i'm a factory certified bodyman at a dealership in san diego. i have aprox. 23 yrs exp. i have a work related elbow injury. i've been off work for @ amonth and a half. my employer wants me to do a modified duty job in a different dept as an entry level car porter. their doctor says i cant use my left arm at all until my next appt. tomorrow i will go to work with my arm in a sling. my employer tells me he is doing me a favor, and i feel this mod. duty job is demeaning and embarrassing considering my age ,experience,and knowledge. plus i do not car for my "new" manager. also the shifts are longer than i'm used to. could they tell me they want me to do any job they want? is modified duty supposed to be within the same job description as you originally had?

i'm a factory certified bodyman at a dealership in san diego. i have aprox. 23 yrs exp. i have a work related elbow injury. i've been off work for @ amonth and a half. my employer wants me to do a modified duty job in a different dept as an entry level car porter. their doctor says i cant use my left arm at all until my next appt. tomorrow i will go to work with my arm in a sling. my employer tells me he is doing me a favor, and i feel this mod. duty job is demeaning and embarrassing considering my age ,experience,and knowledge. plus i do not car for my "new" manager. also the shifts are longer than i'm used to. could they tell me they want me to do any job they want? is modified duty supposed to be within the same job description as you originally had?
The only thing that your employer has to do, is to make sure that he puts you in a job that does not go against your doctors orders, so if this other job he is making you do is o.k with your doctor, he can ask you to do this job. The only thing is, once you are healed, if your doctor says you can do it, you should be given your old job duties. A girl at my work is on workers comp, and she was put at the front door to greet people. The employer just wanted to make sure she was doing some sort of work, and not sitting at home. Sorry, I know you didn't want to hear this.

Yep. "Demeaning and embarrassing" is irrelevant and honestly, not to tell you how you should feel, but requiring light duty, as long as it is not in violation of your doctor's restrictions, is not demeaning and embarrassing. It's work and honest work is never "demeaning and embarrassing". And, as a matter of fact, you could lose your worker's comp benefits (partially or totally) if you refuse light duty that you can physically perform, especially out of a false sense of entitlement and pride. Why should WC pay you when you refuse to do work that you can safely do?

Your employer does not HAVE to provide you with light or modified duty at all. There is certainly no law requiring that it be within your same job description. They could require you to come in and count paper clips if they wanted to.

It's only demeaning and embarrassing if you decide to allow it to be.

Agree with the others. If light duty is available, and you decline it, I can almost guarantee that your benefits will be cut off. Whether you are unable to perform the job because of a work injury, or because your employer just needs you to fill in, you can be asked to perform duties outside your job description at any time.

It has been proven in numerous studies that those who return to work heal faster and more fully than those who sit home and wait to get better. Plus, while you are working light duty most employers will pay you your regular wages. TTD is only 2/3 of what your average weekly wage is. Even if they pay a reduced rate to reflect the new duties, this rarely amounts to a 1/3 reduction in pay.

Can you paint still?or just bodywork.Allthough painting offers more challenges now than 23 years ago.
JoeC