Getting back to work after a work injury can mean a new lease on life. If you return to work, you might be able to get more income, rather than relying on the limited wage-loss benefits of Workers’ Comp. But returning to work can be complicated.
If you get a job offer while on Workers’ Comp, you may be able to take it, but it may affect your benefits or even stop your Workers’ Comp case altogether. You should review everything with your lawyer to make sure that you are not running afoul of income reporting rules, that you are only taking jobs your doctor has cleared you to perform, and that you understand the effect of taking a new job on your existing claim.
Call our Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp Lawyers for help with your case by calling Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945.
Can I Take a Job Offer While on Workers’ Comp?
Taking a job offer while on Workers’ Comp can be complex. There is usually nothing preventing you from taking a job, but working while you are claiming to be disabled can lead to complications.
That means that, ultimately, you can take a job, but you need to be prepared for the potential effects that could happen, such as:
- Contradicting your claim that you are unable to work
- Violating doctors’ orders about work accommodations and restrictions
- Losing the potential of returning to your old job
- Reducing your wage-loss benefits
- Having your case dismissed entirely.
Each case is different, and the effects of taking a job while on disability are definitely different at different stages of your Workers’ Comp case, so always review your situation with a Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp lawyer.
Work Restrictions and Disability Status
During a Workers’ Comp case, your doctors will review your condition and your disability. This plays into your initial case as well as later stages of your case when you receive a Notice of Ability to Return to Work.
Disability Status
To be “disabled” means that you cannot work. In Workers’ Comp, workers who are not able to work at all might be entitled to benefits for 2/3 of their lost wages, subject to caps and limits. However, other workers can still work to some extent, and they get 2/3 of the difference in pre- and post-injury wages instead.
This analysis sis separate from whether your benefits are for “total disability” or “partial disability.” After you have been on disability for 2 years, you can be asked to attend an impairment rating evaluation (IRE). The IRE doctor will determine your whole-body impairment rating and, if you are under 35%, you will be switched to partial disability.
Total disability benefits last as long as you remain totally disabled, while partial disability benefits are limited to 500 more weeks. The rate still depends on whether you are out of work or working at a reduced wage.
Notice of Ability to Return to Work
When your doctor sends you a Notice of Ability to Return to Work, this means they have decided you have healed enough to go back to work. That triggers a requirement to start looking for work.
If you get a job offer at this stage, and it complies with your work restrictions, taking the job might be your best option.
Refusing to take available work that conforms to your work restrictions can also be grounds for a denial, so make sure to review work offers with your lawyer.
Work Restrictions
Returns to work are always confusing because of how far along you might or might not be in your recovery. Your doctor may explain to you whether you can return to light duty work or full duty, or whether you may have certain modified duty restrictions (such as no lifting over 50lbs).
If you take a job that conforms to these requirements, it usually is no problem. However, taking a job that requires you to work beyond your restrictions could cause you to lose benefits. The employer or Work Comp carrier paying your benefits might point out that you are violating doctors’ orders and potentially try to revoke benefits.
Do I Lose Benefits if I Go Back to Work?
At the end of the day, Workers’ Comp is intended to cover you as long as you are unable to work. It might be the goal at the end of your case to get off of Workers’ Comp benefits and go back to work.
Others might need to stay on Workers’ Comp benefits for the rest of their life if their injury causes permanent, total disability. If that is your situation, then taking any work might show your employer you are not as injured or disabled as you claimed to be, potentially jeopardizing your benefits.
If you are at the stage of your case where you are supposed to return to work, refusing available work that accommodates your injuries can also be grounds for termination.
FAQs for Job Offers While on Workers’ Comp
Do I Have to Report Income While on Workers’ Comp?
Your benefits depend on your income level, meaning you have to be open and transparent about how much you make and report income to your employer/Workers’ Comp carrier.
Workers who are not working at all because of their disability typically get 2/3 of their pre-injury AWW, but workers who are working while on Workers’ Comp get 2/3 of the difference in pre- and post-injury wages. Your employer can file to adjust your wage benefit if your wages and circumstances change.
Do I Need to Report Taking a New Job?
Like reporting your income, you also have to report if you take any jobs.
Is Side Income Allowed?
Workers’ Comp typically focuses on the income you make from active sources, like employment. Talk to a lawyer about how other passive income (e.g., from rental properties) affects your case.
“Gig work” or part-time positions are still “work” and must still be reported and performed within work restrictions.
Can Taking a Job Hurt My Benefits?
Simply put, yes; taking a job while on Workers’ Comp can affect your benefit rate or potentially mean losing Workers’ Comp altogether.
Can I Lose My Benefits if I Refuse a Job Offer?
Later in your case, returning to work will be a major goal. Once your doctor sends you a Notice of Ability to Return to Work, you actually have an obligation to look for work and take reasonable offers.
If an offer conforms with your work restrictions and you refuse it without a good reason, you could actually lose benefits.
What is Partial vs. Total Disability?
Total disability vs. partial disability in Pennsylvania deals with which set of benefits you are on. Total disability pays benefits as long as you remain disabled, while partial disability pays only 500 additional weeks.
You can be switched to partial disability status after an IRE shows you are under 35% whole body impairment or after the healing period for an amputation is over.
Your actual benefit rate is a separate issue from your disability status.
Call Our Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp Lawyers Today
Call Cardamone Law’s Bethlehem, PA Workers’ Comp attorneys at (267) 651-7945 for a free review of your injury case.
