Light Duty Work in Colorado Workers’ Compensation: Your Rights, Risks, and Wage Impact

This guide is for Colorado employees who have been injured at work and are facing light duty work offers under workers compensation. If you’re searching for information about light duty work in Colorado workers comp, you’re likely concerned about how accepting or refusing such an offer could impact your benefits and rights. Understanding how light duty affects your workers compensation benefits can mean the difference between protecting your income and watching your checks disappear. Knowing your rights and the risks involved is crucial to making informed decisions that safeguard your financial future and recovery.

If you’ve been injured on the job in Colorado, you may hear your employer or the insurance company mention “light duty” or “modified duty.” In Colorado, light-duty work refers to temporary, modified, or alternative job tasks that accommodate an injured worker's physical restrictions. Only eligible employees—those who meet certain criteria under Colorado law—can receive workers compensation benefits, and eligibility is determined based on the circumstances of the injury and employment status.

At Johnston Law Firm, LLC, Steve Johnston has helped injured workers throughout Pueblo and Southern Colorado navigate these critical decisions. Here’s what you need to know before accepting—or refusing—any light duty offer.

Light Duty Work After a Colorado Work Injury: Start with Your Rights

Under Colorado workers compensation laws, light duty refers to modified work assignments that fall within the physical restrictions set by your treating physician. In Colorado, light-duty work refers to temporary, modified, or alternative job tasks that accommodate an injured worker's physical restrictions. For a Pueblo warehouse worker, this might mean inventory counts instead of loading trucks. For a construction worker in Otero County, it could be site supervision rather than framing. For a healthcare employee in Fremont County, it might involve desk work instead of patient transfers.

The stakes are high. Accepting or refusing light duty can dramatically affect your Temporary Total Disability (TTD) and Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) benefits. If you make the wrong move without understanding Colorado law, you could lose wage replacement benefits you desperately need.

Colorado law permits employers to offer medically restricted work, but they must follow specific rules. The offer must be in writing, describe duties clearly, and fall within your doctor’s restrictions. For a light duty offer to be legally binding, an Authorized Treating Physician must provide a written release stating you can return to modified work, and the offer should be accompanied by a signed certificate of service to ensure its validity. Light-duty positions must be formally approved by an authorized treating physician to avoid exacerbating injuries. The authorized treating physician’s restrictions—not your employer’s preferences or the insurance carrier’s wishes—control what is safe and allowed.

Your doctor’s written restrictions are your protection. If your physician says no lifting over 10 pounds, your employer cannot assign you to stock shelves with 30-pound boxes and call it “light duty.” You cannot take yourself off of work; only your treating physician can authorize time off. If you stop working without your doctor’s approval, you may not receive benefits for that lost time.

After a work injury, you must provide written notice to your employer within 4 working days. Filing an incident report is required to document the injury and protect your rights under Colorado workers compensation laws.

Many injured workers feel pressured to accept whatever their employer offers. Others refuse out of frustration or fear. Both reactions can backfire without proper guidance.

If you’ve been injured at work and your employer is discussing light duty, call Johnston Law Firm, LLC at (719) 309-9484 or message us online for a free workers’ comp consultation before making any decisions.

How Light Duty Works Under Colorado Workers’ Comp Law

Colorado’s workers compensation system, governed by Title 8, Article 42 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, encourages employers to return injured workers to productive employment as quickly as medically appropriate. This is where modified duty and returning to work in a modified capacity come into play. Returning in a modified capacity, such as light duty or with restrictions, allows injured workers to perform job tasks within their physical limitations and may qualify them for partial disability benefits under workers' compensation rules.

Written Offer Requirements

When an authorized treating physician places an injured worker on restrictions—such as no lifting over 10 pounds, no climbing ladders, or seated work only—the employer has the option to offer modified employment that fits within those limitations. This process is overseen by the Colorado Division of Workers Compensation.

