How to write a light duty policy for injured workers

Last updated 2026-07-10

What is a light duty policy and why does your business need one in writing?

Light duty (also called modified duty or transitional work) is a temporary job assignment for an employee whose physician has restricted them from normal tasks after a work-related injury or illness. The assignment matches the physical demands of the work to what the person can safely do right now.

Here is why the written part matters. OSHA's recordkeeping rule at 29 CFR 1904.7(a) defines a recordable injury partly by whether the employee had "days away from work" or "restricted work activity." Offer a legitimate light duty assignment the employee can perform, and those days do not count as days-away-from-work on the OSHA 300 log, even if the work looks nothing like their normal job ^[1]. That distinction feeds your DART rate (Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred), the number insurance carriers and some federal contractors use to judge your safety record.

Beyond recordkeeping, a written policy tells everyone the process is the same for everybody. Without one, a supervisor in one department invents light duty on the fly while a supervisor down the hall sends injured workers home. That inconsistency is exactly what plaintiff attorneys and state comp boards point to when they argue an employer acted in bad faith.

Nobody has clean national data on how many small businesses keep written light duty policies. What we do know: the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) consistently ranks return-to-work programs among the strongest cost-containment moves in workers' comp ^[2]. Employers with formal RTW programs report indemnity savings of roughly 30 to 40 percent compared to those who simply pay lost wages while workers sit at home, per NCCI analysis. That is real money on every serious claim.

What OSHA requires versus what is just best practice?

OSHA has no standard that says "you must have a light duty policy." Say that plainly. What OSHA does require is accurate recordkeeping on the OSHA 300 log under 29 CFR 1904, and how you handle injured workers changes what you record ^[1].

29 CFR 1904.7(b)(4) defines restricted work activity as occurring when "the employer keeps the employee from performing one or more of the routine functions of their job, or from working the full workday that they would otherwise have been scheduled to work, as a result of a work-related injury or illness" ^[1]. Restricted days go in column H of the OSHA 300 log. So the policy you write shapes how those days get counted.

The Americans with Disabilities Act adds a second layer. A work-related injury that substantially limits a major life activity can qualify as a disability under the ADA, which can trigger a duty to provide reasonable accommodation, including temporary light duty. The EEOC has published guidance on this overlap ^[3]. A written policy helps you show that modified-work offers go out consistently and are not a tool to push out employees with longer-term limits.

State workers' compensation laws pile on their own rules. Roughly half the states have statutes or regulations that encourage or require employers to offer return-to-work assignments before an insurer must pay full wage replacement. Check your own state's comp statute. The U.S. Department of Labor keeps a directory of state workers' comp offices ^[4].

The practical answer: OSHA does not mandate the policy, but consistent recordkeeping is nearly impossible without one, and the ADA plus state comp laws give you strong independent reasons to put it in writing.

What should a light duty policy include? (The seven core sections)

Here is what belongs in every light duty policy, no matter your industry or headcount.

1. Purpose and scope One short paragraph. State that the policy applies to all employees who sustain a work-related injury or illness, and that its goal is to return them to productive work as fast as their medical restrictions allow. Name the locations or operations covered.

2. Roles and responsibilities Name the coordinator by title, not by name. In most small businesses that is the owner, office manager, or HR contact. Spell out what supervisors do (identify available tasks, relay restrictions to the crew) and what the employee does (submit written restrictions from the treating physician, tell the coordinator about any change in condition).

3. How medical restrictions are communicated Require a written work status report from the treating physician before the employee returns in a modified role. Name the form you use or point to your state's comp form. Say what happens when a note is vague: who calls to clarify, and by when.

4. How light duty assignments are identified This is the section most employers skip, and skipping it causes the most trouble. You need an actual process for finding available tasks. Some employers keep a written list of light duty jobs by department. Others rely on supervisor guesswork, which is inconsistent. A workable middle path: have each department supervisor submit a short list of tasks doable under common restrictions (no lifting over 10 lbs, no repetitive bending, seated work only) during the annual safety program review.

5. Duration limits Set a cap, usually 90 days, though some employers use 60 or 120. Be honest that the number is somewhat arbitrary. Pick a limit that reflects how long most soft-tissue injuries need restricted duty, and clear it with your comp carrier before you publish. After the cap, the employee returns to full duty, takes leave, or gets an individual review.

