What to Do If You Are Offered a Light-Duty Assignment You Can’t Perform

Following a workplace injury, many workers in Ohio are surprised when their employer offers a "light-duty" or "modified-duty" position before they feel they are ready to come back to work. Though light-duty tasks are common in workers' comp cases, they can also be confusing, stressful, and risky. This is especially true when the light-duty offer doesn't match the injured person's physical limitations.

Taking a workers' comp light-duty job can sometimes make an injury worse, delay recovery, or even jeopardize workers' comp benefits. At the same time, if the person refuses to perform light-duty work, it can lead to missed payments.

Understanding Ohio's workers' comp laws and how light-duty is handled is extremely important for anyone who has been injured on the job and now has work restrictions. If you are asked to work light-duty after an accident, but you cannot safely perform it, you do have legal rights, and you can seek legal advice from a workers' compensation lawyer from Larrimer & Larrimer. they can also advise on what to do if you slip and fall at work.

What Is Light-Duty Work in an Ohio Workers’ Compensation Case?

The first step in understanding what to do if you are unable to perform light-duty work is to understand what light-duty work actually is. Sometimes called "modified work" or "transitional work," light-duty refers to a temporary job assignment that is supposed to accommodate the injured worker's medical restrictions. This type of job restructuring is meant to allow a person to come back to work during the recovery process, but not to do full-duty work.

In Ohio, a light-duty position must be consistent with the worker's limitations as stated by their authorized treating physician. Common restrictions include:

• Limits on lifting, pushing, or pulling

• Reduced standing or walking

• No repetitive motion

• No overhead work

• Limited bending or twisting

• Shortened work hours

Employers aren't required to create a light-duty job. However, many employers choose to do it because it will reduce their workers' compensation costs and get an employee back to work quicker.

Why Employers Make a Light-Duty Offer

From an employer's perspective, offering light-duty work can reduce or eliminate temporary total disability benefits. When an injured worker comes back to work, even with light-duty, their benefits will change to temporary partial disability benefits or even stop completely.

Light-duty assignments may also:

• Reduce workers’ compensation insurance premiums

• Maintain productivity

• Keep experienced workers engaged

• Limit long-term disability exposure

Though these are generally done in good faith, they don't override medical safety requirements or your rights as a worker in Ohio.

When a Light-Duty Job Is Not Appropriate for Injured Workers

Though a light-duty position may be offered, it doesn't mean it's a reasonable offer or a safe one. Issues may arise when:

• The job exceeds the worker’s medical restrictions

• The job description does not match the assigned tasks performed

• The work aggravates the existing injury

• Pain or symptoms increase during the assignment

• The worker is pressured to “push through” discomfort

Even if a position is labeled “light-duty,” that does not automatically mean it is a reasonable accommodation.

What Happens If You Accept a Light-Duty Job You Can’t Perform Due to Medical Restrictions?

Accepting a light-duty job that exceeds your medical restrictions can have very serious consequences. These include:

Worsening the Injury

Modified tasks beyond a person's physical limitations can actually make the injury worse. It can also delay the healing process or create a new work-related injury.

Risk to Workers’ Comp Benefits

If the injury gets worse due to performing unauthorized work, the employer or the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation may question if the condition is work-related at all.

Difficulty Proving Reinjury

Doing light-duty work can also get complicated if you start to get new symptoms after returning to work. It can be difficult to prove that you re-injured yourself if you did work outside of the doctor's restrictions.

Pressure to Continue Working

Once an injured worker accepts a light-duty assignment, employers expect them to do it even if pain increases.

Can You Refuse a Light-Duty Assignment in Ohio?

Yes—you can refuse a light-duty job, but it must be done correctly.

Under Ohio workers’ compensation law, a worker can lose their benefits if they refuse suitable work without a good reason. However, if the work is a job that exceeds your medical restrictions, this is considered valid.

The big issue that comes into play is whether the job is medically appropriate -- not if it is undesirable or inconvenient.

Steps to Take If You Are Offered Light-Duty Work You Can’t Perform

1. Review the Job Description Carefully

Ask for the job duties in writing and compare them directly to the doctor's note that states your restrictions. Pay attention to any physical demands that may not be obvious such as a lot of standing, lifting, or repetitive motion.

