When you return to work on light duty does workers comp pay you or the store I work for?

As to your workers' comp claim, if your employer is able to provide modified work with no deduction in your pay, then you are not entitled to temporary disability benefits from the insurance company. If, however, your employer is not able to provide modified work per your doctor's work restrictions, then you would be entitled to temporary disability benefits from the insurance company. Typically, temporary disability benefits are two-thirds of your average weekly wage amount. Additionally, under the Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA"), it is unlawful to harass, discriminate, or retaliate based on an actual or perceived disability. Here, you have an obvious disability with restrictions, and if your employer is laughing at you and treating you poorly you may have a civil claim in addition to a workers' compensation claim. You should likely consult an attorney for a potential workers' compensation claim, and one for a potential civil claim for disability discrimination.

I agree with my colleagues here. There is a possible 132a claim here. You also need to get another doctor on their Medical Provider Network. When you go back to work, your employer pays you. If your hours are cut because of your injury, then the carrier will pay the difference. But after any surgery, you are usually out of work at least 3 months. You might need some rehabilitation and/or physical therapy. Please call a local applicant's attorney to assist you with your case.

You should get an attorney and possibily contact a disability attorney as well as a work comp attorney

To answer your main question: When you are on modified duty, the employer is paying you. However, the insurance company may be paying as well if your total earnings don't rise to the disability amount that you would be getting if your weren't working at all. If your employer thinks that insurance should be paying for your light duty, then you should contact an attorney immediately, because when payday comes around, if the employer isn't paying you, the insurance company won't be paying benefits either, and you'll be left to figure out how to pay your bills. Don't go this fight alone. Reach out to an attorney who will fight for your cash and return to work rights.

TIME TO SWITCH DOCTORS. actually, it was time to switch doctors before the surgery, but hindsight is 20/20. You should not be at work, you are Temporarily Totally Disabled but you have a doctor who is 'in bed' with the insurance adjuster so he sends you to modified duty. To get a real doctor who will let you get off crutches before returning to work, go to the MPN website, research the Modesto/Valley Orthopedists on that insurer's MPN to find the 2 or 3 'worker friendly' ones, write out a demand to authorize this Ortho, and fax that demand every 4 hours until the adjuster approves it.... OR GET AN EXPERIENCED LOCAL ATTORNEY who does this all day (stay away from the TV 'fight for you' people, they have secretaries practicing law). Make it clear when you are interviewing attorneys you need a physician on the MPN immediately who will write you are TTD ... so you might have to start out with a chiropractor, they are setting in 7 days and Orthos are setting in 28 days.

I agree with Mr. Gorman. The writing is on the wall over how you are going to be treated by your employer. Would recommend you schedule an appointment with a workers compensation attorney as soon as possible. To answer your question if you are doing modified work you are paid wages from the store, not by workers compensation. However, if you are earning less on modified duties than your regular work, you are supposed to be paid 2/3 of the difference between regular pay and modified duty pay, which seems to almost always be overlooked. Use the find a lawyer tab in and get a top rated attorney for workers compensation in your area. Good Luck.

I am so sorry you are experiencing this. You, unfortunately, are not the first or last injured worker who has or will experience punitive return to work restrictions. I actually just wrote a very brief blog article on this yesterday. I encourage you look at California Labor Code Section 132a. You also should contact an attorney, because if you think your employer is being nasty now just wait until they get a report with some permanent work restrictions on it- you are almost certainly going to be terminated. If you would like to discuss further, you are more than welcome to message me. There is also a "find an attorney" tab on the page that you can use to find an attorney in your area. In order to give you much more advice I would need much more information. Any consultation with me, or any other attorney, will be free. You are better off retaining an attorney now, vs waiting until the insurance company has gotten all of the evidence they want and you are left with no job and an award that is artificially low. Workers compensation attorneys do not get paid until they get an award of benefits or a settlement for you.