6. Pay and benefits during light duty State whether the employee is paid at their regular rate or at the rate for the tasks performed. Most employers pay the regular rate to keep morale steady and stay clean on ADA. Confirm that benefits keep running without a gap.

7. OSHA recordkeeping implications Keep it short. State that days on a legitimate light duty assignment are recorded as restricted work days (column H, OSHA 300 log), not days-away-from-work (column G), as long as the employee does meaningful productive work ^[1]. This one line keeps supervisors from logging the case wrong.

Want a written safety program that already has this structure built in? SafetyFolio's safety program generator can produce a customizable light duty policy inside a full written program in about 15 minutes.

How do you actually write the policy? A step-by-step walkthrough.

Step 1. Pull your last three years of OSHA 300 logs and your workers' comp loss runs. See which injury types drove the most lost-time claims. Those are the restrictions your light duty tasks need to fit most often. If you have not been keeping an incident report for every injury, start now.

Step 2. Call your workers' comp carrier before you write a word. Carriers often hand you template return-to-work programs and may cut your premium if you run one formally. Ask specifically whether your state requires a written RTW program for any discount to apply.

Step 3. Walk each department and list tasks a person with a 10 lb lifting limit and no overhead work could do. Be specific: "sorting invoices," "answering the front desk phone," "seated visual inspection of finished parts." Vague phrases like "light administrative work" start arguments.

Step 4. Draft the seven sections above. Keep the whole thing under four pages. A 14-page policy nobody reads is useless.

Step 5. Have your attorney or a comp consultant review it for ADA and state comp compliance. This is one review worth paying for. Employment attorneys typically charge $150 to $400 per hour, and a policy review usually runs about an hour (that is a typical market range; your local rates will vary).

Step 6. Train supervisors. The policy means nothing if a supervisor does not know to call the coordinator before telling an injured worker to go home. A 30-minute session covers it.

Step 7. Attach the policy to your written safety program. Update it at least yearly, and after any claim where the policy did not hold up.

How does light duty affect your OSHA 300 log entries?

This is the recordkeeping question that trips up the most employers, so let's walk it slowly.

When a work-related injury needs medical treatment beyond first aid, it is recordable under 29 CFR 1904.7 whether or not the employee misses a shift ^[1]. The question is how you classify the days.

If the employee returns to a genuine light duty assignment (they show up, do real work, get paid), those days go in column H (job transfer or restriction), not column G (days away from work). Column G days weigh more heavily in some carrier rating systems, so the split has real dollars behind it.

Offer light duty and have the employee decline it, and OSHA's position is that you may stop counting days away from work as of the date a legitimate offer was made and refused. OSHA stated in a 2004 letter of interpretation: "If you offer the employee a job within his or her restrictions and the employee refuses the job for reasons unrelated to the injury or illness, you may stop counting days away from work as of the date of the refusal" ^[5]. The offer must be in writing, and the restrictions must be genuine.

If the light duty work does not actually exist at your worksite, you cannot count a restriction day just because you claim you offered something. The assignment has to be real.

One common mistake: counting the day of injury as day one of restricted duty. Under 29 CFR 1904.7(b)(3)(i), you do not count the day of injury or onset of illness when tallying days away or days of restriction ^[1]. Start with the next calendar day.

Situation	OSHA 300 Column	DART Impact
Employee misses work, no light duty offered	G (days away)	Yes, counts toward DART
Employee on light duty, performing real work	H (restricted/transfer)	Yes, counts toward DART
Employee offered light duty, declines (documented)	Stop counting as of refusal	Stops accruing
Employee returns to full duty	No ongoing entry	None
Injury requires only first aid	Not recordable	None

What light duty tasks can you actually offer? (Practical examples by industry)

The biggest practical problem is that a lot of small businesses swear they have nothing for an injured worker to do. Usually not true. It just takes thinking ahead.

Construction: flagging (if the injury is upper-body and the person can stand), site cleanup with a push tool instead of lifting, equipment inspection checklists, tool inventory, timekeeping, coordinating material deliveries by phone.

Manufacturing: seated visual quality inspection, labeling, data entry of production records, safety observation rounds, training new hires on non-physical topics.

Retail and food service: cashier work if the injury is lower-body, inventory counts if the injury is upper-body, customer service calls, vendor check-in at receiving (as long as the employee is not lifting).

