Can You Work Somewhere Else While on Workers Comp?
Yes, You Can Get a New Job While Receiving Workers Comp Benefits. But Follow these Tips to Protect Your Wage Loss Payments and Medical Coverage When Switching Jobs
A severe work injury often causes an injured employee to reflect on their job and change careers.
Sometimes light-duty work restrictions from the accident force you to change jobs – you can no longer do your regular job because of medical work limitations and permanent impairment.
Other times you may have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from the workplace accident, which comes with flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, and intrusive thoughts – including when put in situations that remind you of the injury. This is common after car accidents.
Or maybe depression from chronic pain or stress and frustration over how the employer and its insurance carrier have treated you since the accident, such as aggressively using the litigation discovery process or putting you in risky situations, makes you want to work elsewhere.
Whatever the reason, know this: It is common to get another job while workers comp. And, in most cases, you can preserve your right to workers compensation benefits (lifetime medical coverage, permanent partial disability, and wage loss payments) when you change jobs.
This article explains the impact of interviewing for or accepting a new job on your Workers Compensation Award Letter or pending work injury claim. And it analyzes different situations that arise when changing employment during a workers comp claim.
You can use this information to make the best decisions for you financially, physically, and mentally. Following these tips decreases the chances that you make a mistake in the return to work process that costs you tens of thousands of dollars in cash benefits.
Keep reading to learn more.
If you have any questions about workers comp in Virginia, call me for a free consultation: (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614. See why other attorneys and past clients have voted me one of the best workers compensation attorneys in the country – and what results I can get for you and your family.
Is Returning to Work in Your Best Interest? Understanding the Potential Benefits of Finding a New Job After a Workplace Accident
Several medical organizations – the American Medical Association, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons – recommend returning their patients to work as soon as possible
They base their position on various studies finding that a lengthy absence from the workplace harms your physical, mental, and social well-being and may even increase the risk that you will never return to work or suffer a premature death. And that returning to work helps you maintain your independence, have a sense of security and stability, heal faster, and prevent deconditioning.
My experience representing thousands of injured workers supports this.
Many people I have spoken with feel better when they are back to work and being productive.
Sitting around the house with nothing to do but think about the injury, the pain, and how things were before the accident takes an emotional toll on everyone – no matter how tough you are.
Returning to work may help you get stronger faster. It also provides friendships and social interaction that can encourage your recovery.
There may also be financial benefits to returning to work after an on-the-job injury.
Your workers comp benefits are a percentage of your wage loss – you will never receive the total amount of your pre-injury paycheck.
Further, you will not receive any pay raises, promotions, or bonuses while you remain out of work.
Returning to work could put more money in your pocket, help your career progress, and reduce the likelihood of litigation.
Nevertheless, returning to work also has risks.
Make sure that you discuss appropriate work restrictions and limitations with your treating physician, and only return to a new job if you can complete the tasks. While you may want to stay employed, pushing yourself too hard too fast could make things worse and result in forfeiture of benefits.
How Does Changing Jobs Affect My Medical Benefits under Workers Comp?
You can keep workers comp medical benefits if you change jobs – with one exception.
The payment of future medical expenses is an essential part of your case. Delays (and denials) in treatment and rehabilitation make it challenging to heal and return to the work you want to do.
Losing medical coverage can also hurt you financially. The value of future medical expenses impacts how much your claim settles for, and having to pay for health care out of pocket can result in economic adversity.
Fortunately, you can keep your workers comp medical coverage if you start a new job with a different employer. Your employer (and its insurer) are liable for medical treatment that is reasonable, necessary, and causally related to the work injury.
However, there is an exception to this rule.
Suppose you accept a new job that exceeds your medical restrictions and your condition worsens. Then the court might find that your need for ongoing treatment results from your violation of work restrictions or an unrelated condition.
This is why you should discuss the new job and its specific tasks and duties with your attorney and your physician before switching.
I recommend asking your doctor to review the written job description and sign a letter stating whether the new position is within your medical limitations.
Can Changing Jobs Affect My Wage Loss Benefits?
Whether you keep payments for lost wages after switching jobs is more complicated than determining if you keep medical benefits.
It depends on the answers to several questions:
Has a doctor disabled you from all work?
If so, you can interview elsewhere (in anticipation of returning to the labor market) without it impacting your temporary total disability payments.
Did your physician release you to return to full duty without restrictions?
You can switch jobs without consequences if your doctor releases you to return to your normal pre-injury position after a workplace accident or the diagnosis of an occupational disease.
Has the employer terminated your position or said it could not accommodate your light-duty work restrictions?
If so, you can interview and work elsewhere. And in some situations, you must look for work to get income replacement benefits.
Let’s look at these potential scenarios.
Are you receiving TTD benefits under an award?
Your temporary total disability benefits will continue if you have an ongoing award – even if you cannot find a new job within your restrictions.
When you find a new job, you must report the earnings to the insurance carrier. Then the insurer will file an application with the commission asking it to convert your wage loss award to one for temporary partial disability if you continue to have wage loss or suspend your award if you earn the same amount or more.
Do you not have an open award for TTD benefits?
Those who do not have an open wage loss award must look for a new job if your doctor released you light-duty, but your employer has nothing to offer you or can no longer accommodate your restrictions. This scenario impacts those of you who returned to a modified duty or temporary alternate work arrangement but received notice that the light-duty position will end (familiar for injured workers at Amazon and Walmart).
