Human Resource Blog

Light Duty in Maryland

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Is an employer obligated to put an employee on light duty in Maryland, if no appropriate work is available?

There have been a number of court cases related to light duty, but at this time no Maryland or federal law exists on the topic. The U.S. Department of Labor, however, has enacted a number of regulations regarding light duty.

Some workers think that being restricted to light duty means they get paid for doing little or no work. This isn’t the case. If the company doesn’t have 40 hours worth of light duty work, it doesn’t have to provide the employee with a position. Nor does the company have to create a light duty position for a worker.

Some jobs are easier to adapt to “light duty” than others. An administrative assistant who performs work at a desk all day could be considered a light duty position. A position in the mail room where sorting packages that can weigh 50 pounds or more probably wouldn’t conform to light duty requirements. In that scenario, the employee may not be able to return to work until able to perform the job.

There are businesses that enact policies to not allow workers to work on a light duty restriction. The concern is that employee may further injure himself or herself. Again, as long as the company treats every employee with a light duty restriction equally and fairly, it is justified to enact this policy.

An exception to this rule is if the light duty restriction is considered a disability. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) a business must make reasonable accommodations for a disabled worker. The employee must present a physician’s certification of the temporary of permanent disability and request the adjustment. A reasonable accommodation could be providing a stool for a person to sit instead of stand while working. Creating a new job, or hiring additional personnel for that employee, would not be considered a reasonable accommodation.

No matter what the light duty request, it is imperative that the employer treat all of the requests equally. Providing light duty work for some employees and not for other could constitute discrimination. JH