A proper light duty offer must be prepared in writing and delivered to the injured employee. The written offer should:

• Identify the job title

• Describe the specific duties

• List the work hours and location

• State the wages

• Confirm that the position complies with the doctor’s current medical restrictions

The specific job tasks must be clearly outlined and evaluated to ensure they fit within the employee's restrictions. Light-duty positions must be formally approved by an authorized treating physician to avoid exacerbating injuries, and the offer must be accompanied by a medical report from the physician confirming that the employment is within the claimant's physical restrictions.

Responding to a Light Duty Offer

Claimants generally have at least 24 hours to respond to a written offer of modified employment, excluding weekends or holidays. The employer is responsible for paying for the hours worked in the light-duty position.

The offer cannot contradict or quietly ignore the physician’s restrictions. If your doctor says you cannot stand for more than two hours at a time, a job requiring eight hours of standing is not valid light duty—no matter what the paperwork says.

Here’s the critical point: under Colorado workers compensation rules, if suitable light duty is properly offered and you refuse it without justification, your TTD benefits can be reduced or cut off entirely. The insurance company will argue you are voluntarily limiting your income.

Steve Johnston represents injured workers in Pueblo and throughout Colorado, including Otero, Fremont, Custer, Huerfano, Las Animas, and Crowley Counties, when disputes arise about whether a light duty job is truly “suitable.” Many offers that look reasonable on paper fall apart under scrutiny—and that’s where an experienced attorney can help you protect your claim.

Transitioning from understanding how light duty offers work, it’s essential to know how your wages and benefits are affected when you accept or refuse such offers.

Your Wage Rights: TTD vs. TPD When Light Duty Is Offered

Wage replacement in Colorado depends heavily on whether you are completely off work or back at work earning less because of restrictions or reduced hours. Workers’ compensation is designed to help injured employees recover lost wages resulting from their inability to perform their regular job duties due to injury.

Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits apply when you cannot work at all due to your work related injury, or when your employer cannot accommodate your restrictions. TTD pays two-thirds of your average weekly wage (AWW), up to the statutory cap for the year your injury occurred. For example, recent caps have been in the range of $1,200 to $1,400 per week, though these figures adjust annually. TTD is typically paid every two weeks. There is a three-shift waiting period before benefits begin, which may be reimbursed if you miss more than two weeks of work.

Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) benefits kick in when the injured worker returns to light duty or reduced hours and earns less than pre injury wages. TPD equals two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wages and your current light duty earnings.

Here’s a simple example: A worker earned $900 per week before the injury and now earns $450 per week on modified duty. The difference is $450. TPD pays two-thirds of that difference, which is $300 per week. So the worker receives $450 in wages plus $300 in temporary disability benefits, totaling $750—still less than the original $900, but better than nothing.

As hours and pay change on light duty, TPD can go up or down. If wages return to pre-injury levels, TPD may end entirely.

Be aware that insurance companies sometimes push workers back to “any” job—even one that seems unrealistic or unsafe—to reduce TTD to TPD or eliminate wage replacement benefits altogether. They may use surveillance or pressure tactics to argue you can do more than your restrictions allow.

If you see a sudden drop in your workers’ comp checks after going on light duty, call Johnston Law Firm, LLC at (719) 309-9484 or message us online so Steve can review your wage loss calculations and make sure you’re receiving fair compensation.

Understanding your wage rights is only part of the equation—knowing what makes a light duty offer valid is equally important.

What a Valid Light Duty Job Offer Must Include in Colorado

Not every “help out at the front desk” suggestion qualifies as a valid light duty offer under Colorado workers’ comp law. The Division of Workers Compensation expects employers to follow specific requirements.

A proper written offer of modified employment must include:

• Prepared in writing and delivered to the worker. Verbal offers are not sufficient and cannot be enforced against you.

• Identifies the position, supervisor, and physical location. You should know exactly where you’ll be working and who you’ll report to.

• Clearly describes duties and tasks. Vague descriptions like “light work” or “office help” are not acceptable. The offer should say things like “answering phones,” “labeling files,” or “monitoring inventory from a seated position.”

• States regular work hours and schedule. For example, “8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.”

• Lists hourly wage or salary and any reduction from pre-injury pay. You deserve accurate information about what you’ll earn.

