5 Signs Your Employer Created a Fake Light Duty Job to Cut Your Workers’ Comp Benefits in Virginia

After a workplace injury in Virginia, receiving a light duty job offer from your employer should be a positive step toward recovery. But what if the job feels wrong? What if it seems like the position was invented overnight just to get you off workers’ compensation benefits? Unfortunately, this happens far too often in Virginia workers’ compensation cases.

As a Roanoke workers’ compensation attorney, I have helped many injured workers who were offered made up light duty jobs in Virginia workers’ compensation claims. Below are five warning signs that the light duty position your employer offered may not be legitimate.

1. The Job Was Created Right After You Filed Your Claim

One of the most obvious red flags is timing. If a light duty position suddenly appears days or weeks after you file a workers’ compensation claim, and no such position existed before, there is a strong chance it was created specifically to undermine your benefits. Legitimate businesses do not typically invent new roles out of thin air — but employers facing rising workers’ comp insurance costs sometimes do.

Ask yourself: did anyone hold this position before my injury? If the answer is no, the job may not be genuine selective employment under Virginia Code § 65.2-510.

2. The Job Description Is Vague or Meaningless

Real jobs have real responsibilities. If your employer hands you a light duty job description filled with vague tasks like “observe operations,” “review materials,” or “be available as needed,” that is a sign the position may lack substance. Some injured workers report being told to sit in a break room all day or watch the same training video on repeat for weeks.

A bona fide light duty position should have clear, productive duties that contribute to the employer’s business operations.

3. No One Fills Your Role When You Are Absent

Here is a simple test: if you call in sick one day and no one covers your duties, the job probably is not real. In a genuine position, your absence would create a gap that someone else would need to fill. If the work simply does not get done — or no one notices — the position likely exists only on paper to justify reducing or terminating your workers’ comp benefits.

4. The Job Does Not Match Your Skills or Training

While light duty positions do not have to mirror your original job, they should bear some reasonable relationship to your capabilities. If you were a skilled electrician and your employer now asks you to sit at an empty desk and count inventory that does not need counting, the mismatch suggests the position was not created to be productive — it was created to look like employment on paper.

The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission evaluates whether offered employment is genuinely suitable for the injured worker, considering factors like the worker’s skills, training, and physical limitations.

5. Your Employer Pressures You to Accept Immediately

If your employer or the insurance adjuster pushes you to accept the position right away, without giving you time to review the job description with your treating physician, be cautious. You have the right to have your doctor evaluate whether the position falls within your medical restrictions before making a decision.

High-pressure tactics are often used because the employer knows the offer may not withstand scrutiny. A legitimate employer will give you a reasonable amount of time to review the offer and consult with your medical provider.

What Should You Do If You Spot These Signs?

If you recognize one or more of these warning signs in a light duty offer, take the following steps:

• Request a written job description with specific duties, hours, physical requirements, and pay rate
• Have your doctor review the position to verify it complies with your restrictions
• Keep detailed daily records of what you are actually asked to do on the job
• Do not refuse the position outright without first speaking to an attorney, as an unjustified refusal could jeopardize your workers’ comp benefits
• Contact a Virginia workers’ comp lawyer who can evaluate whether the offer constitutes legitimate selective employment

Get Help From an Experienced Virginia Workers’ Comp Attorney

A fake light duty job should not be the reason you lose the workers’ compensation benefits you need to recover from your injury. If you suspect your employer is using a made up position to undercut your claim, I can help you fight back.

Contact Lugar Injury Law today for a free consultation. I represent injured workers throughout Roanoke and Virginia who are dealing with unfair workers’ compensation light duty practices.