Light Duty

Light or modified duty is a temporary work assignment made to an injured worker who is recovering from an illness or injury but has medical clearance from their physician to return to work under limited conditions.

Light duty work is work which the doctor believes the worker can perform while they continue to heal from their work-related injury or disease. It may be work which is substantially less in effort or time compared to work previously performed, but light duty allows the employee to continue to receive their salary while they heal.

In most states if an injured employee is released to perform light duty the employer is required to find them work which is a modified version of their old job or a completely new job, assuming this is available. Other states require workers to pay the light duty worker additional benefits if they are unable to earn a comparable salary performing light duty work. In some states, such as California, workers who refuse to return to light duty may have their permanent disability benefits decreased by 15%, even if they have no interest in performing the job offered.

Keep in mind, light duty work must comply with the restrictions outline by the worker's doctor. Workers do not have to perform work which exceeds their abilities, and they cannot be fired for refusing to do work their doctor has restricted them from performing.

Common restrictions for light duty work

Available light duty work varies by company, but most companies have light duty work that can meet a doctor's restrictions. For example, some of the most common light duty jobs include security guard, assembly jobs, driving a fork lift, picking up trash, inventorying parts and supplies, delivering and sorting mail, making telephone calls, ordering supplies, training new employees, completing a safety inspection, running errands, filing paperwork, shredding documents, light housekeeping, and completing safety training manuals.