California residents who receive workers’ compensation may sometimes think that they will be unable to continue working. However, many people can return to their job once their injury is healed.
Some people may feel that it is solely their business to determine when they return to work. According to the State of California, there are many people a worker should usually speak to when he or she feels capable of coming back to work. People generally need to speak with their employer and their doctor, and it is also beneficial to work with a workers’ compensation claims administrator. It is important to ensure that everyone understands a worker’s medical condition, as well as the job he or she performed before the injury.
Some people may be able to return to work but have certain restrictions on the kind of work they can perform. The State of California says that in this situation, people may be able to have modified work assignments. This means that they can keep the job they used to have while their employer ensures that all of a doctor’s restrictions are met. Some people may be unable to lift large weights or use certain kinds of tools. A modified work assignment would usually take these restrictions into consideration and make sure the employee would not need to lift items or use these tools.
Sometimes people may be capable of working but unable to perform their former job. In this situation, their employer may find alternate work for them to do. This new job typically does not include any of the tasks a worker used to do. This means that if someone cannot perform physically demanding work, he or she would be able to do indoor tasks that could be done while sitting down. If people can do alternate work, they may sometimes need to do job training to prepare themselves for these new tasks.