In this guide11 sections
- Key takeaways
- What counts as a work restriction
- How restrictions get documented
- Temporary restrictions: modified work or TD
- Permanent restrictions: what counts as a valid job offer
- The $6,000 SJDB voucher
- Can you be fired because of your restrictions?
- If your employer ignores your restrictions
- Key deadlines
- Frequently asked questions
- Talk to a California workers’ comp lawyer
Work restrictions are your doctor’s written limits on what you can do at work after an injury, such as “no lifting over 10 pounds” or “no standing more than 30 minutes per hour.” In California workers’ comp, temporary restrictions apply while you heal, and permanent restrictions apply once your condition has stabilized. If your employer can’t offer work within your temporary restrictions, you are generally owed temporary disability pay. If it can’t accommodate permanent restrictions, you may receive a $6,000 retraining voucher, and you may have job protections under California’s disability and anti-retaliation laws.
Key takeaways
- Any work your employer assigns should stay within your written restrictions. You aren’t required to do work your doctor has restricted.
- If modified work isn’t available during recovery, temporary disability (TD) is generally paid, usually for up to 104 weeks within five years of the injury (Labor Code §4656).
- For injuries on or after January 1, 2013, if your employer doesn’t offer qualifying regular, modified or alternative work within 60 days after the claims administrator receives the doctor’s report of permanent disability, you are generally owed a $6,000 Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit voucher.
- Permanent restrictions are often a disability under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which requires employers with five or more employees to accommodate you and engage in a good-faith interactive process.
What counts as a work restriction
Common restrictions include lifting limits, limits on standing, walking, bending, kneeling, reaching overhead or repetitive hand use, reduced hours, breaks to change positions, and cognitive limits after a brain or psychiatric injury. Modified duty isn’t a restriction itself; it’s how your employer responds to one.
| Temporary restrictions | Permanent restrictions | |
|---|---|---|
| When they apply | While you are treating and still improving | Once you are permanent and stationary (your condition has plateaued) |
| Where they’re written | Your treating doctor’s progress report (Form PR-2) | The permanent and stationary report, or a QME or AME report |
| If your employer can’t accommodate | Temporary disability benefits | $6,000 SJDB voucher (2013+ injuries), plus permanent disability benefits based on your rating |
Learn more about the transition point in permanent and stationary status and MMI.
How restrictions get documented
Under DWC regulation 8 CCR §9785, your treating doctor must send a progress report when your condition requires you to leave work, when your restrictions change, and when you can return to modified or regular work. While treatment continues, a report is due at least every 45 days. When you reach permanent and stationary status, the doctor reports your permanent impairment and limitations. For 2013 and later injuries with permanent partial disability, the doctor must also attach the Physician’s Return-to-Work & Voucher Report (DWC-AD 10133.36), which describes your permanent restrictions and starts the job-offer clock.
Ask for copies of every report. Vague restrictions such as “light duty” invite disputes, so ask your doctor to be specific (weights, hours, positions). If you disagree with the restrictions in a report, there are deadlines to object; see Labor Code §4062 objections.
Temporary restrictions: modified work or TD
If your employer offers work that fits your temporary restrictions, you are generally expected to do it. If it doesn’t have suitable work, the claims administrator generally must pay temporary disability, which is two-thirds of your average weekly wage within state limits. As of 2026, the weekly TD minimum is $264.61 and the maximum is $1,764.11. For most injuries on or after January 1, 2008, TD is capped at 104 compensable weeks within five years of the injury, with up to 240 weeks for certain severe injuries such as amputations and severe burns. See our temporary disability benefits page or estimate your rate with the workers’ comp benefits calculator.
Permanent restrictions: what counts as a valid job offer
Labor Code §4658.1 defines three kinds of work an employer can offer once restrictions are permanent:
- Regular work: your usual job, at wages and compensation equivalent to what you earned when injured, within a reasonable commute of where you lived at the time of injury.
- Modified work: your regular job modified so you can perform all of its functions, paying at least 85% of your pre-injury wages and compensation, within a reasonable commute.
