Should You Apply for State Disability Benefits If You Are Receiving Temporary Disability Benefits?

If you miss any time from work, you should immediately file a claim for State Disability Insurance (SDI) with the California Employment Development Department (EDD). Your SDI payments are based on your recent quarterly earnings. Filing for SDI preserves the earning quarters that the SDI payment amount is based on. If you wait too long to file SDI, then those quarters may be lost. If you are not presently eligible for SDI because you are now receiving workers’ compensation payments, your filing now will help preserve your eligibility for SDI in the future, should you need it and be qualified. If you do not file for SDI within 49 days of your injury, you may not be eligible at some time in the future if and when workers compensation payments end. PLEASE NOTE: temporary or permanent disability benefits could be abruptly stopped with little or no notice. Filing for SDI may provide additional benefits should other benefits end.