• States explicitly that the job complies with the doctor’s current restrictions. Ideally, the offer includes or references the treating physician’s signed work restrictions form.

• Is accompanied by a written release from the authorized treating physician. The written release must state that you are cleared to return to modified or light duty work.

• Includes a signed certificate of service. This certificate confirms that the offer was properly delivered to you and helps ensure the offer is legally binding.

The authorized treating physician must approve—or at least not contradict—the job duties. If the doctor later changes restrictions, the job may no longer be suitable, and you should not be penalized for refusing to continue.

Common problems Pueblo and Southern Colorado workers see include:

• Employers promising light duty but then assigning heavy work that violates restrictions.

• Sudden schedule changes that ignore medical appointments or therapy times.

• Light duty that is really “busy work” or unpleasant tasks designed to pressure the injured worker into quitting.

• Employers who claim the job is within restrictions when it clearly is not.

If the job is not actually within your medical restrictions, refusing it may be justified—but this is risky and should only be done after speaking with an experienced attorney who understands Colorado workers compensation laws.

Bring any written light duty offer or HR letter to Johnston Law Firm, LLC for review before signing by calling (719) 309-9484 or using our online contact form.

Now that you know what makes a light duty offer valid, it’s important to understand the consequences of accepting or refusing such offers.

What Happens If You Refuse Light Duty Work in Colorado Workers Comp?

If you are offered a valid, physician-approved light-duty position in Colorado workers comp and you refuse it, you may lose or have your wage-loss benefits reduced. Here’s what you need to know:

1. If an employer offers a valid, physician-approved light-duty position and an employee refuses it, the employee may lose or have their wage-loss benefits reduced.

2. If a light-duty job pays less than the original salary, the employee may receive temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits to make up the difference.

3. Colorado law does not strictly require an employer to create a light duty position if one does not exist.

4. If an employer does not have suitable light-duty work, the employee remains on temporary total disability (TTD), receiving payments while staying at home.

5. In Colorado, if an employer offers modified duty work, the employee may be required to accept the position to continue receiving temporary total disability benefits.

6. For a light duty offer to be legally binding, an Authorized Treating Physician must provide a written release stating the employee can return to modified work.

7. If an employee is offered light duty work and refuses, they may forfeit their workers' compensation benefits for the hours that were offered.

8. If you refuse a light duty work offer, your wage replacement benefits may be terminated for the hours that were offered to you.

9. Refusing a reasonable offer of modified employment can lead to the termination of temporary total disability benefits.

10. If an injured worker fails to return to work after being offered modified duty, their benefits may be modified or terminated.

11. Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) benefits are paid when you return to work but are not earning your normal pay due to your injury.

12. Temporary partial disability benefits typically cover two-thirds of the difference between pre-injury and post-injury wages.

13. The employer is responsible for paying for the hours worked in the light-duty position.

In summary, refusing a valid light duty offer can have serious consequences for your workers compensation benefits. If you have questions about whether an offer is valid or how refusal might affect your claim, consult an experienced attorney before making a decision.

Understanding these risks will help you make informed choices about your next steps. Next, let’s look at the general and specific risks of refusing or accepting light duty too quickly.

Risks of Refusing or Accepting Light Duty Too Quickly

Decisions about light duty can have legal, medical, and financial consequences. Many mistakes happen in the first few days after an offer is made, when injured workers feel pressured and confused.

General Overview of Risks

Accepting or refusing light duty too quickly can impact your benefits, your recovery, and your long-term claim. If you refuse a valid offer, you risk losing wage replacement benefits. If you accept too quickly and overexert yourself, you may worsen your injury or undermine your claim.

Risks of Refusing Light Duty

If the job truly matches your doctor’s restrictions and is properly offered in writing, refusing it can allow the insurance company to cut off or reduce your TTD benefits immediately. The insurer may argue that you are “voluntarily limiting income,” which can sharply reduce your wage benefits.

Refusal can also be used against you at hearings before Colorado workers’ compensation judges. The insurance carrier will present the written offer, argue it was reasonable, and claim you walked away from work you could have done.

