A temporary or permanent change in job tasks that lets an employee keep working while avoiding duties their injury or medical condition makes unsafe.

Light duty usually means the employer removes or limits physically demanding work, such as heavy lifting, repeated bending, climbing, prolonged standing, or other activities a doctor has restricted. A warehouse worker with a back injury might be moved to inventory checks or paperwork. A delivery driver recovering from a shoulder injury might handle routing, customer calls, or scheduling instead of loading cargo. The key point is that the work fits the employee's medical restrictions, not the employer's usual job description.

In an injury claim, light duty can affect both eligibility for wage benefits and how long those benefits continue. If a doctor says an injured worker can return in a limited capacity and the employer offers suitable work, refusing that job can create disputes over workers' compensation payments. If no light-duty position is available, the worker may remain entitled to disability benefits while recovering.

Light duty also becomes evidence in disagreements about work restrictions, temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, and whether the employee has truly reached maximum medical improvement. Clear medical notes, written job offers, and accurate pay records often decide whether the modified job was reasonable and whether benefits were paid correctly.