How Much Does Workers’ Comp Pay in Illinois? (TTD, TPD, Maintenance & AWW Explained – 2025 Guide)

If you’re wondering “how much does workers’ comp pay in Illinois?” the short answer is this: most wage-loss benefits are based on 66⅔% (two-thirds) of your Average Weekly Wage (AWW), subject to statewide minimums and maximums. Depending on your situation, you may receive Temporary Total Disability (TTD) when you’re completely off work, Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) when light duty pays less than your regular job, and maintenance benefits if you’re permanently restricted and in vocational rehab or a job search.

All of these benefits start with getting your AWW calculated correctly. If the insurance company uses the wrong wage number or ignores regular overtime or second jobs, every check—and your final settlement—can be too low. This guide explains how TTD, TPD, maintenance, and AWW actually work under Illinois workers’ compensation law, and how to spot when you might be underpaid.

If you’re hurt at work in Illinois, your first worry is usually money:

• Do I still get paid while I’m off?

• What happens if I’m on light duty?

• How much does workers’ comp actually pay?

Most of the time, the insurance company won’t explain your options clearly. In Illinois, four concepts control how much money you actually see:

1. TTD – Temporary Total Disability

2. TPD – Temporary Partial Disability

3. Maintenance benefits

4. AWW – Average Weekly Wage (the formula that drives all of the above)

This guide walks through each in plain English, so you can spot underpayments and know when it’s time to get help.

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What Does Workers’ Comp Pay in Illinois?

The Illinois workers’ compensation Act is designed to do two basic things:

• Pay for your medical care related to the work injury

• Replace part of your lost wages when you can’t work or can only work in a reduced capacity

This post focuses on the wage replacement side:

• Temporary Total Disability (TTD) – when you’re completely off work

• Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) – when you’re working but earning less

• Maintenance benefits – when you’re permanently restricted and job-searching or in vocational rehab

• Average Weekly Wage (AWW) – the foundation for almost every benefit and, eventually, your settlement

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Temporary Total Disability (TTD) in Illinois

When Do You Get TTD?

You may be entitled to TTD benefits when:

• Your treating doctor takes you completely off work, and

• Your employer cannot offer you work within your restrictions

This is the benefit that pays you when you’re out of work entirely because of your injury.

How Much Does TTD Pay?

In Illinois, TTD is generally 66⅔% (two-thirds) of your Average Weekly Wage (AWW) and is not taxable.

Example:

• Pre-injury AWW: $1,200/week

• TTD rate: $1,200 × 66⅔% ≈ $800/week

There are statewide minimum and maximum TTD rates that change periodically, but the basic rule stays the same: two-thirds of your correctly calculated AWW.

How Long Can TTD Last?

TTD continues as long as all three are true:

1. Your work injury keeps you from working,

2. Your treating doctor hasn’t released you back to work full duty, and

3. You haven’t reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) yet.

There is no fixed time limit in the statute. The question is whether you are still temporarily unable to work because of the injury.

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Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) and Light Duty

What Is TPD?

Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) applies when:

• You can work, but

• You’re making less money because of the injury (fewer hours, lower rate, or lighter job)

Common examples:

• You go from full-duty to light duty at reduced pay

• Your employer cuts your hours to fit your restrictions

• You move to a less physical role that pays less while you’re still recovering

How Much Does TPD Pay?

TPD is meant to cover part of the gap between your old earnings and your reduced light-duty earnings.

Formula:

TPD = 66⅔% of the difference between your AWW and your current weekly earnings

Example:

• Pre-injury AWW: $1,200/week

• Light-duty earnings: $800/week

• Difference: $1,200 – $800 = $400

• TPD: $400 × 66⅔% = $266.67/week

If you’re on light duty at the same pay you used to earn, you typically don’t receive TTD or TPD – because there’s no wage loss. But if your paycheck is smaller, you may be leaving money on the table if nobody has talked to you about TPD.

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Maintenance Benefits in Illinois Workers’ Comp

What Are Maintenance Benefits?

Maintenance benefits are very similar in amount to TTD (same two-thirds AWW formula), but they show up at a later stage:

You may be entitled to maintenance when:

• Your restrictions are permanent or long-term,

• Your employer can’t or won’t bring you back to suitable work, and

• You’re actively looking for work or participating in vocational rehabilitation (job counseling, retraining, etc.)