Risks of Accepting Light Duty

On the other hand, workers may feel pressured to say “yes” even when pain levels make the job unrealistic. Doing too much too soon can worsen the injury and delay maximum medical improvement.

Overperforming beyond your written restrictions can undermine future claims. If you’re supposed to lift no more than 10 pounds but you’re moving 25-pound boxes to “help out,” the employer and insurance company will argue you are capable of more—and they may have surveillance footage to prove it.

Example Scenario

Consider this scenario: A grocery stocker in Las Animas County is told to return to light duty with a 10-pound lifting restriction. Within days, a supervisor asks him to “just help” with a shipment of 50-pound bags. He complies to avoid conflict, re-injures his back, and the insurance carrier uses his performance to argue the original restrictions were exaggerated.

Reporting Problems Immediately

If the job exceeds restrictions, document specifics: dates, tasks, weights lifted, and pain levels. Report them immediately to your authorized treating physician and notify the claims adjuster in writing.

Retaliation—harassment, schedule changes, threats of firing—for asserting your rights or reporting pain is illegal under Colorado law. Such conduct can form the basis of additional legal claims.

Workers in Pueblo, Otero, Fremont, Custer, Huerfano, Las Animas, Crowley, and elsewhere in Colorado should contact Johnston Law Firm, LLC before refusing light duty or walking off a modified job. Call (719) 309-9484 or message us online.

Knowing the risks of your decision, it’s also important to understand how your performance on light duty can affect your long-term claim and settlement.

How Light Duty Affects Your Long-Term Claim, MMI, and Settlement

How you perform on light duty can influence far more than your weekly paycheck. It can shape your doctor’s opinion on restrictions, the timing of Maximum Medical Improvement, your impairment rating, and the ultimate settlement value of your workers compensation claim.

Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) is the point at which your treating physician determines your condition has plateaued and is not expected to improve significantly with more medical treatment. Under Colorado law, MMI triggers the end of temporary disability benefits and the beginning of permanent disability considerations.

Your performance on light duty can affect your impairment rating. If you’re “making it work” by pushing through pain on modified duty, your doctor may underestimate your long-term limitations. Under-reporting symptoms—whether out of pride, pressure, or fear of losing your job—can result in a lower impairment rating and a smaller Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) award.

Insurance companies sometimes rely heavily on light duty performance and surveillance to argue that the injured worker is capable of more than claimed. They may send investigators to watch you at work or even follow you outside of work hours.

Here’s an example of why this matters: A worker with a 10% impairment rating receives a significantly smaller lump-sum settlement than one with a 20% rating. If your light duty experience makes you look more capable than you really are, your permanent total disability or permanent disability benefits may be reduced.

Steve Johnston can help analyze whether it is time to request a Division-sponsored Independent Medical Examination (IME) or challenge an MMI or impairment rating decision that seems premature or unfair. Before agreeing to any final settlement based solely on your light duty experience, make sure your future earning capacity and permanent restrictions are fully considered.

As you consider your long-term future, it’s also important to know what to do if your employer doesn’t follow the rules.

What to Do If Your Employer Doesn’t Follow the Rules

Employers and insurance carriers in Colorado sometimes use tactics designed to push injured workers out or minimize their claims. Recognizing these tactics is the first step to fighting back.

Common problems include:

• Offering light duty on paper but assigning heavy, unsafe tasks in practice.

• Cutting hours or moving shifts to late nights to make the job unbearable.

• Threatening discipline or termination if the worker refuses to exceed medical restrictions.

• Ignoring medical appointment times or physical therapy schedules.

• Creating “busy work” or unpleasant assignments to pressure the injured employee into quitting.

These tactics can be challenged. You can file complaints with your authorized treating physician, submit written reports to the adjuster, and file applications for hearing with the Colorado Office of Administrative Courts when benefits are cut off or reduced unfairly.

Document Everything

Keep a notebook or digital log of dates, duties, pain levels, and conversations with supervisors and HR. Save copies of all written light duty offers, emails, text messages, and doctor’s notes. This documentation can be critical if your workers comp claim goes to a hearing. The insurance company may issue a Final Admission of Liability, which finalizes their responsibility for your injury. If you disagree with the Admission of Liability, you must respond within 30 days to avoid losing your rights.

