The restriction slip — “no lifting over 20 pounds, no overhead work” — turns every comp claim into a three-way negotiation among what the doctor wrote, what the employer can offer, and what the checks require. The rules are more mechanical than either side admits.
What makes an offer valid
“Light duty” has legal elements (§4658.1): the assignment must fit the written restrictions, sit within reasonable commuting distance, be expected to last at least twelve months, and pay at least 85% of the wages at injury. An offer that meets them and gets refused generally stops TD — the wage loss stops being the injury’s. An “offer” that fails them (a two-week token assignment, a facility across the county, duties that quietly exceed the restrictions) is not the offer that cuts anything off.
Working it: the differential
Accept and earn less — fewer hours, lower classification — and TD converts to partial: payment rides the wage differential, not the full loss. Working light duty also builds the record both directions: it evidences good faith and earning capacity, and it tests the restrictions in public. Which is the trap — exceeding your restrictions at work (or on camera in the parking lot) is the defense exhibit that shrinks cases. Work the restrictions as written; get them changed by the doctor if they’re wrong, not by improvising.
The 60-day voucher window
Light duty’s endgame arrives at P&S: a qualifying regular/modified/alternative work offer within 60 days forecloses the supplemental job displacement voucher (§4658.7); silence or a non-qualifying offer triggers it — and SB 863 made it non-settleable. Either way the PD rating is untouched: permanent disability compensates the injury, not the job outcome — the string prices the same whether you are back at work or not. Employers running this from the other side: the employer’s guide.
Estimates for informational use; not legal advice.
Rate your spine right here
Same engine as the tables above — pick your occupation and age, slide the WPI from the report, and carry it into the full calculator when you’re ready.