- Alternative work: a different job you can perform, paying at least 85% of your pre-injury wages and compensation, within a reasonable commute.
According to the Division of Workers’ Compensation, for 2013 and later injuries the job must also be expected to last at least 12 months, and the offer must come within 60 days after the claims administrator receives the doctor’s report.
Here is a hypothetical. Ana earned $1,000 a week as a warehouse lead before a back injury. Her permanent restrictions bar lifting over 20 pounds. Her employer offers a dispatcher job at $800 a week. Because $800 is less than 85% of $1,000 ($850), the offer doesn’t qualify, and if no qualifying offer comes within the 60 days, Ana is generally owed the voucher.
The $6,000 SJDB voucher
For injuries on or after January 1, 2013 that cause permanent partial disability, the Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit voucher is $6,000 regardless of your disability rating. The claims administrator must send it within 20 calendar days after the 60-day offer period ends. You can use it for:
- Education or training at a California public school or a provider on the state’s eligible training provider list
- Licensing, certification and testing fees, and tools required by a training course
- Computer equipment, up to $1,000
- Miscellaneous expenses, up to $500
- A licensed placement agency or vocational counselor, up to 10% ($600)
The voucher expires two years after it is issued or five years after the date of injury, whichever is later, and it can’t be settled or exchanged for cash. If you receive a voucher, you may also qualify for a one-time $5,000 payment from the Return-to-Work Supplement Program, but your application must be received within one year after the voucher was served on you. More on vocational rehabilitation benefits.
Can you be fired because of your restrictions?
California is an at-will state, but two sets of laws limit firing an injured worker. Under FEHA (Gov. Code §12940(m) and (n)), employers with five or more employees must reasonably accommodate a disability and engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process unless accommodation would cause undue hardship. If you can no longer do the essential functions of your own job even with accommodation, the employer must look for suitable vacant positions you could fill (2 CCR §11068). Separately, Labor Code §132a bars discrimination because you were injured or filed a workers’ comp claim. A §132a petition is generally due within one year of the discriminatory act. See can I be fired while on workers’ comp and failure to accommodate.
If your employer ignores your restrictions
- Get the restrictions in writing and give a copy to your supervisor, HR and the claims administrator.
- Object in writing when an assignment goes beyond them, and keep a copy.
- Keep a log of assignments, who gave them and any pain or flare-ups. Tell your doctor at your next visit.
- Know your safety rights. Labor Code §6311 bars firing a worker for refusing work that would violate a safety standard where the violation would create a real and apparent hazard. Whether that applies depends on the facts.
Key deadlines
| Event | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Employer’s offer of regular, modified or alternative work (2013+ injuries) | Within 60 days after the claims administrator receives the doctor’s report |
| SJDB voucher sent | Within 20 days after the 60-day period ends |
| Return-to-Work Supplement application | Received within one year of voucher service |
| §132a discrimination petition | Generally one year from the discriminatory act |
| FEHA complaint with the Civil Rights Department | Generally three years from the last harm |
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to accept a modified job?
During recovery, turning down suitable modified work within your restrictions may affect your TD. For permanent restrictions, the voucher is owed only if no qualifying offer is made, so a qualifying offer generally means no voucher even if you decline it. A job beyond your restrictions, or paying less than 85% of your prior wages, generally isn’t a qualifying offer.
Can my employer just say no modified work is available?
Yes, and then TD is generally owed during recovery. For permanent restrictions, FEHA may still require your employer to explore accommodations and vacant positions.
Do permanent restrictions affect my permanent disability payments?
Permanent disability is based on your impairment rating, not on whether you got a job offer, so you may receive both PD and the voucher.
Can I cash out my SJDB voucher in a settlement?
No. The voucher can’t be settled or converted to cash.
Talk to a California workers’ comp lawyer
Employees First Labor Law represents workers exclusively in workers’ comp and employment cases across California. We offer free virtual consultations to review your restrictions, job offers and benefits. Contact us or call (310) 853-3461.
This article is general information about California law as of 2026, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