Healthcare: medical records review, phone triage support, supply inventory, reception coverage.

The work has to be real, and the employee has to do it during regular scheduled hours. Courts and comp boards have caught employers inventing "file organization" that amounts to sitting in a break room. That is not light duty. That is warehousing an employee, and it opens new legal problems.

If your operation genuinely cannot fit any restriction, say so honestly in the policy and lay out the process. Typically the employee goes on a leave of absence and comp wage replacement kicks in. Pretending you have light duty when you don't creates a bigger mess later.

Does a light duty policy need to address ADA and FMLA?

Yes, briefly, then point employees to those separate policies.

The ADA overlap matters most. If an injured employee's condition qualifies as a disability under the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (which broadened the definition a lot), the employer has to run an "interactive process" to find reasonable accommodation ^[3]. Temporary light duty can be that accommodation. Your policy should say that if a condition is or may be a disability, the company will run the interactive process separately from the comp light duty process, and name the contact (HR, or the owner in a small shop) for that conversation.

FMLA applies if you have 50 or more employees within 75 miles of a worksite. A work-related injury that keeps an employee from performing essential job functions can qualify as a serious health condition under 29 CFR 825.113, so FMLA leave may run at the same time as workers' comp ^[6]. Your policy should acknowledge this and say FMLA designation gets made separately when it applies.

Most small businesses under 50 employees are not covered by federal FMLA. But some states run their own family and medical leave laws with lower thresholds. California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Massachusetts all have state paid-leave programs that touch workers' comp ^[4].

The policy does not need to solve all of this. It needs to admit these laws exist and name who handles the conversations.

How long should light duty last?

There is no single legally set answer. Most employment attorneys and comp carriers land on 90 days as a reasonable outside limit for transitional duty, with a formal review at 30 and 60 days.

The logic behind 90 days: most soft-tissue injuries (strains, sprains, minor fractures) resolve or stabilize inside that window. National Safety Council injury data puts the median duration of restricted duty for sprains and strains at roughly 10 to 14 days, with most claims closing well short of 90 ^[7]. The 90-day cap is there for the outliers.

Injuries that have not resolved by 90 days usually mean a permanent partial impairment or something more serious. At that point the situation shifts from transitional duty to accommodation under the ADA, and the analysis changes. A physician has probably issued a permanent restriction, and you have to decide whether the employee can perform the essential functions of any available job with or without reasonable accommodation.

Some insurers push for a shorter cap, like 60 days, to force resolution faster. Others are fine with 120 for certain injury types. Set a limit your supervisors can actually manage and your insurer endorses. Put it in writing. Then hold to it.

What are the most common mistakes employers make with light duty policies?

Having no policy at all is the biggest mistake. These run close behind.

Not getting the physician's restrictions in writing. Spoken descriptions get garbled fast. Require a written work status form before the employee returns. Period.

Assigning work that breaks the restrictions. If the physician says no lifting over 10 lbs and you park the employee on a task that occasionally needs 25 lbs, you have built a second injury and a fat liability into the same shift.

Not documenting the offer. Offer light duty, have it declined, and that offer must be in writing, dated, and signed or at least emailed, or the OSHA recordkeeping argument falls apart ^[5]. A phone call nobody wrote down did not happen.

Using light duty as punishment. Some supervisors, consciously or not, hand injured workers the worst jobs available. That breeds retaliation claims. The tasks should be genuinely useful and never degrading.

Forgetting to update the OSHA 300 log when status changes. If an employee starts on restricted duty (column H) and then flips to days away (column G) because the assignment falls apart, correct the entry. OSHA requires you to update records as soon as you have the new information ^[1].

Not training supervisors. A policy sitting in a binder nobody opened protects nothing. Training does not have to be elaborate. A 20-minute walkthrough with a one-page reference card covers the basics. For a deeper foundation in safety management, OSHA 30 training gives supervisors the context to handle these calls right.

How does workers' compensation interact with a light duty program?

Workers' comp and light duty are welded together, because light duty directly changes when and how wage replacement gets paid.

In most states, comp pays wage replacement (usually 66 to 67 percent of average weekly wage, tax-free) only when the employee cannot work or cannot earn their pre-injury pay. Offer light duty at the regular rate and the carrier may stop paying wage replacement, because the economic loss is gone.

