Nothing in this article should be taken as legal advice. Every case is different.
You can refuse a light-duty job in Virginia, but if the job fits your doctor’s restrictions and the Commission finds your refusal wasn’t justified, your wage checks stop for as long as the refusal lasts. Your medical care and any permanent disability payments continue. You can usually fix a refusal by accepting the job or similar work, but only within six months of your last check. And if the light-duty job pays less than you earned before, workers’ comp generally pays two-thirds of the difference.
What Happens If You Refuse Light Duty in Virginia
Refusing suitable light duty without a good reason stops your wage checks, not your medical care. Under Va. Code § 65.2-510(A), a worker who refuses work “suitable to his capacity” keeps only medical benefits and permanent disability payments (a rating) during the refusal, “unless in the opinion of the Commission such refusal was justified.”
| Benefit | If you refuse suitable light duty without justification |
|---|---|
| Wage checks while out of work (temporary total disability) | Stop during the refusal |
| Wage checks on light duty at lower pay (temporary partial disability) | Stop during the refusal |
| Medical treatment | Continues |
| Permanent partial disability (a rating for an arm, leg, hand, foot, or other listed part) | Continues |
| Vocational rehabilitation | Stops during the refusal |
When Is Refusing Light Duty Justified?
The insurance company has to prove three things before a refusal can cost you your checks: a real (bona fide) job offer suitable to your capacity, a job your employer procured for you, and an unjustified refusal (Hillcrest Manor Nursing Home v. Underwood, 35 Va. App. 31 (2001)). The offer has to be specific enough for you to make an informed decision about it, which usually means you know the duties, the hours, the pay, and where to report.
If the employer proves the offer, the question becomes whether your refusal was justified. The Court of Appeals asks whether “a reasonable person desirous of employment would have refused” the job (same case). Situations that can matter:
- The job is outside your restrictions. A job that requires lifting, standing, or driving your doctor has ruled out is not suitable to your capacity, and the employer carries the burden of showing that it is (M & S Auto Parts, Inc. v. Presgraves, Va. Ct. App. 2005).
- Your doctor hasn’t released you. If your treating doctor still has you out of work, a light-duty offer usually isn’t suitable yet. Get your restrictions in writing before you answer the offer.
- Promised transportation never came. In one case the Court of Appeals upheld a refusal where the employer had promised transportation and then wouldn’t provide it (Atlas Plumbing & Mechanical, Inc. v. Lang, 38 Va. App. 509 (2002)).
- The offer is vague. A phone call saying “come back whenever” is not the same as a specific job offer.
Each of these turns on facts the Commission weighs case by case. A refusal you think is reasonable can still be found unjustified.
Can You Fix a Refusal? The Six-Month Rule
Yes, but only within six months of the last day you were paid. Va. Code § 65.2-510(C) bars a cure when the refusal “lasts more than six months from the last day for which compensation was paid.” The same section allows that window to be extended by the days you are totally disabled, if the disability starts during the six months, and paused while a doctor certifies that pregnancy keeps you from working.
There are two ways to cure:
- Accept the job you refused, or a comparable one. Your wage checks can start again once you’ve cured the refusal, but they aren’t paid for the weeks the refusal lasted.
- Take a lower-paying job somewhere else. Your partial checks are then figured as if you had taken the light-duty job you were offered, using the pay you would have earned there, not your actual lower pay (Va. Code § 65.2-510(B)). Turning down a $600-a-week light-duty job and taking a $400-a-week job elsewhere usually costs you the difference.
Miss the six-month window and the refusal can’t be cured under the statute, even if you later accept work.
How Much Does Workers’ Comp Pay on Light Duty?
If light duty pays less than you earned before, workers’ comp pays two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury average weekly wage and what you earn now (Va. Code § 65.2-502). These are temporary partial disability checks.
| Example | Weekly amount |
|---|---|
| Average weekly wage before the injury | $900 |
| Light-duty pay | $600 |
| Difference | $300 |
| Partial disability check (two-thirds of the difference) | $200 |
| Total you receive each week | $800 |
Partial checks can’t be more than Virginia’s statewide average weekly wage (Va. Code § 65.2-502), and weeks of disability count toward Virginia’s 500-week limit (Va. Code § 65.2-518). Our guide to how long workers’ comp lasts in Virginia explains the limit. If your light-duty hours change from week to week, keep every pay stub, because the partial check is figured on what you actually earn.
