From Injury to Maximum Medical Improvement
Under FECA (the Federal Employee Compensation Act), the federal workers’ compensation law, after a workplace injury, your employer assign you temporary or limited duty jobs while you recover. These assignments may involve changes in your current job—giving you tasks that don’t require that you use your injured body part. They may also involve a temporary assignment to a completely different job, or a change in the timing of a job function. If your job includes lifting, you may have a temporary weight limit. If you injured your back and have difficulty standing for long periods of time, you may be placed in a different job that allows you to sit.
The types of job functions you can perform during transitional work are generally based on the opinion of your treating physician. Your doctor will customarily provide a written assessment of your physical and mental capabilities to your employer. While some federal agencies have recommended guidelines for the duration of transitional work, most will allow a worker to stay in a transitional position until the worker either returns to his/her prior job, or reaches maximum medical improvement.
Your Options When You Have Reached Maximum Medical Improvement
If you have reached maximum medical improvement, but cannot perform all the tasks required in your former job, there are a number of options:
- Your employer may modify your job description to meet your physical limitations
- Your employer may help you find another job within the federal government
- You may be assigned to a new job within the same agency
- You may be entitled to vocational rehabilitation
Contact Uliase & Uliase
For an appointment with an experienced New Jersey federal workers’ compensation lawyer, contact us online or call our office at (856) 310-9002. We meet with clients weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. We offer a free consultation for injured workers.