Being fired while on light duty does not automatically end your right to medical care or workers compensation benefits, but it can complicate wage replacement and unemployment benefits eligibility. You may still be eligible for certain benefits, such as unemployment compensation or continued medical care, depending on your circumstances. You may still be entitled to receive benefits even after termination—the claim does not simply disappear.

Johnston Law Firm, LLC also handles related issues such as termination and retaliation claims. In more serious cases, Steve Johnston can coordinate strategies that may overlap with personal injury law or Social Security Disability.

If you’re struggling with a bad light duty assignment or a threatened loss of benefits, call Steve Johnston at (719) 309-9484 or contact us online for a free, confidential consultation.

Steve represents injured workers in Pueblo and across Colorado, including Otero, Fremont, Custer, Huerfano, Las Animas, and Crowley Counties. Whether you need help with a workers compensation claim, an appeal, or a related legal issue, you don’t have to face employers and insurance carriers alone. Understanding your rights is the first step—taking action is the next.

As you protect your own claim, it’s also important to know what benefits are available to families in the event of a tragic workplace fatality.

Dependents and Deceased Workers Benefits: What Families Need to Know

When a Colorado worker tragically loses their life due to a work-related injury or illness, their family may be entitled to important benefits under Colorado workers compensation laws. These benefits are designed to provide financial support to dependents—such as a spouse, children, or other family members—who relied on the worker’s income.

Under the Colorado workers compensation system, the insurance carrier is responsible for investigating the circumstances of the injury and determining which family members qualify as dependents. If eligibility is established, dependents are entitled to receive bi-weekly payments based on a percentage of the deceased worker’s average weekly wage. This calculation ensures that families receive fair compensation that reflects the worker’s earnings prior to the injury.

In addition to wage replacement, Colorado workers compensation rules require the insurance carrier to cover certain funeral expenses, helping to ease the financial burden during a difficult time. The Division of Workers Compensation oversees these claims and ensures that families are treated fairly according to Colorado law.

Navigating the process can be overwhelming, especially while grieving. That’s why it’s crucial for families to seek guidance from an experienced attorney who understands the complexities of Colorado workers compensation laws. An attorney can help determine eligibility, ensure all necessary documentation is submitted, and advocate for the full range of benefits to which dependents are entitled.

If you have lost a loved one due to a work-related injury, don’t hesitate to reach out for support. The Division of Workers Compensation and knowledgeable legal professionals are available to provide guidance and help you secure the benefits your family deserves.

As you consider all sources of support, it’s also important to understand how other benefits may affect your workers compensation claim.

Potential Offsets and Losing Time: How Other Benefits Affect Your Claim

When you’re receiving workers compensation benefits in Colorado, it’s important to understand how other sources of income—such as unemployment benefits, Social Security, or private disability insurance—can impact your claim. The rules surrounding these “offsets” are complex, but failing to report additional benefits can lead to reduced payments or even legal complications.

If you are an injured worker receiving temporary partial disability benefits or other forms of wage replacement, the insurance carrier will review your pre-injury wages and compare them to any other benefits you’re receiving. For example, if you qualify for unemployment benefits while also receiving workers compensation, the insurance company may reduce your workers compensation payments to avoid double compensation for the same period of lost time.

It’s essential to keep accurate records of all benefits you receive and to promptly notify your workers compensation insurance carrier about any changes. Your authorized treating physician can also provide guidance on how other benefits might affect your workers compensation claim, especially if your work restrictions or ability to return to work change over time.

The insurance carrier will determine the correct amount of benefits by considering your pre-injury wages, the waiting period before benefits begin, and any lost time due to your injury. If you fail to disclose other benefits, you risk having your workers compensation benefits reduced retroactively or facing repayment demands.

To protect your rights and ensure you receive the full benefits you’re entitled to, always communicate openly with your treating physician and the insurance carrier. If you’re unsure how other benefits might affect your workers compensation claim, consult with an experienced attorney who can provide guidance and help you navigate the process under Colorado law.