In other words:

• TTD = temporary, completely off work

• Maintenance = permanent restrictions, and you’re in the process of retraining or job searching

Why Maintenance Matters

Maintenance benefits help keep you afloat financially while you:

• Search for jobs within your new restrictions

• Work with a vocational counselor

• Try to re-enter the workforce in a different capacity

This stage can also feed into:

• A wage differential claim (if you end up making significantly less long-term), or

• A permanent total disability claim (if there is no stable labor market for you)

Both of those can dramatically affect the ultimate value of your case.

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How Average Weekly Wage (AWW) Is Calculated in Illinois

Your Average Weekly Wage (AWW) is the backbone of all your benefits:

• TTD

• TPD

• Maintenance

• PPD (the permanent partial disability settlement)

• Wage differential and other permanent benefits

Basic AWW Rule

In general, AWW is calculated by:

1. Looking at your gross wages for the 52 weeks before the injury, and

2. Dividing by the number of weeks you actually worked in that period.

But that’s just the starting point. The details matter.

Common AWW Problems

In real life, we see AWW undercalculated all the time because:

• Weeks you didn’t work are wrongly counted in the average

• Overtime that you regularly worked is ignored

• You had two jobs, but the second one isn’t included even though it should be

• You were new to the job, and early low hours are averaged in with full-time weeks

• Raises or regular shift differentials are left out

Every one of these “small” errors:

• Shrinks every TTD/TPD/maintenance check, and

• Shrinks your eventual settlement or award

It’s not unusual for a corrected AWW calculation to increase the value of a case by tens of thousands of dollars.

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Why Many Workers Don’t Get Full Benefits Without a Lawyer

A lot of people in Illinois start their case without a lawyer, and in some situations that can be manageable while:

• Your claim is accepted

• Your doctor and the insurance doctor agree

• TTD is being paid on time

But when it comes to how much you’re actually paid – especially:

• AWW

• TTD and TPD amounts

• How long benefits should continue

• What happens when you can’t return to your old job

—it’s very rare for the insurance adjuster or their lawyer to just offer you the maximally fair number.

At our firm, we routinely meet workers who:

• Have been offered lowball settlements, or

• Have had their checks cut off based on thin or cherry-picked medical opinions

Once we’re involved, we can:

• Recalculate AWW using the correct rules

• Fight for TTD/TPD/maintenance you should have been paid

• Build the evidence needed to support a larger permanent award

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FAQs: Illinois Workers’ Comp Pay, TTD, TPD, Maintenance & AWW

1. What percentage of my wages does workers’ comp pay in Illinois?

For most injured workers, TTD and TPD wage replacement is based on 66⅔% (two-thirds) of your Average Weekly Wage (AWW), subject to statewide minimum and maximum rates. The key is making sure your AWW is calculated correctly and includes all eligible earnings.

2. Does workers’ comp pay for my time off work?

Yes, if you qualify. When your treating doctor takes you completely off work because of a work-related injury and your employer can’t offer work within your restrictions, you are usually entitled to TTD benefits, which pay a percentage of your wages for that time off.

3. Do I still get workers’ comp if I’m on light duty?

You won’t normally receive TTD if you’re back at work on light duty. But if light duty pays less than your regular job (fewer hours or lower pay), you may be entitled to TPD benefits, which cover part of the difference between your old pay and your light-duty pay.

4. How is my Average Weekly Wage (AWW) calculated in Illinois?

AWW is generally calculated by adding up your gross earnings in the 52 weeks before the injury and dividing by the number of weeks you actually worked. There are special rules for:

• Less than 52 weeks of work

• Regular overtime

• Certain second jobs

A wrong AWW number means every benefit and your settlement may be too low.

5. How long can I receive TTD benefits in Illinois?

There is no set number of weeks. TTD continues as long as you are temporarily unable to work because of the injury, have not reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI), and are not working in a job that fits your restrictions. When you reach MMI or return to suitable work, TTD usually stops.

6. Can I receive both TTD and unemployment at the same time?

Generally, no. TTD is for when you cannot work because of your work injury. Unemployment is for when you can work but cannot find a job. Those concepts conflict, so collecting both is usually not allowed and can create legal problems.

7. When should I talk to a workers’ comp lawyer about my benefits?

Good times to call a lawyer include when:

• Your checks stop or are delayed

• Your light duty pays less and nobody mentions TPD

• Your AWW seems too low compared to what you actually earned

• Your doctor and the insurance doctor disagree

• Your employer can’t accommodate restrictions and you don’t know what’s next

A quick review can reveal missing benefits or underpayments you might not know about.