California State Disability Insurance

• California State Disability provides monetary assistance to California workers who are unable to work. Eligibility requirements include you are unable to do your job for a minimum of eight days in a row, you were working or looking for work when the disability occurs, you lost wages, SDI deductions were withheld and you earned at least $300 in the period and you are under a doctor care with the initial eight-day period. There is a time limit of no more than 49 days to complete and mail the claim form.
  
  

Permanent Disability

• Permanent Disability is a form of payment from the California Workers' Compensation program. Worker's Compensation provides benefits for workers injured on the job. The monetary benefits include temporary disability and permanent disability. Temporary disability provides for wage loss while under a doctors care while permanent disability compensates you for the future earnings lost due to the disability. The amount is set by the rating schedule and can be received every two weeks or in one lump sum.
  
  

Differences

• Workers compensation is responsible for workers who are injured on the job while SDI covers employees who are injured or disabled through causes other than their employment. SDI is a state-mandated program that receives funding through payroll deductions of employees while workers' compensation comes from insurance premiums paid by employers. Benefits for both are distributed every two weeks provided you continue to meet the eligibility requirements, which include medical eligibility.
  
  

Collecting From Both

• It is rare to receive permanent disability and SDI simultaneously. Several situations where this might occur include receiving PD benefits from a previous injury award and incurring a new injury denied by the insurance company or as a female, you are in advanced stages of pregnancy while receiving a PD award. Other situations for receiving workers compensation benefits and SDI together include when the workers' compensation benefits weekly rate is below the SDI rate or for a denied claim until the workers' compensation insurance picks up the claim. Contact a local attorney for more information regarding your case.