Work Restrictions and Minnesota Workers’ Compensation FAQ’s

If you’ve sustained an on-the-job injury in Minnesota, and your doctor has advised you to limit or restrict your work and/or leisure activities, these limitations are referred to as work restrictions. 

Your doctor may provide you with a workability report documenting your limitations, or may tell you to avoid doing certain activities. If you have concerns about your ability to perform your normal job activities following a work injury, it is critical that you discuss these concerns with your doctor. If your doctor tells you to restrict your work activities, you need to have your doctor provide you with a note or workability form documenting your limitations. Documentation of your work limitations must be provided to your employer. Whether an injured worker has work restrictions or not is a major factor in a Minnesota workers’ compensation case. Injured workers who have work restrictions often have questions, including:

What if I can’t do my job because of my restrictions? 

If you can’t perform your normal job duties, your employer may provide you with light duty work, may make accommodations to your job duties to meet your restrictions, or they may give you an alternative assignment that is within your limitations. If your employer cannot accommodate your restrictions, and as a result, you can’t work at your regular job, you may be entitled to wage loss benefits and/or rehabilitation benefits.

I’m afraid to tell my supervisor that I have restrictions because I don’t want to lose my job, what should I do? 

If you are injured at work in Minnesota, you’re required to provide documentation of any work restrictions to your employer. Failure to do so can hurt your legal rights. More importantly, however, if you continue to work outside your restrictions, you may make your injury worse. Your employer cannot fire you for having work restrictions.

My employer won’t let me come back to work unless I’m 100% cleared for duty, what should I do? 

If your employer cannot provide you with light duty work and you have work restrictions because of an on-the-job injury, the workers’ compensation insurance company should be paying you wage loss benefits while you’re off work. You may also be entitled to rehabilitation assistance from a Qualified Rehabilitation Consultant. Don’t let your employer pressure you into being released to full duty before you’re ready. Returning to full-duty work before you’re physically ready to do so can adversely affect your legal rights, and more importantly, it can adversely affect your health.

My employer isn’t following my restrictions. They keep having me do work that’s outside what my doctor says I should be doing, what should I do? 

Your employer cannot force you to work outside your physical restrictions, but unfortunately, some employers do it anyway. What an employee should do in this situation is dependent on the circumstances. A Minnesota workers’ compensation lawyer can help you if your employer is forcing you to perform duties that are outside your restrictions.

I’m working light duty, but I’m still having trouble doing some of my job duties even though they’re within my doctor’s restrictions, what should I do? 

You should discuss the situation with the doctor and explain the job duties that are causing your problems. If appropriate, your doctor may clarify or adjust your restrictions to help you avoid those job activities that are causing you difficulty.

My restrictions are now permanent. My employer can’t provide me with a permanent light duty job. What should I do? 

If you not able to return to your former employment because you have permanent restrictions as a result of a work injury, you may be eligible for wage loss benefits while you look for a new, physically suitable job. You may also be eligible for the assistance of a Qualified Rehabilitation Consultation who can provide vocational rehabilitation services or help you with a retraining plan to help you find a new, physically and economically suitable job.

I don’t have written restrictions – I’ve just been watching what I do at work and avoiding activities that cause me difficulty. Do I need written restrictions? 

Written documentation of your work restrictions are ALWAYS, repeat ALWAYS, better than simply just watching what you do at work. If there’s ever a dispute about your ability to do your job, while your testimony about limiting your work activities can be used to support your claim, written documentation of your restrictions is much, much stronger. We’ve seen this situation go awry for countless injured workers. Written work restrictions go a long way towards protecting your legal rights.

My doctor has given me work restrictions, but the insurance company’s independent medical examiner says I can return to work without restrictions. What should I do? 

