Sometimes an injured federal worker, in the eyes of OWCP, can still be useful in the provision of services to the government and citizens. To this end, they may take a look at your CA-17 form and make a decision to assign you modified or light duty work. This may seem unfair to injured postal workers and other federal workers that may have suffered an injury or developed an occupational illness, but the fact is that in their eyes, a good federal worker is a working federal worker, and they are always looking to minimize government expenditure even it means doing so at your expense, and limiting your continuation of pay, or schedule award as a postal worker.
Are you an injured federal worker that has received a return to work directive from OWCP, or heard from your claims examiner about the fact that you are being considered for light duty or modified or limited duty assignment? Please contact our best federal workers’ compensation attorneys TODAY at (773) 673-9861 to learn more about your legal options for compensation. We’ve helped hundreds of injured postal workers over the years beat the dismal 3 percent accepted rate for federal workers’ compensation with compelling legal arguments and scrutiny-proof medical reports. Please contact our OWCP schedule award attorneys NOW at (773) 673-9861 to learn more about your legal options for compensation. The call is FREE, and there’s no legal obligation on your part.
OWCP Return to Work – A Reality for Many
OWCP return to work may be a reality for injured federal workers provided they have recovered in a manner that is reasonable enough to be able to be of service to the federal government. Should a position present itself, your supervisor or manager must inform you in writing about the availability of the same. That being said, your supervisor can’t just spring this on you without first consulting with your treating physician or nurse regarding what jobs you can or cannot do in lieu of your injuries.
Never Say No To Modified or Limited Duty Offers
It is important to realize that while some of these return to work OWCP offers may be unreasonable, you should never say NO to them. The best thing to do would be to accept them and then discuss adjustments as only you know your body best and what it can handle, post-injury. The law is on your side here as you are within the legal scope to go over every aspect of the limited or light duty or modified duty assignment to make sure that you won’t be aggravating an injury that is healing.
I Received a Modified Duty Letter – What Should I Do?
Please be advised that rejecting a job offer by OWCP under modified or light duty may lead to the termination of benefits. Even when you have valid reason to do so, it is best to get in touch with an expert to see how best to be helped so you can keep your benefits, and still work if you can get a position that doesn’t worsen your injuries, or continue receiving schedule award OWCP benefits indefinitely. Either way, speaking with a federal workers’ compensation lawyer is the way to go so you’re not kicked out of compensation while still injured. Ready to talk? Give us a call NOW at (773) 673-9861 to learn more about your legal options. Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you.