2. Don't Rely on Verbal Assurances

Employers might make a verbal promise of accommodations that aren't reflected in the daily duties of the light-duty work. Everything should be in writing as you want detailed records.

3. Consult the Treating Physician Immediately

If there is doubt about whether or not a job will fit with the medical restrictions you are on, the doctor should review it. Doctors can often clarify if the assigned tasks are appropriate.

4. Do Not Attempt the Job “Just to See”

Trying to do the job "just to see" if you can could affect all of your future claims. Pain or injury that starts after you begin the new job could be used to argue that the condition is no longer related to the first job's injury.

5. Document Everything

Keep records of:

• Job offers

• Job descriptions

• Medical care and restrictions

• Doctor releases

• Communications with supervisors

• Physical difficulties experienced

Documentation often becomes critical evidence in workers’ compensation disputes.

6. Notify the Employer in Writing

If the job ends up exceeding your medical restrictions, notify your employer in writing and explain the issue, and make sure it's only based on medical limitations and not your unwillingness to do the job.

7. Speak With a Workers’ Compensation Attorney

Getting legal advice from a workers' comp lawyer can also be valuable. This is especially true when an employer disputes your restrictions, pressures you to work before you are ready, or threatens your wage replacement benefits.

What If the Employer Claims the Job Fits Your Restrictions?

Disputes are common when an employer offers a position that they claim complies with restrictions, but the injured worker doesn't agree. In these situations, the following may occur:

• The treating physician’s opinion carries significant weight

• Independent medical examinations (IMEs) may be requested

• The Ohio Industrial Commission may ultimately resolve the dispute

A workers' comp lawyer can help to present evidence and protect benefit eligibility. Consult experienced work injury lawyers in Columbus for more information.

Can Light-Duty Work Affect Wage-Loss Benefits?

Yes. Returning to light-duty work can affect your compensation in a number of ways:

Temporary Total Disability (TTD)

TTD benefits usually stop once an injured worker returns to work, even if it's light-duty work.

Working Wage Loss

If the light-duty position pays less than the wages the worker got before, they may be eligible for working wage-loss compensation.

Non-Working Wage Loss

If no suitable work is available within restrictions, non-working wage-loss benefits may apply.

Navigating wage-loss benefits can be complex, particularly when light-duty assignments are involved.

What If Light-Duty Work Causes Increased Pain?

Increased pain during light-duty work should not be ignored. Pain can be a sign that the assignment exceeds restrictions or that additional medical treatment is necessary.

Workers should:

• Report symptoms immediately

• Seek medical evaluation

• Avoid continuing work that causes harm

• Update restrictions if needed

Failing to report pain promptly may weaken later claims.

Employer Pressure and Retaliation Concerns

Some injured workers report feeling pressured to accept light-duty work regardless of medical concerns. Others fear retaliation for refusing assignments.

Ohio law prohibits retaliation against employees for filing workers’ compensation claims. If an employer threatens termination or discipline for refusing medically inappropriate work, legal advice should be sought immediately.

Why Legal Guidance Matters in Light-Duty Disputes

Light-duty disputes often appear simple but can quickly become legally complex. Employers, insurers, and the BWC carefully scrutinize return-to-work decisions, and small missteps can lead to benefit denial.

An experienced Ohio workers’ compensation attorney can:

• Review job offers and medical restrictions

• Communicate with employers and insurers

• Protect wage-loss benefits

• Represent injured workers at Industrial Commission hearings

• Prevent benefit termination due to improper refusal allegations

Protecting Your Health and Your Claim - Larrimer & Larrimer

No injured worker should feel forced to choose between health and income. Light-duty work can be beneficial when properly structured, but it must always align with medical reality.

If a light-duty assignment cannot be safely performed, the law allows injured workers to decline—provided the refusal is supported by medical evidence and handled correctly.

Being offered light-duty work after a workplace injury can be stressful, particularly when the assignment feels unsafe or unrealistic. Ohio workers’ compensation law provides protections, but those protections depend on careful documentation, medical support, and proper handling of the situation.

When in doubt, injured workers should not guess, assume, or push through pain. Taking the right steps early can protect long-term health and preserve workers’ compensation benefits.

Larrimer & Larrimer has decades of experience representing injured workers throughout Columbus and Central Ohio. If questions arise about light-duty work, medical restrictions, or workers’ compensation benefits, professional legal guidance can make a critical difference.