You should speak with a Minnesota workers’ compensation attorney. If your claim has not already been denied, it will be soon. That being said, what an injured worker should do in this situation is largely based on the circumstances, and a workers’ compensation lawyer can instruct you on the best course of action. In some circumstances, the injured worker should continue to follow his or her doctor’s orders. In some circumstances, it may be appropriate for the injured worker to try to return to work and see how it goes. In some circumstances, it may be appropriate for the injured worker to undergo a Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) to get an objective measure of that worker’s limitations.

I have work restrictions due to an on-the-job injury, and I'm being laid off. Am I eligible for benefits?

In many cases, yes! Workers' compensation insurance companies often fail to tell injured workers who have restrictions, and who are laid off, that they may be eligible for wage loss benefits and/or rehabilitation benefits in the event that they are laid off or terminated. Speak with a Minnesota workers' compensation attorney to help you get the benefits you're entitled to.

I have a work injury and work restrictions, and my employer says I was terminated "for cause." What should I do?

You should contact a Minnesota workers' compensation lawyer. While Minnesota law prevents employers from terminating an employee in retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim, unfortunately we see cases on a regular basis where an injured worker who is under restrictions suddenly becomes targeted for write-ups, discipline, and termination, after they're been hurt. Termination for misconduct can be a basis for denial of benefits in some workers' compensation cases. That being said, "termination for cause," is not the same thing as "termination for misconduct." Even when an injured worker with work restrictions has been terminated for misconduct, he or she may be entitled to wage loss and/or rehabilitation benefits.

If you have questions about your work restrictions, what rights you have if you have work restrictions, or what to do if your employer cannot accommodate your work restrictions, a Minnesota workers’ compensation lawyer can help. Call Meuser & Associate at 877-746-5680 or click here to send us an email to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our attorneys. 

More 3M Layoffs and MN Work Comp. Benefits

News of more and more layoffs belies the harsh reality that our economy is not recovering quickly. The Pioneer Press recently reported that Maplewood, Minnesota-based 3M Company laid off 1,200 workers in the first three months of 2009, and 2,400 in the last three months of 2008. Executives said that more job cuts could be coming. Several hundred of these layoffs are from 3M locations within Minnesota.

Hopefully, the economy will start to recover, layoffs of Minnesotans will slow in the next few months and folks can start getting back to work.

While getting laid off is extremely difficult, it can be even more difficult for laid-off workers who have physical restrictions related to a work injury. Frequently, workers who are on light-duty or who have physical restrictions related to a work injury are the first to be laid off. These physical restrictions, such as lifting limitations, or limitations on the number of hours a person can work can make finding a new job incredibly difficult. Fortunately, in Minnesota, if a worker who has physical restrictions due to a work-related injury is laid off for economic reasons, that worker may be entitled to wage loss benefits, and rehabilitation assistance through workers’ compensation.

Wage loss benefits, including Temporary Total Disability (TTD) Benefits, Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) Benefits, and Permanent Total Disability (PTD) Benefits, are available to workers who are unable to work, or who are working at a wage loss due to a work-related injury.

These workers may also be entitled to the assistance of a Qualified Rehabilitation Consultant (QRC), who can provide job placement services and/or retraining.

If you’re a 3M worker, or any other worker who has been laid off for economic reasons, but you have physical restrictions for a work-related injury, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. To schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our workers’ compensation lawyers, call Meuser & Associates at 877-746-5680 or click here to send us an email. We can help you get the benefits you are entitled to.

Visit Minnesota Workers' Compensation and Personal Injury Law Firm, Meuser & Associates, P.A., at MeuserLaw.com

Dislocated Worker Grants to Help 540 Laid-off Workers in Minnesota

During these trying economic times, laid off workers in Minnesota need all the help they can get. Finding a job after being laid off is incredibly hard these days. For 540 dislocated workers, however, hopefully the transition period won’t be quite so bad, thanks to five grants from the state’s dislocated worker program.

