Light duty

MarilynR

Three years ago we hired a man that had admitted to a previous back injury. We gave him a list of job requirements, and told him he needed to be cleared medically before he could be hired. He went to his doctor and was cleared for work. (We have a copy of the release letter.) Several months ago, he re-injured his back at home (thankfully)that required surgery, and was placed on short term disability. After he was released for work, he was given work restrictions - in effect he was placed on 'light duty'. Since his return in November, he has missed many days of work and now is in danger of using all accrued vacation. He is clearly not able to perform even a light duty job. What will the repercussions be if we explain to him that light duty is no longer available, and that he needs to go back on short term disability until his back is completely healed? He is a valuable employee with needed skills, but he has not been able to work a complete 8 hour shift for several weeks.

Keyne

Although I don't know all the facts of this particular situation. My first thought is that at this particular juncture, his injury prior to joining your company has little or no bearing now.

As for any accommodations you are making (light duty, reduced schedule, etc.), you are not obligated to make any accommodation that is beyond reasonable. If he is not able to do the job, it's fine to send him home and allow him to continue on STD until he can perform a legitimate, value-adding function, and does not place undue burden on you as the employer. The employers obligation is to make reasonable accommodation.

Also, given then nature of the way this injury sounds, you will want to ensure you're following FMLA guidelines in dealing with this situation.

Don D

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 03-07-02 AT 09:32AM (CST)[/font][p]Our facility has a written policy which makes it clear that 'light duty' is available only if the absence was due to work injury (comp). The policy makes it clear that the potential light duty return is purely at the company's discretion and is not a guarantee of return. It is also required that the treating physician review the job spec sheet and physical demands of the particular job so that he clearly knows fairly precisely, what the job consists of. And, the policy specifies that the return is time limited with a goal of returning the ee to unrestricted duty within a 60 day period. This is not iron clad, but, if needed in a hearing or courtroom, the policy will clearly evidence the company's intention re: return to work with restrictions. Naturally you must follow the FMLA throughout the 12 week period apecified in the Act. I neglected to say that this policy is for hourly manufacturing employees only. We do not have a written policy for salaried Ees. In that event, I agree with the advice already provided, that being: consider FMLA obligations and most importantly, don't hesitate to rule that he is NOT "a qualified individual with a disability", since qualified also means being able to do the job's duties (with or without acc.) AND be able to report for duty on YOUR schedule, not his, unless you determine his is reasonable. Then, I suggest, you are in a very defensible position if the company decides that going further with the accomodation is not reasonable.

MarilynR

Thank you for your input. I believe the approach that will be taken will be to go on short term diability. When his doctor clears him completely, then he can return to work.

WT

A good deal depends on the needs of the employer and the flexibility you can show. For instance, you could offer this individual a 4 hour day if it fit into your work needs. You could also bring him in and tell him that light duty is not of unlimited duration and a time line is needed of when he will recover.

Instead of light duty, we have "modified duty". This is when an employee's job is somewhat modified to work with a physical problem but they can still be productive for an 8 hour day. If they cannot do this, we have a miscellaneous labor group (at lower pay) where they can ask to be placed. In this group, we can ususally find something for an injured person to do. The lower pay is an incentive to get better and the employer can get what they pay for. The empoyee can either ask to be placed there or go out on whatever is available to them. Light duty at full pay is generally a poor idea.