It is natural to want to return to your current job as soon as possible after getting hurt. Whether you want to keep up your income or you just enjoy your job, you want to know that you can go back to work even as you recover from a workplace injury.
The California workers’ compensation system helps facilitate a return to a workplace, but only if it is safe for you to do so given your condition.
Clearing injured workers for work
After a workplace injury, your primary treating physician will examine you and send a report to the claims administrator about your condition. If the doctor says you can work, the report may describe specific limits called work restrictions on your job tasks.
Work restrictions protect you from further injury. For example, the doctor may forbid you from lifting over forty pounds at any time or say that you should wear a headset to keep your neck and head steady.
Work with restrictions
If your treating doctor reports you can work with work restrictions, any work your employer assigns must meet these restrictions. Your employer may change certain tasks, reduce your time on certain tasks or provide helpful equipment.
Alternatively, your employer may assign you different tasks that meet your restrictions. If your employer cannot provide work that meets the restrictions, the claims administrator must pay temporary total disability benefits. Additionally, you have the right to refuse work that does not comply with your current restrictions.
Work without restrictions
It is possible your doctor will report that you can work without restrictions. In such cases, your employer usually must give you the same job and pay you had before the injury. The employer can require you to take this job, soon after the injury or later when your condition improves.
By understanding your work restrictions and communicating effectively with your employer, you can navigate the process of returning to work safely while recovering from a workplace injury.
