attorney Fees

Washington caps what attorneys can charge in workers’ compensation cases. At the department level, the fee cannot exceed 30 percent of the increase in benefits the attorney secures for you. For claim resolution settlement agreements, the cap is 15 percent of the total amount paid to you after the agreement becomes final.¹²

The fee is set by the Director of L&I for department-level work or by the Board for cases that go to hearing. Either amount can be reviewed by a superior court if the attorney, the worker, or the beneficiary applies within one year of the final decision. Charging more than the approved fee is a misdemeanor. In a straightforward claim where L&I accepts the injury and pays on time, an attorney may not be necessary. Where attorneys tend to earn their fee is in denied claims, disputed closures, and cases where an IME opinion sharply conflicts with your treating physician’s assessment.

1
Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Benefits Schedule for July 1, 2025 Through June 30, 2026
2
Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Wage Replacement
3
Washington State Legislature. RCW 51.32 – Compensation, Right to and Amount
4
Washington State Legislature. RCW 51.32.090 – Temporary Total Disability
5
Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Work Status Form (F242-052-000)
6
Washington State Legislature. RCW 51.36.070 – Independent Medical Examinations
7
Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Independent Medical Exams and Impairment Rating Information
8
Washington State Legislature. RCW 51.52.050 – Orders and Decisions of Department, Board
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 104 – Compensation for Injuries or Sickness
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 424a – Reduction of Disability Benefits
11
eCFR. 29 CFR 825.702 – Interaction With Federal and State Anti-Discrimination Laws
12
Washington State Legislature. RCW 51.52.120 – Attorney Fees