The goal of workers’ compensation is to get employees back to work whenever it’s possible within their work restrictions. Most state workers’ compensation agencies encourage employers to provide light-duty work to injured employees while they are recovering from their injuries. They also discourage employees from turning down such offers, often by reducing or stopping workers’ comp benefits.
During the initial stages of workers’ comp, employees who need time off work while recovering from their injuries can receive wage loss benefits, called “temporary total disability” benefits. (To learn more, see our article explaining temporary disability benefits.) Many employers will try to minimize an employee’s wage loss by offering a light-duty position during this time. This reduces the amount of workers’ comp benefits paid to the employee and can ultimately lower the employer’s insurance premium costs.
A light-duty position is one that accommodates the employee’s work restrictions. This might be the same position, with certain physical tasks removed. For example, an employer might reassign a store clerk’s heavy lifting duties to other employees. Or, the position might be a different one altogether—for example, giving a warehouse worker a temporary desk job.
In many states—including Washington, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, New York, and Florida—your employer or its insurance company can petition the state worker’s compensation agency to stop your benefits completely.
In other states, you might only see a reduction in benefits. For example, in Rhode Island, your temporary disability benefits are reduced to what they would have been had you accepted the job. In Wyoming, temporary disability benefits are reduced by two-thirds when a worker refuses a light duty job.
Some states, such as California, don’t cut temporary disability benefits when a worker refuses to accept a light duty job. However, these states may reduce benefits when a job is turned down at a later stage, such as after reaching maximum medical improvement.
Because a light-duty job is temporary, many states require employees to accept job offers that aren’t related to their education, training, or qualifications. For example, if you’re a physical education teacher, you might need to take a light-duty job answering phone calls or doing other administrative work while you recover.
If the job pays less, you will still be able to receive temporary partial disability benefits in most states. These are usually a portion of temporary total disability benefits, depending on the extent of your wage loss. For example, instead of receiving two-thirds of your normal wages, you might receive two-thirds of the difference in your pre-injury wages and your light-duty wages.
If you’re not able to perform the job despite your best efforts, you can likely get your benefits reinstated. Some states have a time limit on reinstatement of benefits, though. For example, in Georgia, you must petition the state workers’ compensation agency within 15 days of starting a light-duty job if you’re unable to do the job due to your injury.
Many states have similar rules when it comes to offers of modified or alternate work after the worker has reached maximum medical improvement (the point at which your doctor believes you have improved as much as possible with treatment). If your condition prevents you from returning to your normal job, and your employer offers a suitable alternative, you may need to accept the job—or risk losing your permanent disability benefits or right to vocational rehabilitation. To learn more, see our article on permanent disability and accepting suitable job offers.
