Last Updat­ed on June 19, 2023 

Can You Get Work­ers Comp While On Light Duty? Call Now for a FREE Con­sult with an Expe­ri­enced Work­ers Comp Lawyer at 844–682‑0999.

Can You Get Workers Comp While On Light Duty?

Nobody ever plans on get­ting injured while per­form­ing their dai­ly work duties, but unfor­tu­nate­ly, work relat­ed acci­dents hap­pen dai­ly and impact work­ers in almost every job cat­e­go­ry in every indus­try, espe­cial­ly the jobs relat­ed with phys­i­cal work.

If the employ­er’s Work­er’s Comp insur­ance doc­tor deter­mines that your work injury has not com­plete­ly healed, but that you can return to some mod­i­fied work, then you are con­sid­ered as an employ­ee on mod­i­fied light duty work.

Nev­er­the­less, if the offer of a light-duty posi­tion is made and it pro­vides accom­mo­da­tions rec­om­mend­ed by the injured worker’s treat­ing med­ical providers, then the work­er will like­ly be required to accept the position.

What Is Considered Light-Duty Work? 

Light-duty work is a type of job that does not require employ­ees to per­form phys­i­cal labor or do stren­u­ous activ­i­ties. It typ­i­cal­ly involves less phys­i­cal activ­i­ty than tra­di­tion­al jobs and is often used as an alter­na­tive to work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion payments. 

Light-duty work can help reduce the amount of mon­ey paid out in work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion pay­ments as it allows an injured work­er to con­tin­ue work­ing while recov­er­ing from their injury. 

Exam­ples of light-duty work include work­ing in an office set­ting, answer­ing phones, fil­ing paper­work, typ­ing, and cus­tomer ser­vice. Oth­er exam­ples of light-duty work include data entry, research, cus­tomer ser­vice, stock­ing shelves, admin­is­tra­tive tasks, and cus­tomer ser­vice. Light-duty work also may include light main­te­nance tasks such as vac­u­um­ing and dusting.

Can I call in Sick while on Workers Comp Light Duty? 

It depends on the spe­cif­ic details of your work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion case. It is best to speak direct­ly with your employ­er and/or the work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion insur­ance provider to deter­mine if you are allowed to call in sick while on light duty. An expe­ri­enced local Work­ers Comp Lawyer will be able to guide you with good advice.

Can I get Fired while on Light Duty? 

It is pos­si­ble to be fired while on light duty, although your employ­er may need to pro­vide a valid rea­son for the ter­mi­na­tion and may need to abide by any restric­tions out­lined in your work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion agree­ment. Ulti­mate­ly, it is best to speak with your employ­er and/or the work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion insur­ance provider to deter­mine the spe­cif­ic rules in your case. An expe­ri­enced local Work­ers Comp Lawyer will be able to guide you with good advice.

How Does Worker Compensation Benefits Impact Light Duty?

This type of work also allows employ­ers to main­tain a cer­tain lev­el of pro­duc­tiv­i­ty while allow­ing an injured work­er to con­tin­ue to receive a paycheck. 

It also allows for an injured work­er to main­tain a steady income while recov­er­ing from their injury. How­ev­er, the amount of mon­ey paid out in work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion pay­ments is still depen­dent on the sever­i­ty of the injury and the amount of work missed.

Can I be Harassed while on Light Duty? 

What are my Options ? No, you should not be harassed or dis­crim­i­nat­ed against in any way while on light duty due to a work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion injury. If you feel that you are being harassed or dis­crim­i­nat­ed against, it is impor­tant to speak with your employ­er and/or the work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion insur­ance provider. You may also wish to speak with an attor­ney or con­tact your state’s depart­ment of labor for more infor­ma­tion and advice.

Do I need a doctor’s note for light duties? 

Yes, in most cas­es a doc­tor’s note is required for light duty work. The spe­cif­ic require­ments may vary depend­ing on your state and the details of your work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion case, so it is best to speak with your employ­er and/or the work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion insur­ance provider for more information.

Can I continue to get medical benefits while on light duty? 

Yes, you can con­tin­ue to receive med­ical ben­e­fits while on light-duty work. Depend­ing on the sever­i­ty of the injury, you may be able to receive med­ical cov­er­age for treat­ments and med­ica­tions asso­ci­at­ed with the injury. How­ev­er, you may not be eli­gi­ble for work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion pay­ments while on light-duty work. It is impor­tant to speak with your employ­er and insur­ance provider to under­stand the specifics of your situation.

Should I accept Light Duty Work if Offered by my Employer? 

Whether you should accept light-duty work if offered by your employ­er will depend on your injury and your abil­i­ty to per­form the tasks asso­ci­at­ed with the job. 

Gen­er­al­ly, if you are able to per­form the light-duty work, it can be ben­e­fi­cial for you and your employ­er. It can help reduce the amount of mon­ey paid out in work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion pay­ments, main­tain a lev­el of pro­duc­tiv­i­ty, and pro­vide you with a steady income while you are recov­er­ing from your injury. 

You should speak with your employ­er and insur­ance provider to under­stand the specifics of your sit­u­a­tion before mak­ing a decision.

You should also con­sult with an Expe­ri­enced Work­ers Comp Lawyer to get answers for your par­tic­u­lar circumstances

Will My Workers’ Compensation Benefits Be Reduced While On Light Duty Work?

If you decline the mod­i­fied posi­tion or work, you will will like­ly not be eli­gi­ble to receive your work­er’s com­pen­sa­tion pay­ments for the tem­po­rary disability.

How­ev­er, if the light duty posi­tion results in dimin­ished hours or a reduced rate of pay, you should still receive what is called Tem­po­rary Par­tial Dis­abil­i­ty (TPD) ben­e­fits under the Work­er’s Comp Law.

How does OSHA define light duty?

Light work gen­er­al­ly means lift­ing 20 pounds max­i­mum with fre­quent lift­ing and/or car­ry­ing of objects weigh­ing up to 10 pounds.

What is considered light lifting at work?

Jobs are seden­tary if walk­ing and stand­ing are occa­sion­al. Light work involves lift­ing no more than 20 pounds at a time with fre­quent lift­ing or car­ry­ing of objects weigh­ing up to 10 pounds.

What is the difference between light duty and modified duty?

Light duty work – Work in which your cur­rent job is exe­cut­ed at reduced phys­i­cal lev­els. This can be with use of addi­tion­al machin­ery or reduced hours. Tasks can be tem­po­rary or permanent.

Mod­i­fied work – Work in which restric­tions that may keep you from per­form­ing your reg­u­lar work tasks are mod­i­fied, adapt­ed, altered or com­plete­ly removed for your benefit.

What if my doctor sends me back to work full duty but I am still hurting?

If your doc­tor send you back to full duty work and you find that your body is not ready yet, you should make an appoint­ment as soon as pos­si­ble with your com­pa­ny doc­tor. You will need to describe the types of activ­i­ties or tasks that are caus­ing the pain. Your insur­ance doc­tor will either tell you the pain is nor­mal and a part of nor­mal recov­ery, or will give you restric­tions for light / mod­i­fied duty.

If the com­pa­ny doc­tor does not sup­port your con­di­tion and demand for mod­i­fied / light duty work, you have right to appeal and con­sult your own doctor.

How much weight should an employee’s lift?

Based off the NIOSH Lift­ing Equa­tion, the Occu­pa­tion­al Safe­ty and Health Admin­is­tra­tion (OSHA) rec­om­mends the weight lim­it for indi­vid­ual lift­ing be 50 pounds. When lift­ing more than 50 pounds, it is rec­om­mend­ed to use a lift­ing device or two or more people.

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