Modified-Duty Assignments by Industry: Construction, Manufacturing, Restaurants, Healthcare, and Trucking

10/6/2026

"We don't have any light duty work here." If you write workers' comp for contractors, plants, restaurants, home health agencies or trucking companies, you have heard that sentence. Sometimes it is true. More often it means the client has never sat down with a task list and asked which pieces of the job an injured employee could still do.

This article is for agents with industry-niche books. It shows how clients build modified-duty options from job task lists, then walks through realistic assignments in five industries, with the limits and rules that apply in each. The goal is not for you to design anyone's program. It is for you to have enough concrete examples to make the conversation productive and to know when to bring in the carrier's risk control team.

Two ground rules apply throughout. First, every assignment has to fit the treating provider's current restrictions; the examples below are ideas to check against those restrictions, not substitutes for them. Second, assignments are typically temporary, and when restrictions become permanent the client needs its HR adviser or employment counsel, because accommodation law comes into play.

How to Build Modified-Duty Options From a Job Task List

The most useful tool is a task bank: a list of real tasks in the business, each tagged with its physical demands. Here is how clients typically build one.

1. List the tasks, not just the jobs. A "laborer" job might include loading materials, site cleanup, flagging, tool inventory and safety walk-throughs. Each is a separate task.
2. Rate the physical demands of each task. Lifting weight and frequency, standing or sitting, walking, climbing, bending, reaching overhead, use of both hands, driving.
3. Add tasks that are useful but often neglected. Inventory, filing, training material updates, inspections, photographing job sites, cleaning tools, calling customers.
4. Note hours, location and supervision. Can the task be done for four hours? At the main office? Who supervises?
5. Match tasks to restrictions when an injury happens. The coordinator compares the restrictions with the task bank and builds an assignment.
6. Confirm unclear fits with the provider. Send a written description of the proposed assignment to the treating provider, often through the adjuster or nurse case manager.
7. Make the offer in writing, with a copy to the adjuster.

Physical demand	Example restriction	Tasks that often fit
Lifting	No lifting over a set weight	Inspection, inventory counts, paperwork, training
Standing	Seated work only	Phone work, data entry, dispatch, sorting small parts
One hand	No use of right arm	Visual inspection, greeting, monitoring, phone follow-ups
Hours	Four hours a day	Any approved task, scheduled for a short shift
Climbing	No ladders or heights	Ground-level work, shop and office tasks

 

Carrier risk control teams often have task-bank templates and can help a client build one. For more background on how these programs fit together, see our return-to-work program basics.

Construction: Site, Shop, and Office Tasks Within Common Restrictions

Construction clients are the most likely to say they have nothing light. The work is physical, sites move, and supervisors are stretched. But most contractors have more non-field work than they think.

Site tasks (if restrictions and site conditions allow):

• Flagging or traffic control on ground level, if standing is permitted and the employee is trained for it
• Site safety walk-throughs and documentation with a checklist and camera
• Material tracking and delivery check-in
• Tool crib and equipment checkout

Shop and yard tasks:

• Tool cleaning, sorting and minor maintenance within lifting limits
• Inventory and labeling
• Preparing small material kits for crews

Office tasks:

• Updating safety training records and certifications
• Plan room organization and document scanning
• Calling suppliers and scheduling deliveries
• Assisting estimators with takeoffs if the employee has the skills

What to watch. A construction site is not a safe place for an employee with balance, vision or medication restrictions, even doing "light" work. The client should consider site hazards as well as the task itself, and OSHA's construction standards still apply to whatever the employee does on site. If a client works in several states, remember that state workers' comp rules differ on offers and benefits; the adjuster handles those.

Manufacturing and Warehousing: Seated, Inspection, and Training Roles

Manufacturing and warehouse operations usually have the deepest task banks, because the work is broken into defined steps.

Seated and bench work:

• Small-parts assembly or kitting
• Quality inspection of finished goods
• Labeling, packaging small items, sorting returns

Inspection and safety:

• Machine guarding and housekeeping audits with a checklist
• Forklift pre-shift inspection review (paperwork, not operation, unless cleared)
• Fire extinguisher and eyewash station checks

Training and administration:

• Updating written procedures and job safety analyses
• Helping train new hires on procedures they know
• Cycle counts and inventory reconciliation

What to watch. Repetitive motion injuries are common in these settings, and a "seated" job can aggravate a hand or wrist injury if it involves the same motion. The assignment has to fit the specific restriction, not just "light." Powered industrial truck operation requires training and evaluation under OSHA's rules, so a returning employee should not be put back on a forklift until both the provider and the client's training requirements are satisfied.

Restaurants and Hospitality: Front-of-House and Prep Options

Restaurants run lean, and owners often feel they cannot carry someone who cannot work the line. But restaurants and hotels have many tasks that do not require heavy lifting or long standing.

Front of house:

• Host stand and greeting, seated if needed
• Taking phone and online orders
• Expediting or checking tickets
• Cashier work

Back of house:

• Seated prep: portioning, wrapping silverware, labeling and dating
• Inventory and ordering
• Recipe card and allergen chart updates

Hotel and hospitality:

• Front desk support
• Guest calls and reservations
• Linen counts and supply ordering

What to watch. Hot surfaces, wet floors and knives create hazards for employees with balance, grip or medication restrictions. Food safety rules apply to anyone handling food. Hours are often the most flexible lever: a short shift during a busy period can be more valuable than a full day of filler work.