That sets up a strong incentive for carriers to press employers to offer light duty, sometimes fast. Watch your footing here. An offer that is not genuine (no real work, restrictions ignored) can be challenged by the employee and can wreck your relationship with the injured worker.

Premium discounts for RTW programs vary by state and carrier, but they are real. The Insurance Information Institute reports that medical and indemnity costs for lost-time claims run dramatically higher than for restricted-duty claims ^[8]. NCCI data puts the average lost-time workers' comp claim at roughly $41,000 in 2022, far above claims resolved without lost time ^[2].

Tell your carrier in writing every time you offer light duty, and every time it is accepted or declined. That paper trail protects you if the carrier later disputes whether you made a real effort to bring the employee back.

How do you get employees and supervisors to actually follow the policy?

A written policy is necessary but not enough. Here is what makes these programs actually run.

Communicate the policy before anyone gets hurt. Put it in new-hire orientation. Post a one-page summary in the break room or by the first aid kit. Employees who first hear about light duty at the moment of injury tend to assume it was cooked up to shrink their comp benefits. When they already know it exists, the conversation goes easier.

Train supervisors separately from employees. Supervisors need three things: what to do in the first hour after an injury (first aid, incident report, physician referral), how to spot available light duty tasks in their area, and how to document everything. A 30-minute tabletop session once a year does it if you use a realistic scenario.

Build a one-page job task analysis for each department. List common accommodations for the restrictions you see most. A supervisor should be able to glance at a physician's note and match it to available work without calling anyone.

Check in with injured employees weekly. A short call or in-person visit keeps the employee from feeling forgotten or adversarial. It also gives you earlier warning when restrictions change.

Review every claim at closure. What worked? What broke? Update the policy and the task lists. The policy should get better each year on real experience, not guesses.

Building a full written safety program and want this policy wired into the rest? SafetyFolio can generate the whole package in one session. The incident report process in particular connects straight to how you trigger the light duty assessment.

Frequently asked questions

Is a light duty policy required by OSHA?

OSHA does not require a specific written light duty policy. But OSHA's recordkeeping standard at 29 CFR 1904.7 requires accurate classification of injury days as either days away from work or restricted work days, and managing that consistently takes a written process. Many employers also face ADA and state workers' comp obligations that make a written policy effectively necessary.

Can an employee refuse light duty?

Yes, an employee can refuse a light duty offer, but the consequences depend on the situation. Under most state comp laws, refusing a bona fide offer of work within the employee's medical restrictions can suspend wage replacement benefits. For OSHA recordkeeping, once a legitimate offer is documented in writing and refused, employers may stop counting days away from work as of the date of refusal, per a 2004 OSHA letter of interpretation.

How do I write a light duty job offer letter?

Include the employee's name and job title, the date of injury, the specific light duty tasks offered, the hours and schedule, the pay rate, the physical demands of the tasks, and the duration limit. Attach a copy of the physician's restrictions and confirm in the letter that the tasks comply with them. Keep a signed copy. Dated email confirmations also work.

Does light duty pay have to match the employee's regular wage?

No federal law requires you to match the regular wage during light duty, but most employment attorneys recommend it. Paying a lower rate can trigger wage discrimination claims and hurts morale. It can also complicate comp if the carrier calculates wage replacement on the earnings loss. Check your state's comp statutes for specific requirements.

How long can an employee stay on light duty?

Most employers set a limit of 60 to 90 days. Past that, you are likely dealing with a permanent or long-term restriction, which shifts the analysis from transitional duty to ADA reasonable accommodation. No federal law sets a maximum, but your comp carrier may have recommendations, and your policy should state a specific limit so supervisors are not deciding case by case.

What if I do not have any light duty work available?

If your business genuinely cannot fit any physical restrictions, say so in the policy and explain the process. Do not invent assignments that involve no real work. When no modified duty exists, the employee typically goes on leave and comp wage replacement applies. Some states let employers place employees with a community service organization during recovery while continuing to pay wages.

Does light duty affect my workers' comp insurance premium?

Yes, significantly. Comp premiums depend partly on your experience modification rate, which reflects your claim costs against your industry average. Claims resolved with restricted duty instead of lost time cost far less in indemnity benefits. NCCI data puts the average lost-time claim near $41,000. Keeping employees working on light duty, even at full pay, is almost always cheaper than paying full comp benefits.

