Return to Work Job Offers After an Injury

There have been many cases decided on the issue of the sufficiency of the notice to the claimant of an available light-duty job. A recent case from the Commonwealth Court seems to stand for the proposition that an employer need only indicate that the job will accommodate the physical restrictions imposed on the injured worker, without any reference to the actual duties that will be requested to be performed. In that case, Vaughan v.  WCAB No. 1790 C.D. 2010, there was some testimony elicited before the judge about some of the possible duties of the light-duty job, but there was nothing contained in the job offer letter regarding those duties. Interestingly, the opinion seems to charge the claimant with knowledge of the specific duties of the job by indicating that the claimant had worked at the job in the past.  We do not seen in the opinion where there was any evidence that the claimant had actually worked that job previously. Perhaps if this portion of the opinion is not supported by the evidence, we will see further appeal to the Supreme Court.