“Light duty” positions are generally given to an employee recovering from an injury or a person who needs job-duty modifications to accommodate medical restrictions. But as Foley & Lardner associate Leonard V. Feigel explains on Labor & Employment Law Perspectives, businesses should exercise caution when crafting policies regarding such jobs or they could shoot themselves in the foot.
For example, he says if an employer regularly maintains two “light duty” positions, it would likely be a requirement to transfer a disabled worker into an open slot under the Americans with Disabilities Act. If there are no regular “light duty” jobs, a company is not required to create one under the ADA.
