When you are owed workers’ compensation benefits, your employer and their insurance company are responsible for ensuring you receive your payments in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, there are instances where, whether through the fault of your employer or their insurance company, checks will arrive late. If your benefits are not being honored on time and in accordance with California workers’ comp laws, make sure you know what to do.

In California, disability benefits are supposed to be paid out every two weeks. When a recipient has not received their workers’ compensation payment for more than 14 days, they are entitled to an additional 10% of the past due payment. If the delay in payment continues for an excessive amount of time, the recipient may receive up to 25% of the past due amount, or up to $10,000 in addition to the late payment.

Late payment penalties are automatic, so you should now need to file any paperwork or take legal action in order to obtain your late fee payment. If any payment is late, your insurance company paying the disability benefits should automatically add the late fee to the next payment. However, if your insurance company does not pay the late fee, you should request a late fee payment.

You can make this request by calling or emailing your company, explaining the reason for the required payment and when you should receive it. If you do make your request over the phone, make sure you have a follow-up email or confirmation from the insurance company that you can keep as physical proof of the request for your records. In the event that the insurance company refuses to pay the late payment penalty, you may need to ask the workers’ compensation board to take action on your behalf.

Contact Alvandi Law Group, P.C. to schedule a free consultation with our workers’ compensation lawyers.