Getting a light-duty offer after a work injury can feel like progress — until the job on paper and the job in real life start to look very different.
That gap matters. In many workers’ compensation claims, the details of a modified job can affect wage benefits, return-to-work disputes, and sometimes even disability discrimination issues. If the tasks being assigned go beyond what your treating provider allowed, careful documentation often becomes one of the most important parts of protecting your position.
In this post you’ll learn how to document a mismatch between light duty and medical restrictions, what evidence tends to matter most, how workers’ comp and accommodation rules can overlap, and when a lawyer may be especially helpful. If you want a broader overview of how modified work, employer offers, and benefits fit together, this guide on how light-duty jobs and restrictions usually work can help with the bigger picture.
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A light-duty assignment is often evaluated against written medical restrictions, not just against general statements like “easy work” or “office tasks.” Federal workers’ compensation guidance says a suitable position generally involves a written description of duties and physical requirements that conforms to the injured worker’s established limitations. The U.S. Department of Labor’s FECA procedures also discuss the value of a written job description and written notice that work is available within restrictions (U.S. Department of Labor).
That same basic idea shows up in disability accommodation law. The EEOC explains that employers and employees may discuss restrictions, duration, and possible accommodations, with attention to whether the employee can perform the essential functions of the position with or without accommodation (EEOC; EEOC).
In general terms, documentation helps answer a few key questions:
Those questions often end up shaping insurance decisions, HR conversations, and attorney evaluations.
The first building block is the medical restriction itself. Verbal comments from a doctor can be useful context, but written restrictions usually carry much more weight.
Try to keep copies of every work-status note, after-visit summary, functional capacity form, and portal message that describes limits such as: