If an employee is injured at work and a workers’ compensation claim is set up, they will be referred to an authorized treating physician. That doctor will will be asked to comment on the employee’s ability to return to work. The doctor can say one of three things: the doctor can say that they can return to work full duty, they cannot return to work at all, or they can return to work on light duty with restrictions. Once the doctor sets those restrictions, the burden then falls on the employer to say whether or not they can meet those restrictions.
If the employer can meet the restrictions, the employee has to return to work, because the insurance company can legally deny temporary disability benefits. If the employer cannot meet those restrictions, the employee is kept out of work, and they will receive temporary disability benefits, which are paid at 70% of the employee’s average weekly wage.