Im a firefighter who sustained an off duty injury requiring surgical repair with a projected 4 to 6 months recovery. My employer had a past practice of offering light duty for non BWC cases but now has put an end to it .
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Im a firefighter who sustained an off duty injury requiring surgical repair with a projected 4 to 6 months recovery. My employer had a past practice of offering light duty for non BWC cases but now has put an end to it .
Can i still work light duty per ADA guidelines? My employer said that are now
denying their off duty injured firefighters light duty because its not fair to
other departments within the city.
Asked on December 9, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Ohio
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Light duty is not a legal right. The ADA requires a "reasonable accommodaton"; however a reasonable accommodation is a change in how a job is done, or provision of some assistance device, which is not too expensive or disruptive for the employer and which lets the employee do his job--that is, the job he is supposed to do. The employer does not need to create a different job or role for the employee, or allow the employee to only do some parts of his or her job--the employee must be able to do all aspects of his or her position with the accommodation. Therefore, allowing light duty, which lets an employee do only part of his/her job or a different job entirely, is not a legal requirement but rather is something than some employers voluntarily choose to offer. Since it is voluntary on their part, they could also choose to not offer it.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.