Healthcare and Home Health: Non-Patient-Lifting Assignments

Healthcare workers are frequently hurt moving and repositioning patients. Returning them to work means finding assignments that avoid patient handling until the provider clears it.

Facility-based options:

• Patient education, discharge instructions and follow-up calls
• Chart audits, documentation review and quality reviews
• Scheduling and intake
• Infection control rounds and supply audits
• Staff training on procedures, including safe patient handling equipment

Home health and hospice options:

• Telephone check-ins with patients
• Care coordination and scheduling
• Office-based documentation support
• Orienting new staff on agency procedures

What to watch. OSHA does not have a specific standard for safe patient handling; it addresses the hazard through its general duty clause and published guidance for healthcare settings. Several states have their own safe patient handling laws for certain facilities, so clients should check their state's rules with their HR adviser or counsel rather than relying on a general list. Clinical licensing rules also matter: an assignment must be within the employee's license and scope, and any patient contact must be within the restrictions. Our article on growing insurance niches touches on why healthcare and home health books need this kind of attention.

Trucking and Delivery: Dispatch, Yard, and Safety Roles

Trucking adds a federal layer that other industries do not have. For interstate commercial motor vehicle drivers covered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's rules, physical qualification is regulated separately from workers' comp.

The federal rule to know. Under 49 CFR 391.45(g), any driver whose ability to perform their normal duties has been impaired by a physical or mental injury or disease must be medically examined and certified as physically qualified before driving a commercial motor vehicle again. A workers' comp release to work does not replace that examination. The client's safety or compliance staff, not the agent, should decide how the rule applies to a particular driver. Intrastate drivers may fall under state rules, which the client should check with its state agency.

Non-driving assignments:

• Dispatch support and load planning
• Driver file audits: licenses, medical certificates, training records
• Safety meeting preparation and presentation
• Yard checks, trailer inventory and paperwork (no hooking or unhooking if restrictions prohibit it)
• Customer service and delivery confirmation calls

Delivery fleets (non-CDL):

• Route planning and customer communication
• Warehouse sorting within lifting limits
• Training new drivers on routes and procedures, as a passenger only if cleared

What to watch. Medication restrictions matter here as much as lifting limits. An employee on medication that affects alertness should not be put in a safety-sensitive role. Clients with DOT drug and alcohol testing programs should confirm whether any return-to-duty steps apply; that is a question for their compliance staff or consortium, not the agent.

Helping Clients Keep a Modified-Duty Task Bank Current

A task bank built once and filed away goes stale quickly. Encourage clients to:

• Review it at least annually, and whenever operations, equipment or locations change.
• Ask supervisors to add tasks they wish they had time to do. Those are often good modified-duty work.
• Track which tasks were used and how they worked, after each claim.
• Keep it with the return-to-work policy so the coordinator can find it when an injury happens.
• Use the carrier's help. Risk control staff can review the task bank and suggest additions.

Renewal is a natural time for you to ask, "When did you last update your modified-duty task list?" You can also share our return-to-work programs resources with clients who are starting from scratch.

Learn How Modified Duty Fits the Bigger Picture

Industry examples help, but modified duty sits inside a larger set of rules: restrictions, fitness-for-duty documentation, FMLA restoration and ADA accommodation. The Return-to-Work Training & Certification program covers all of these from the employer's side, online and self-paced, with an optional exam for the Certified Return-to-Work Administrator designation. It is professional training, not state insurance CE, and it suits agents and account managers who want to speak their clients' language.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is light duty work?

Light duty work is a temporary assignment with lower physical demands than an injured employee's regular job, designed to fit the treating provider's restrictions. It may be a separate set of tasks or the employee's own job with changes. Employers use it to keep employees connected to work while they recover. The details, including pay and duration, should be in a written offer, with a copy to the adjuster.

What light duty jobs are there in construction?

Common options include ground-level flagging if trained and permitted, site safety documentation, material tracking, tool crib and inventory work, shop cleanup within lifting limits, and office tasks such as updating training records, scanning plans and calling suppliers. Every assignment has to fit the provider's restrictions, and site hazards matter even for light tasks. Carrier risk control staff can help a contractor build a task list.

Can a truck driver return to driving after a work injury?

Not automatically. Under federal motor carrier rules, a driver whose ability to perform normal duties has been impaired by an injury or disease must be medically examined and certified as physically qualified before driving a commercial motor vehicle again. A workers' comp release does not replace that certification. Until then, many carriers use dispatch, file audits, safety training and yard paperwork as modified duty.

What modified duty can a nurse do after a back injury?

Typical options avoid patient lifting and repositioning: patient education, discharge and follow-up calls, chart audits, scheduling, infection control rounds and staff training. The assignment must be within the treating provider's restrictions and the nurse's license and scope. State safe patient handling laws and facility policies may also apply, and the client's HR adviser should confirm those.

How do you create a modified-duty task bank?

List the tasks in each job, rate each task's physical demands, add useful tasks that are often neglected (inventory, inspections, training, calls), and note hours, location and supervision. When an injury happens, match the restrictions to the list, confirm unclear fits with the treating provider, and make a written offer. Review the list at least annually and after operational changes.

Does an employer have to create a light duty job?

Workers' comp laws generally do not require an employer to create a light-duty position, though state rules on offers and benefits vary. Separately, the ADA and state disability laws may require reasonable accommodation for a covered employee with a disability, which can include job restructuring. Clients should take those questions to HR or employment counsel rather than their agent.

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