South Carolina Workers’ Compensation: Understanding Light-Duty Restrictions
Many workers look forward to returning to work after an injury has occurred. Yet, it’s essential to prioritize your health as you continue to recover. To strike a balance between working and healing, you may be placed on a “light duty” restriction.
What is a light-duty restriction, and what does it mean for an injured worker? Here, we explore the meaning and impact of a light-duty restriction after a work-related injury.
What Does “Light Duty” Mean in South Carolina Workers’ Compensation?
A light-duty restriction allows an injured worker to return to work, but it limits the type and amount of work the person can perform. Limitations are tailored to the specific needs of the worker. They depend on the type of injury you have and how it affects the work you do.
Your doctor will evaluate your health, including what you can and cannot do as you heal. Your doctor will provide a doctor’s note explaining the work restrictions you need and how long they will be in effect. Give your employer a copy of this note and save a copy for your records.
Light-duty work can take various forms. For instance, your employer may offer you a version of your regular job that doesn’t include tasks that could re-injure you. Or your employer may provide you with a different set of tasks with a lower risk of causing re-injury.
Returning to Work Without Light Duty Options and Employee Layoffs in South Carolina
Employees are required to accept light-duty work if it’s offered and if their treating doctor releases them to perform it. If you don’t accept light-duty work, you may lose access to financial benefits under workers’ compensation. But what if you return to your regular job with restrictions, only to find out you’ve been laid off? These are real worries for many folks recovering from a workplace injury in South Carolina.
South Carolina law does allow employers to lay off employees for reasons unrelated to a workers’ compensation claim, like company cutbacks or job performance, but it is absolutely illegal for an employer to fire you simply because you filed a workers’ comp claim or are receiving benefits.
If you’re laid off while you’re still under medical restrictions or still experience pain from your injuries, you may still qualify for workers’ comp benefits, including Temporary Total Disability (TTD) or Temporary Partial Disability (TPD), or Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) payments if your injury keeps you from working your regular job tasks or regular hours.
If you find yourself in this situation, here are a few steps to protect yourself and your benefits:
- Keep good records. Hang on to all paperwork related to your injury, your doctor’s notes about work restrictions and their impairment rating, and any conversations you have with your employer about your job duties or recent layoff.
- Reach out for help promptly. If your checks stop coming or you’re told your benefits are over, you can contact the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission to ask for a hearing by completing Form 50 to get your case reviewed.
- Contact a top-rated workers’ compensation attorney. An attorney can make sure your rights are protected, fight for the benefits you’re owed, and step in if your layoff feels suspicious or retaliatory.
Losing your job while you’re recovering can be scary, but it doesn’t mean your benefits have to end. At Steinberg Law Firm, we’re here to help you navigate what comes next and make sure you’re not left facing recovery alone. If you have questions or worries about your workers’ compensation claim, especially if light-duty work isn’t available or you’re facing a layoff, reach out to us for guidance and support.
How Light-Duty Restrictions Affect Your Workers’ Comp Benefits in South Carolina
Once your treating physician releases you to light-duty work and your employer provides light-duty work, any temporary disability benefits you’re receiving may cease. Temporary disability benefits will end if the pay you receive on light duty is equal to or higher than your pay rate before your injury.
If you receive less pay or fewer hours from your employer due to your light-duty restrictions, the carrier owes temporary partial disability benefits, which is equal to 2/3 of the difference between your pre-injury average weekly wage and your current average weekly wage.
Employers aren’t required to create light-duty work for injured employees. If there is no light-duty work available, you may continue to receive temporary disability benefits. Medical benefits will continue while you need treatment, whether or not you are in a light duty role.
What to Do If You Can’t Handle Light-Duty Work in South Carolina
If you’re offered light-duty work but you don’t think you can perform it, you have a right to a hearing. The hearing is held before the Workers’ Compensation Commission. An experienced South Carolina workers’ compensation attorney can help you prepare for the hearing and represent you before the commission.
FAQs
What Happens If My South Carolina Employer Has No Light-Duty Work?
If your employer has no light-duty work to offer you, you will continue to receive temporary total disability benefits. These benefits begin on the 8th day following your injury. They continue until you are released back to your regular job without restrictions. If you’re out of work more than 14 days, you’ll receive benefits to cover the first seven days you could not work.
Can My Doctor Change My Light-Duty Restrictions in Workers’ Comp?
Yes. If light-duty work is too much for your health, you can ask your doctor to amend your work status and request that you be written entirely out of work. You will receive your full temporary total disability benefits while written entirely out of work by the authorized treating physician.
If you believe you can go back to light-duty work, you can also ask your doctor to update your status from disabled to light duty. Your doctor will make a professional medical determination as to whether your health will support a return to light-duty work.
My Employer Fired Me After Returning to Work. Is This Legal?
South Carolina law, specifically S.C. Code § 41-1-80, protects employees from being fired, demoted, or retaliated against simply for filing or participating in a workers’ compensation claim in good faith. This means your employer cannot legally let you go just because you exercised your rights after a work injury.
However, your employer is still allowed to terminate your employment for legitimate business reasons that are unrelated to your workers’ compensation claim. For example, you can be legally let go due to company layoffs, performance problems, violating written company policies, or other non-retaliatory reasons.
If you suspect your termination was actually because of your workers’ compensation claim or medical restrictions, don’t wait to get help. South Carolina law requires that any legal action for this type of wrongful termination be brought within one year of the alleged violation. If you’re in this situation, speak to a South Carolina workers’ compensation attorney right away to review your options and protect your rights.
What If Light-Duty Work Makes My Injury Worse?
If light-duty work is causing additional pain or injury, talk to your doctor. Your doctor can return you to “disabled” status if light-duty work is causing additional damage or slowing your rate of recovery.
Do I Have to Accept a Lower Pay Rate on Light Duty in SC?
You must take light-duty work if it is offered. Often, light-duty work comes with a reduction in wages.
If your restrictions cause you to earn less at your job, you are still entitled to Temporary Partial Disability benefits, which provides for 2/3 of the difference between your pre-injury earnings and earnings while under restrictions.
Call Our Charleston Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Steinberg Law Firm Today
If you refuse to take light-duty work that is available, you may lose all your workers’ compensation benefits. You have a right to a hearing if you think you cannot do the light-duty work offered. Our experienced attorneys will thoroughly investigate your claim and work to secure compensation for your injuries. We offer free consultations and no fee unless we recover compensation for you.
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