Recently, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development announced five grants to help retrain workers and help them return to work. Specifically, the grants include $190,000 for 50 people laid off by Gerdau Ameristeel in St. Paul, $210,000 for 60 former commercial screen-printing workers at Ad Graphics in Hugo, $490,000 for 140 laid off Twin Cities-area health care workers, $504,000 for 140 semi-conductor employees laid off after the closing of the Entegris Chaska facility, and $570,000 for 150 former employees of Cummins Power Generation in Fridley.

In addition to the dislocated worker benefits and unemployment benefits available to these individuals, they may also be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. As we’ve previously written about, economic layoffs do not eliminate an injured workers’ entitlement to workers’ compensation wage loss benefits. If a laid-off employee has any kind of work restrictions due to a work injury, he or she may be entitled to workers’ compensation wage loss benefits, including Temporary Total Disability (TTD) while he or she is unemployed, and Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) benefits if the worker goes back to work, but earns less money.

If you’ve been laid off, but have restrictions due to a workers compensation injury, you may be entitled to wage loss benefits. Call Meuser & Associates at 877-746-5680 or click here to send us an email to schedule a free consultation.

Visit Minnesota Workers' Compensation and Personal Injury Law Firm, Meuser & Associates, P.A., at MeuserLaw.com

Recession, Unemployment, Layoffs, and Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Wage Loss Benefits

In January 2009, Minnesota lost 20,700 jobs as the nationwide and worldwide recession continues to deepen, according to figures recently released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Job losses in January included 9,600 in manufacturing, 5,900 in professional and business services, 3,900 in government, 1,700 in other services, 1,600 in construction, and 500 in leisure and hospitality.

Under Minnesota Workers’ Compensation law, laid-off workers may be entitled to wage loss benefits, if a work injury affects their ability to find employment after being laid off. As employers lay off more and more workers, often the first to be let go are employees with work injuries.

We frequently see people who have worked for a company for many years, and who have sustained a number of work injuries over the years. When these companies cut back employees, these long-timers are often the first to go. We also frequently see individuals who are hurt at work, are under some sort of work restrictions, and are suddenly let go for “economic” reasons.

If an injured worker is laid off and he or she some kind of occupational limitations due to his or her work injuries, the injured worker is often entitled to temporary total disability benefits and the assistance of a Qualified Rehabilitation Consultant (QRC) while he or she looks for work. If those individuals find employment, but are earning less, they may be entitled to temporary partial disability benefits. Given the terrible economy, finding a new job is becoming more and more difficult, particularly if a worker has physical limitations due to a work injury.

If you have a work injury, you have physical limitations as a result of that injury, and you are laid off, you would be wise to contact a workers’ compensation attorney to ensure you receive the benefits you are entitled to. Many if not most injured workers are not aware of their rights under workers’ compensation law if they are laid off, and the employer and insurer are certainly not going to voluntarily tell the employee that they may be entitled to additional benefits. In fact, is extremely common for employers or insurers to deny ongoing benefits to an injured worker after a layoff, on the grounds that the employee was laid off for economic reasons. This in and of itself is generally not a sufficient ground to deny wage loss benefits.

Moreover, even if you sustained a work injury, but were laid off before you reported it, or you suffer from a repetitive motion injury which occurred over a long period of time as the result of your work activities, but you did not require medical treatment until after you were laid off, you may still be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

Laying off an injured worker for economic reasons does not relieve an employer of the responsibility for paying for wage loss benefits if that injured worker has difficulty finding new employment due to physical limitations caused by the work injury.

We have successfully secured benefits on behalf of many clients who had work injuries and were subsequently laid off. By way of example, in 2007, Macy’s closed a large furniture distribution center in Minneapolis, laying off about 80 employees. Many of these employees had worked for Macy’s for 20 or more years. We were retained by several of these former Macy’s workers, who over the course of their lengthy employments with Dayton-Hudson, and then Macy’s, had sustained numerous work related injuries. Our firm successfully secured sizable settlements for these laid off workers.

If you suffer from the effects of a work-related injury, and you’ve been laid off, call Meuser & Associates at 877-746-5680 or click here to send us an email to schedule a free consultation.

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