You may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits if you’ve been hurt. These benefits aim to help you make ends meet and eventually return to work. If you receive workers’ compensation benefits, you might ask whether you can work and still get workers’ comp in South Carolina.
The answer is yes. In certain circumstances, you could be able to work while receiving workers’ compensation benefits.
Contact Jebaily Law Firm now for a free consultation with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer who can review your situation and advise you about your rights regarding working while receiving benefits.
South Carolina Laws on Working While Receiving Workers’ Comp Benefits
Under South Carolina’s workers’ compensation system, injured workers can continue to receive workers’ compensation benefits if they return to work while recovering from a workplace accident or occupational disease.
When an injured employee’s treating physician determines the employee can return to work but should not perform various job functions while recovering from their injuries, the employer may offer light work. Light-duty work refers to a modified or alternative position with an employer that satisfies the employee’s medical restrictions determined by their treating physician.
Medical restrictions may include:
- Limits on the number of hours an employee can work in a day or week
- Weight limits for lifting, carrying, pulling, or pushing
- Limits on the amount of time the employee can stand, sit, or walk
- Restrictions on specific movements, such as bending, kneeling, or twisting
- Allowances for more frequent breaks or bathroom visits
When an employer offers an injured employee light work that meets their medical restrictions, the employee must accept it. Employees who refuse light work that meets their medical restrictions may face termination of their workers’ compensation benefits.
Benefits for Injured Workers While on Light-Duty Restrictions
Injured workers who return to work on light-duty restrictions can continue to receive South Carolina workers’ compensation benefits, such as:
- Medical benefits – Workers’ compensation will continue to pay for all reasonable and necessary medical treatment and rehabilitation for a work injury, even after an employee returns to work on light or full duty.
- Temporary partial disability compensation – Workers who return to work on light-duty restrictions can receive temporary partial disability compensation equal to two-thirds of the difference between the worker’s average weekly wage, calculated using the worker’s wages in the four quarters before their injury, and their current weekly wage on light duty.
- Permanent partial disability benefits—When a worker reaches maximum medical improvement (the point at which no further treatment will likely improve the worker’s condition) but continues to suffer from impairment due to their injury, they may qualify for permanent partial disability benefits, which provide financial payments based on the nature and severity of the permanent impairment.
Can I Be Fired While Receiving Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
Employees can still face termination while receiving workers’ compensation benefits in South Carolina. Employers may terminate injured workers for numerous legitimate reasons, such as:
- A continuation of a disciplinary process that began before the worker’s injury or for misconduct that occurred before the injury
- The worker’s misconduct that occurs after they return to work from an injury
- As part of a reduction in force or corporate reorganization, such as a plant closure
However, employers may not terminate employees in retaliation for their workers’ compensation claim. Furthermore, employers may not terminate temporarily or permanently disabled employees who can continue to perform the essential functions of their job with or without reasonable accommodations. Doing so can constitute disability discrimination.
What Happens If I Find a New Job While Receiving Workers’ Comp?
Sometimes, an injured worker may find a new job that pays as much or more than they earned before their work injury to avoid taking a lower-paying light-duty position with their employer. Injured workers may also seek new employment if their current employer lacks light work.
Although the law allows injured employees receiving workers’ compensation benefits to seek new employment, those employees have various legal obligations.
Employees who obtain a new job while receiving workers’ comp should inform their current employer or the workers’ compensation insurer. The employer or insurer may have the right to reduce or terminate the worker’s temporary disability workers’ compensation benefits if the worker earns more than they did before getting injured. The insurer may also attempt to terminate the worker’s medical benefits, arguing that their new job demonstrates they have recovered from their injury.
Financial Implications of Working While on Workers’ Comp
The workers’ compensation system seeks to get injured workers back on the job as quickly as possible. For that reason, injured workers cleared for light duty must accept light work when their employer offers it.
Working while receiving workers’ comp benefits can have financial implications for injured employees. In many cases, working while on workers’ comp financially benefits injured employees. Workers’ compensation reimburses only up to two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly wage when an employee cannot work at all. However, if an employee can return to light work, they can fully replace some of their lost income and receive two-thirds reimbursement of the difference between their pre-injury average weekly wage and current wages.
Disputes Involving Work During Workers’ Compensation Claims
Injured workers and their employers or their employers’ insurers sometimes find themselves in disputes regarding:
- The worker’s medical restrictions or fitness to return to full duty
- The calculation of a worker’s temporary partial compensation benefits
- Offsets of income an injured worker receives from a second or new job
How Our Lawyers Can Help Resolve Disputes and Maximize Your Benefits
At Jebaily Law Firm, our workers’ compensation attorneys can help you protect your rights and interests and maximize your workers’ comp benefits by:
- Reviewing your pay records to ensure you receive the full amount of wage-replacement benefits you deserve
- Advising you regarding your rights and obligations for returning to work, either in a light-duty role or in a job with a new employer
- Opposing petitions to terminate your workers’ compensation benefits if you find a new job
Get Help from Our Florence Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Now
Our experienced Florence workers’ compensation attorneys are ready to analyze your situation and advise you on your rights and options for working while on workers’ comp.
Are you ready to learn more about what you can do while on workers’ comp and whether returning to work may affect your benefits? Contact Jebaily Law Firm today for a free, no-obligation consultation with our knowledgeable workers’ compensation attorneys.
