Nothing in this article should be taken as legal advice. Every case is different.
Yes, you can quit your job while on workers’ comp in Virginia, but what happens to your checks depends on whether you can work at all. If your doctor has you completely out of work, quitting generally does not stop your total disability checks. If you’re on light duty, quitting the light-duty job is usually treated as refusing suitable work, and your wage checks can stop. Either way, your medical care for the injury continues. And if you start working anywhere else, you have to report it to the insurance company right away.
What Happens to Your Checks If You Quit
| Your situation when you quit | What usually happens |
|---|---|
| Your doctor has you completely out of work | Total disability checks generally continue. As the Supreme Court of Virginia put it: “Injured workers who leave the workforce for reasons unrelated to their injuries are nonetheless entitled to temporary total disability compensation” (McKellar v. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Inc., Va. 2015). |
| You’re working a light-duty job your employer gave you | Quitting is usually treated as refusing suitable work. Wage checks can stop until you cure the refusal (Va. Code § 65.2-510). |
| You’re released to light duty, but your employer has no job for you | You generally have to look for work within your restrictions to keep partial checks. Leaving the job market hurts that claim. |
| You’re back at full duty | No wage checks are being paid. Medical care for the injury continues. |
In every row, medical treatment for the work injury continues (Va. Code § 65.2-510(A), § 65.2-603).
Quitting While You’re Totally Disabled
When your injury keeps you from working at all, your job status generally doesn’t matter to your total disability checks. In McKellar, the Supreme Court of Virginia said “an injured worker’s status in the labor market is irrelevant where the worker’s incapacity is total.” The worker in that case had retired, and he was still owed total disability checks for a later period when the injury kept him from working.
That protection lasts only as long as your doctor keeps you completely out of work. The day you are released to light duty, the rules below apply, and having quit can make them harder to meet.
Quitting a Light-Duty Job
Quitting a light-duty job your employer gave you usually counts as refusing suitable work. The Supreme Court of Virginia has described the light-duty rule as applying when a worker “unjustifiably refuses to accept or continue selective employment” (Big D Quality Homebuilders v. Hamilton, 228 Va. 378, 381-82 (1984)).
That means:
- Your wage checks can stop for as long as the refusal lasts, unless the Commission finds you had a justified reason to leave (Va. Code § 65.2-510(A)).
- You have six months to fix it, counted from the last day you were paid, by going back to the job or comparable work (§ 65.2-510(C)).
- A lower-paying job elsewhere won’t fully restore your checks. Your partial checks are figured as if you had kept the light-duty job (§ 65.2-510(B)).
A job that was outside your restrictions, or that made your injury worse, can be a justified reason to leave. Get your doctor’s opinion in writing before you go, not after. Our guide to refusing light duty in Virginia covers what counts as justified.
Can You Work Another Job While on Workers’ Comp?
Yes, if your doctor allows it, but you must report it to the insurance company immediately. Va. Code § 65.2-712 requires you to “immediately” disclose a “return to employment” or an “increase in … earnings.” Not reporting has real consequences:
- The insurance company can recover what it overpaid, by taking it out of future checks or by suing you for it (same law).
- Knowingly making or using a false written statement in connection with a workers’ comp award is a crime. Under Va. Code § 65.2-312, it is a Class 6 felony.
What the new job does to your checks:
| You’re receiving | You start working | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Total disability checks | Any job, even part-time | Total disability checks generally end, because you are no longer totally unable to work. If you still have restrictions, partial checks may take their place. |
| Partial disability checks | A job that pays more | Your partial check goes down, because it is two-thirds of the difference between your old wage and your new one (Va. Code § 65.2-502) |
| Partial disability checks, after being released to light duty with no job from your employer | A lower-paying job with a new employer | You may be owed two-thirds of the difference, if you show you made a reasonable effort to find suitable work (Ford Motor Co. v. Favinger, 275 Va. 83 (2008)) |
Never work a job your doctor hasn’t cleared. The insurance company will use it to argue you were able to do the light duty it offered, or that a new injury happened at the new job.
Does a Second Job Count Toward Your Weekly Wage?
Only if the jobs are similar, or if both were for the same employer. Your checks are based on your average weekly wage in “the employment in which [you were] working at the time of the injury” (Va. Code § 65.2-101).
- Two jobs with different employers: wages are combined only if the jobs are related or similar (County of Frederick Fire & Rescue v. Dodson, Va. Ct. App. 1995). A warehouse worker who also delivers pizzas on weekends usually can’t add the pizza wages.
- Two jobs with the same employer: the Supreme Court of Virginia combined the wages even though the jobs were different (Dinwiddie County School Board v. Cole, 258 Va. 430 (1999)).
Here’s more on how Virginia workers’ comp benefits are calculated.
Fired Instead of Quitting?
Being fired is treated differently from quitting, and the reason matters. A business layoff from light duty generally keeps partial checks going, as long as you look for other work (Carr v. Atkinson/Clark/Shea, Va. Ct. App. 2014). A firing for serious misconduct can end partial checks for good. And firing someone solely for filing a workers’ comp claim is against the law (Va. Code § 65.2-308). See employer retaliation and your workers’ comp rights.
Before You Quit
- Find out where you stand medically. Ask your treating doctor whether you are totally disabled, on restrictions, or at full duty, and get it in writing.
- If you’re on light duty, write down why you’re leaving. A justified reason has to be shown to the Commission, and a written reason made at the time carries more weight.
- Line up the next job before you leave, and make sure it fits your restrictions.
- Report any new job or earnings to the insurance company at once, in writing, and keep a copy.
- Make sure your claim is filed with the Commission. File it even if the insurance company accepted your injury and is paying. It protects your claim if the checks stop.
- Think about settlement before you resign. Employers sometimes ask for a resignation as part of a workers’ comp settlement. Quitting first gives up something they may have wanted to bargain for. Here’s more on workers’ comp settlements in Virginia.
Quitting and Workers’ Comp Questions
Will I Lose My Medical Care if I Quit?
No. Medical treatment for the work injury continues after you quit, for as long as your claim allows. The insurance company is required to pay for reasonable, necessary treatment related to the accident. That doesn’t mean it will.
Can I Collect Unemployment and Workers’ Comp at the Same Time?
That is a question of unemployment law, which the Virginia Employment Commission decides, not the Workers’ Compensation Commission. Ask the Employment Commission before you file, and report any unemployment benefits to the workers’ comp insurance company.
Can I Move Out of State While on Workers’ Comp?
Moving doesn’t end a Virginia claim. But if you’re on light duty or looking for work, the Commission looks at job availability where you live. If a move means you can’t take an offered light-duty job, the Commission decides whether your reason for moving justified saying no, and the answer can go either way.
Talk to Pathfinder Injury Law Before You Quit
Pathfinder Injury Law handles only Virginia workers’ compensation claims. Call 804-505-0633 or use our online contact form.