Workers’ compensation offers many benefits to help employees recover physically and financially when they suffer on-the-job injuries and illnesses. If you were injured or became ill at work, you might be wondering whether you can continue working while simultaneously receiving workers’ compensation benefits.
The answer is, “Yes and no.” Workers’ compensation is meant to help injured employees precisely when they cannot continue working due to a work-related injury or illness. Therefore, it is somewhat counterintuitive to receive workers’ compensation benefits while still working. That said, subject to some important restrictions, it is not impossible to have your cake and eat it too.
Read on to learn more about working while receiving workers’ compensation without compromising your benefits or running into legal trouble. To better understand your options, consult with a workers’ compensation attorney about your rights as an injured employee. Call Sherrod & Bernard, P.C., today for a free consultation.
What is Workers’ Compensation?
Workers’ compensation is insurance offered by employers to cover employees when hurt on the job. In Georgia, most employers with three or more full-time or part-time employees are required to provide workers’ compensation insurance. Exceptions exist for railroad workers, farm workers, domestic servants, federal employees, and independent contractors.
Importantly, workers’ compensation is a kind of “no-fault” insurance. This means that injured employees are eligible for benefits regardless of whether they or their employer were responsible for the accident. Injured workers may be eligible to receive medical, rehabilitation, and income benefits. However, in exchange for these no-fault benefits, workers cannot sue their employer to recover compensation for their injuries.
Understanding Light-Duty Work After an Injury
You might be allowed to perform certain kinds of work subject to the limitations imposed by your injury or illness. For example, your employer could offer you “light-duty work” if your medical condition prevents you from completing the usual tasks of your occupation. Light-duty work might entail:
- Modified responsibilities in your job
- Reduced work hours
- Transfer to another position
Your employer is not required to provide an alternative position or another form of work while you receive workers’ compensation benefits through their insurance carrier. However, if your employer does offer you light-duty work that accommodates your limitations or restrictions and you refuse to accept, they could terminate your benefits.
If your employer offers light-duty work as you recover from your injuries, it is a good idea to consult with a workers’ compensation attorney before accepting. This will ensure that you know all your options and can make an informed decision.
Can I Have a Second Job While Receiving Workers’ Compensation?
Again, workers’ compensation is meant to help you while you are not able to perform your normal work duties due to an on-the-job injury or illness. Therefore, evidence that you normally work two jobs performing similar duties may undermine your workers’ compensation claim if you keep working one job and not the other due to a workplace injury. In the worst-case scenario, your primary employer might assume you are lying about your injury and pursue fraud charges against you.
That said, you might still be allowed to continue working your second job while collecting workers’ compensation benefits from your primary employer. However, bear in mind that one of the main goals of workers’ compensation is to get you back to your full working capacity sooner than later. Therefore, your work-related responsibilities at the second job must not worsen the symptoms of your injury or illness.
How Does a Second Job Impact My Benefits?
In Georgia, you are entitled to workers’ compensation income benefits if you cannot work for more than seven days due to a workplace injury or illness. You should receive two-thirds of your average weekly salary. This is calculated based on the average salary you received in the thirteen weeks prior to your injury or illness.
However, these benefits are subject to important fine-print restrictions. First, your weekly benefits can never exceed $725. Second, this income cap applies to the weekly income you receive regardless of which job it comes from. In other words, you can have a second job while receiving workers’ compensation benefits from your primary job. However, if you make more money at the second job than you would have made at the primary job, your income benefits are reduced to zero.
How to Protect Your Rights in a Workers’ Compensation Claim?
Workers’ compensation provides many useful benefits to injured employees. However, the law governing workers’ compensation is filled with confusing red tape. To protect your rights and avoid legal trouble while receiving workers’ compensation, take the following steps:
- Be honest about your injury and income – Providing misleading information to secure workers’ compensation benefits is criminal fraud punishable “by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 or by imprisonment not to exceed one year,” or both. Therefore, be scrupulously honest about your situation. On the one hand, you should never exaggerate the severity of your medical condition. On the other, you also should not minimize it.
Further, you are also required by law to accurately report additional jobs and income when receiving workers’ compensation from your employer. Failure to do so may lead to serious legal consequences.
- Follow your doctor’s instructions – If your medical care providers recommend a specific course of treatment (physical therapy, for example), follow their instructions. Attend all necessary appointments to address your injury or illness. If you do not follow the treatment plan prescribed by your doctors, your employer could move to terminate your benefits.
- Hire a lawyer – Securing workers’ compensation benefits for lost wages and medical care treatment can be challenging, especially if you continue working a lighter load or a second job. A workers’ compensation attorney can make sure you are getting everything you are entitled to, as well as that you are not inadvertently breaking any important rules.
Consult With a Georgia Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
At Sherrod & Bernard, P.C., we have been fighting for injured workers in our community for nearly 30 years. We are proud to provide excellent legal representation to every client that walks through our doors. Whether you are ready to file a claim, your claim has been denied, or you are simply wondering whether you can work a second job, our attorneys are ready to answer your questions and handle your case. Contact us online today for a free consultation.