Should the light duty policy cover non-occupational injuries too?

That is a policy choice, not a legal requirement. Some employers extend transitional duty to non-work-related injuries and illnesses to stay consistent and head off ADA claims. Others limit it to comp cases. If you cover non-occupational injuries, apply the same process and duration limits. Note that non-occupational injuries are not recordable on the OSHA 300 log regardless of work status.

How does the ADA interact with a light duty program for injured workers?

If an injured worker's condition qualifies as a disability under the ADA (broadly, a condition that substantially limits a major life activity), the employer must run an interactive process to identify reasonable accommodation. Temporary light duty can serve as that accommodation. Your policy should acknowledge this and name who manages ADA accommodation conversations separately from the comp return-to-work process.

What happens if an employee is injured further while on light duty?

A new injury during a light duty assignment is a new workers' comp event and gets recorded separately on the OSHA 300 log if it meets the recordability threshold. This is one reason task matching matters so much. The assignment must genuinely respect the physician's restrictions. If the injury happens because the assignment exceeded those restrictions, the employer faces compounded legal and comp exposure.

Do I need to include light duty in my written safety program?

You do not have to, but it is smart. Written safety programs document how your company handles safety processes consistently. A light duty policy fits naturally next to your incident investigation procedure, emergency action plan, and OSHA recordkeeping procedures. Keeping it in one place makes training easier and ensures supervisors know where to find it.

Can a physician's restrictions override a supervisor's judgment about what work is available?

Yes. Physician restrictions are the baseline. Supervisors cannot assign tasks that exceed what the physician authorized, even if they think the employee could handle more. Supervisors can offer tasks lighter than the maximum the physician permits. If a supervisor disagrees with the restrictions, the right move is to request clarification through a functional capacity evaluation, not to override the restriction on their own.

How do I handle an employee who abuses the light duty program?

Address it through your normal performance and attendance policies, not by killing the program. If you think restrictions are exaggerated, your comp carrier can request an independent medical examination. Document every interaction. Do not retaliate or single out employees who use the program legitimately; that creates discrimination claims. Consistent, documented application of the policy is your best protection.

Sources

1. OSHA, 29 CFR 1904 - Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: Defines days away from work, restricted work activity, and recordability thresholds including how light duty days are classified in columns G and H of the OSHA 300 log; also states the day of injury is not counted in the day count.
2. NCCI (National Council on Compensation Insurance), Workers Compensation Claim Frequency and Costs: Employers with formal return-to-work programs report 30-40 percent lower indemnity costs; average lost-time workers' comp claim cost was approximately $41,000 in 2022.
3. U.S. EEOC, Enforcement Guidance on the ADA and Workers' Compensation: A work-related injury that substantially limits a major life activity can qualify as a disability under the ADA, triggering a duty to engage in the interactive process and provide reasonable accommodation, which can include temporary light duty.
4. U.S. Department of Labor, State Workers' Compensation Offices directory: State workers' comp statutes vary; many states encourage or require employers to offer return-to-work assignments before insurers pay full wage replacement. Several states run separate paid family and medical leave programs that interact with comp.
5. OSHA Letter of Interpretation, Recording Days Away from Work When Light Duty Is Refused (2004): If a legitimate light duty job offer is made and refused by the employee for reasons unrelated to the injury, the employer may stop counting days away from work as of the date of refusal.
6. U.S. Department of Labor, Family and Medical Leave Act (29 CFR 825): A work-related injury that renders an employee unable to perform essential job functions can qualify as a serious health condition under FMLA, meaning FMLA leave may run concurrently with workers' comp.
7. National Safety Council, Injury Facts - Work Injury Duration Statistics: Median duration of restricted duty for sprains and strains (the most common workers' comp injury type) is approximately 10 to 14 days, with most claims closing well within 90 days.
8. Insurance Information Institute, Facts + Statistics: Workers Compensation: Medical and indemnity costs for lost-time claims are substantially higher than for restricted-duty claims, providing financial incentive for return-to-work programs.
9. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: BLS tracks days away from work and restricted/transfer days separately in its annual SOII data, confirming that DART rates are a standard industry benchmark.
10. OSHA, Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Forms 300, 300A, and 301: Column G of the OSHA 300 log records days away from work; column H records days of restricted work or job transfer; both contribute to the DART rate calculation.