What If Your Employer Has No Light Duty for You?
If your doctor releases you to light duty and your employer doesn’t offer a job, you generally have to look for work within your restrictions to keep receiving checks. The Supreme Court of Virginia puts the burden on the injured worker to prove “a reasonable effort to procure suitable work” (Ford Motor Co. v. Favinger, 275 Va. 83 (2008)). This is called marketing your residual work capacity.
There are “no fixed guidelines” for how many applications are enough (same case). The Commission looks at things like:
- How serious your injury and restrictions are
- How many places you applied, and whether the jobs fit your restrictions, skills, and location
- How you went about it, and whether you were really trying to get hired
- Your age, education, training, and work history
- Job availability in your area
Keep a written log: the date, employer, job, how you applied, the person you spoke to, and the result. The insurance company will ask for it, and a thin log is one of the most common reasons partial-disability claims fail.
Fired or Laid Off From Light Duty
Why you lost the light-duty job decides whether your checks continue.
| What happened | What usually happens to your wage checks |
|---|---|
| Laid off or furloughed for business reasons | They generally continue until you fully recover or the employer offers other suitable work (Carr v. Atkinson/Clark/Shea, Va. Ct. App. 2014). You still have to look for work. |
| Fired for misconduct serious enough to justify losing benefits | Partial checks can stop for good, and the refusal can’t be cured (Chesapeake & Potomac Tel. Co. v. Murphy, 12 Va. App. 633 (1991)) |
| Fired for a lesser reason | Not every firing counts. The cause must be the kind that “warrants permanent forfeiture” of benefits (Presgraves, quoting Eppling v. Schultz Dining Programs, 18 Va. App. 125 (1994)) |
| Your doctor later takes you completely out of work | Total disability checks can be owed even after a firing for cause (McKellar v. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Inc., Va. 2015) |
Firing someone solely for filing a workers’ comp claim is separately against the law (Va. Code § 65.2-308). Here’s more on employer retaliation and your workers’ comp rights.
Steps to Take When You Get a Light-Duty Offer
- Get the offer in writing. Duties, hours, pay, location, and start date.
- Show it to your treating doctor. Ask whether the job fits your restrictions, and get the answer in writing.
- Compare it line by line with your restrictions. Lifting limits, standing or sitting time, driving, and use of the injured arm or leg.
- If you’re going to refuse, put the reason in writing. The Commission will look at why you said no, not just that you did.
- Watch the calendar. The six-month cure window starts with the last day you were paid.
- Make sure your claim is filed with the Commission. File it even if the insurance company accepted your injury and is paying. You can ask the Commission for a hearing on whether the job is suitable, whatever the insurance company decides.
Light Duty Questions
Can I Refuse Light Duty Because It Pays Less?
Lower pay alone usually isn’t enough, because workers’ comp covers part of the gap, though a job that pays very little can be a different story. Partial checks pay two-thirds of the difference (Va. Code § 65.2-502). Refusing because of the pay can cost you all of your wage checks during the refusal.
Does Light Duty Affect My Medical Care?
No. Your medical treatment continues whether you accept light duty, refuse it, or are fired from it (Va. Code § 65.2-510(A)). The insurance company is still required to pay for reasonable, necessary treatment related to the accident. That doesn’t mean it will.
What if Light Duty Makes My Injury Worse?
Stop and tell your treating doctor right away. If the doctor changes your restrictions or takes you out of work, the job may no longer be suitable, and you may be owed total disability checks again. Get the new restrictions in writing and give them to your employer.
Can My Employer Make Up a Light-Duty Job Just to Stop My Checks?
The job has to be real. The employer has to prove a bona fide offer suitable to your capacity (Hillcrest Manor). A made-up job that doesn’t exist, doesn’t fit your restrictions, or disappears once your checks stop can be challenged at a hearing.
If you are thinking about leaving your job altogether, see can I quit my job while on workers’ comp in Virginia.
Talk to Pathfinder Injury Law About Light Duty
Pathfinder Injury Law handles only Virginia workers’ compensation claims. Call 804-505-0633 or use our online contact form.