Though the statute does not include a requirement, the Workers Compensation Commission will award wage loss benefits only if you conduct a good faith job search. Usually, this means registering with the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) – though the VEC relaxed that requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic – and contacting five to ten potential employers per month.
You should save all your job search documents and present them as evidence at the workers comp hearing if the insurer disputes your claim. In addition to submitting these papers, your attorney will ask questions about your job search to show the judge that you have looked for new employment in good faith.
Have you returned to light-duty work for the employer?
Your employer may be able to accommodate your doctor’s restrictions and offer your regular job (except for those duties you can no longer perform) or a new job within your limitations.
You can still change jobs.
However, you will not receive additional wage loss benefits if you voluntarily accept a new job that pays less than your current employer pays. At best, the commission will order the employer to continue paying temporary partial disability benefits at two-thirds of the difference between what you earned before the injury and what the employer paid you in the light-duty role.
If you accept a new job that pays the same or more than your light-duty job, the employer and its insurer will have no liability for wage loss benefits during the period you earn more. However, you may qualify for additional income replacement if a change in condition causes you to start earning less within the applicable statute of limitations.
Has the employer offered a light-duty job after you have accepted and started light-duty work with a new employer?
Though uncommon, your employer may offer a light-duty position after you have already started a new job.
This happened recently in a case involving a construction worker who fell from a utility pole.
He found a new job within his light-duty restrictions.
More than one year later, his pre-injury employer created a light-duty position and asked him to return. The reason for this was simple: my client’s new job paid less than his regular job, and the employer and its insurer had to continue paying wage loss benefits despite the return to work. Therefore, it hoped to reduce its financial exposure by offering a position that paid more than my client’s new job.
My client refused the offer for several reasons, including his satisfaction with his new job. And the employer filed an application for hearing to stop benefits (which is pending before the court).
Whether you risk losing benefits by keeping the new job in this situation depends on several factors.
First, the employer must prove it made a bona fide job offer.
Second, you must present evidence you were justified in refusing the light-duty offer.
In arguing your refusal of employment is justified, examine these factors:
- Whether the employer has offered a job at the exact location, you worked pre-injury or further away at a new site. The further the distance from home, the stronger your position.
- Whether the employer will provide transportation now if it provided a vehicle or gas card before you were hurt
- The difference in pay between the new job you accepted and the light-duty job now offered.
- How the employer treated you post-injury
- What role the employer had in causing the workplace accident. For example, did the employer refuse to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) that could have prevented your injury?
- Child custody and childcare arrangements
These claims are fact-specific and decided on a case-by-case basis.
How Does Finding New Employment Impact Compensation for Permanent Loss of Use?
Changing jobs does not affect your ability to receive compensation for permanent loss of use or disfigurement/scarring.
These types of benefits do not depend on your work status. Even if your physician releases you to full duty after reaching maximum medical improvement (MMI), you can receive them.
Will Changing Jobs Affect the Potential to Settle My Claim?
No.
You can still negotiate a workers comp settlement if you switch employers.
Indeed, the decision to find a new job often energizes settlement talks because it removes the potential barrier of resigning as a settlement term.
Other Factors When Deciding to Take a New Job While Receiving Workers Compensation
There are some other variables to consider when deciding to switch employers.
These include:
- The likelihood that the employer will find a permanent light-duty job within your restrictions. Some employers can accommodate work limitations easier than others. But others can’t. For example, small employers and companies in manufacturing, construction, or trucking and logistics will have more difficulty offering light-duty. Similarly, health care providers may have trouble finding light-duty for nurses who cannot lift or transfer patients or spend most of the shift on their feet.
- Your relationship with management. Some of you may have suffered your first work injury after working for the same employer for ten years or more. Having a good relationship with your company increases the likelihood of finding work within your restrictions and could impact your decision to find a new job.
Can I Accept a New Job in Another State While Receiving Workers Compensation?
Yes, you can take a new job in another state and keep your workers comp benefits – subject to the guidelines discussed above.
However, the state where you filed your initial claim for benefits would retain jurisdiction over your case.
Here is an example:
You are a tractor-trailer driver who hurt your shoulder in Virginia Beach or a flight attendant with American Airlines based out of Dulles Airport who injures your back when lifting luggage.
You file a claim in Virginia and the commission enters an award of benefits.
Two years later you move to Florida for warmer weather and a new jobs.
This is fine. But Virginia would have jurisdiction over your case and all disputes would be resolved in Virginia, based on this state’s laws. ‘
However, you would be entitled to ask for a change treating physicians to someone closer to your new residence. And the insurer would need to offer a new panel of physicians for you to choose from if you cannot agree on a specific doctor.
This situation is common, and I represent many injured employees who now live and work out of state.
Call a Top-Rated Work Injury Lawyer Before Switching Jobs or Accepting a Light-Duty Employment Offer
You can get a new job while on workers comp – and often it is the best decision for your health.
But there are rules you need to know about before making this decision. And you cannot count on your employer or its insurer or a TPA (Sedgwick, Esis, Gallagher Bassett, etc.) to explain them to you.
My injury law firm has helped thousands of injured employees, auto accident victims, and disabled adults and children get the medical care and income they deserve.
Call now for a free consultation: (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614. We want to help.
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