If you have been injured at work and you need medical treatment and time off to recover you should be entitled to workers’ compensation. Most employers in every state should have workers’ comp. coverage for employees. You should be able to claim workers compensation for the time you are unable to work. It covers the cost of your medical treatment and a percentage of your wages. Sometimes an employer will offer the chance to return to work and carry out light duties. What is Meant by Light Duty? When used in relation to workers' comp. law, light duty work refers to work that is mentally and/or physically less demanding than your normal job duties either on a permanent or temporary basis. Offering light duty work if you haven’t still fully recovered from your injury isn’t forced on your employer. Can an Injured Worker Refuse an Offer of Reemployment With Light-Duty Work Restrictions? If your employer decides to offer you light duty work and pay less than your normal pay as you are still recovering, you should be entitled to receive a temporary partial disability benefit. This benefit is calculated using the ratio of what the pay is for the light duty work when compared to the wage you were receiving when you were injured. A good illustration of this is if you were earning $10 an hour at the date of your injury but the light duty pay is $6 an hour your earnings are 60 percent of your normal wage so you will be entitled to receive 40% temporary partial disability benefit. However, if you refuse to take on the light duty job, you will then only receive 40% of your temporary total disability benefit. You may refuse light duty work in certain situations such as: the employment offer is unreasonable; tthe work falls outside your medical restrictions; tyou have to travel an unreasonable distance to take part in the light duty job; tthe light work offered was on a part-time basis but you would have to clock in and out many times in a day. Other consequences of refusing light duty work are that you run the risk of putting into jeopardy any possible future claims for retraining or benefits covering loss of earning capacity if you can’t return to your employer to work earning near or at your wage pre injury at a later date. How a WC Attorney Can Help If you feel your employer is being unreasonable in the expectations he or she is forcing on you in relation to taking on light duty work you should contact a workers’ comp. attorney who will negotiate the best deal possible so you don’t’ lose financially if you accept the offer of light duty work. The attorney will also ensure you get the right percentage of the temporary partial disability benefit that you are entitled to receive. Additional Resources What is Modified Work? Do I Need to Accept Light Duty Work if My Employer Offers It to Me?
