Can my employer ask me to resign after getting light duty status?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can my employer ask me to resign after getting light duty status?
I got sent home because of light duty status had nothing to do with accident at work but I have chronic pain issues.
Asked on August 14, 2019 under Employment Labor Law, Arizona
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
The question is, can your job--the important or core elements of it--be done on light duty status? Your employer is obligated to make "reasonable accommodations" for you--changes in the job or duties that are not too expensive or disruptive to it--that allow you to do the core or important parts of your job. That can include allowing you work on "light duty" status IF your job can be done on light duty. Not all jobs can be: sometimes (e.g. jobs in shipping or warehousing, delivery, certain repair jobs where you have to lift or move heavy tools or parts, etc.) if you can't lift heavy weights or physically exert yourself, you can't do the job; and the law does not require an employer to keep (and pay) an employee who cannot, even with a reasonable accommodation, do his or her job. So if you can't do your job on light duty, your employer can ask you to resign and, if you will not, terminate you.
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.