In addition to terminating temporary disability benefits on maximal medical improvement, an employer can terminate such benefits when the employee can return to work light or modified duty under Harbatuk v. S & S Furniture Systems Insulation, 211 N.J. Super. 614 (App. Div. 1986). The basic rule which emerges from Harbatuk is this: the employer has to offer a light-duty job to the employee in order to terminate temporary disability benefits. If the employee rejects the light-duty offer, the employer can still terminate temporary disability benefits. Obviously, the light-duty job has to be one that is safe for the employee to perform. A functional capacity exam (FCE) can be of real assistance in determining whether the employee can safely perform the light-duty job.
Light duty is not defined in the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act. A better term would be transitional duty since an employee may resent the implication that the temporary duty is “light.” Another term used is “temporary alternative duty” or “modified duty.” Whatever the terminology, the light-duty phase is the bridge between being out of work and full duty.
