If the employee's injury or illness is covered by workers' compensation, he or she is entitled to benefits. Employees are usually entitled to lost wages and medical bills. If the injury is permanent, employees may also be entitled to a lump sum payment. Lost wages Eligibility for lost wages usually starts after the employee misses a few days of work.
All states have a waiting period before employees are entitled to receive benefits.
The waiting period is usually between three to seven days. For example, in Alabama, an employee must be injured and out of work for three days before he or she is entitled to lost wages. In most states, if the disability persists for a certain amount of time, the employee will be retroactively compensated for the waiting period. If the employee is totally disabled by an injury or illness, he or she is entitled to benefits that compensate him or her for not being able to work. Because the employee is not taxed on workers' comp benefits, he or she is entitled to about two-thirds of his or her average wages.