Working While on Workers' Comp

The short version: yes, in several situations — and the thing that destroys claims is not working. It is working and not disclosing it.

Modified or alternative work

Your employer may offer work within your restrictions, and there are real consequences either way.

If you work and earn less than before, you may be entitled to temporary partial disability — generally two-thirds of the difference between what you earned before and what you are earning now, subject to the same statutory maximum. This is frequently not paid because nobody calculates it.

If the employer offers regular, modified, or alternative work and you accept it, permanent disability payments may be reduced — but only for injuries between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2012, under the § 4658(d)(2)–(3) 15% up-or-down adjustment. For a 2013-or-later date of injury, § 4658(e) has no such adjustment, and accepting modified work does not cut your permanent disability.

If no such offer is made, you are generally entitled to the Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit voucher. How the voucher works. · Return to work rules.

Every offer should be in writing and should state the actual duties, so that "modified duty" is not a description that turns out to mean your old job.

Working a second job

If you had a second job before the injury, its earnings should already be in your average weekly wage. Section 4453(c)(4) requires "due consideration" of earnings "from all sources and employments," and this is missed constantly because the claims administrator only has one employer's payroll. More.

If your restrictions permit you to keep working that second job, generally you may — but it has to be disclosed, and the earnings affect the temporary disability calculation.

The thing that actually destroys claims

Undisclosed work.

Not working. Working while telling the claims administrator, the doctor, or a judge that you cannot.

Cash work counts. Gig work counts. Helping at a family business counts. Rideshare and delivery earnings are visible in ways people do not expect.

You will be asked about this under oath at your deposition. Answer honestly.

A worker who is doing light work within their restrictions and says so has no problem. A worker who denies it and is contradicted has lost the case on credibility, and credibility is what every disputed medical question ultimately turns on.

And describe your capacity accurately to your doctor — including that you are working, what you are doing, and what it costs you afterward.

EDD State Disability Insurance

If your workers' compensation claim is denied or delayed, you may be eligible for State Disability Insurance while it is sorted out. This is a real and important bridge, and many workers do not know it exists.

But it comes back. Under Labor Code § 4903(f), SDI benefits paid for a period later covered by a workers' compensation award are subject to reimbursement out of your recovery.

It is not a penalty — SDI paid you while comp did not — but it is the most common unexpected deduction from a settlement, and it is a concrete reason to press a delayed claim rather than settling into SDI for a year. What comes out of your settlement.

And remember § 5402(c): while your claim is being investigated — including while it is denied — the employer must authorize up to $10,000 in medical treatment. More.

Paid Family Leave benefits are likewise subject to reimbursement under § 4903(h).

Unemployment

Unemployment insurance requires that you be able and available to work. Temporary disability requires that you be unable to work.

They are not usually compatible for the same period, and unemployment benefits paid for the same days are subject to reimbursement under § 4903(g).

But if you have been released to modified duty and the employer will not accommodate it, you may be able to work and unavailable to your employer — which is a different situation and worth asking about rather than assuming.

Frequently asked questions