Roswell Employers: Avoid WC-240 Pitfalls in 2026

When an employee in Roswell gets hurt on the job, their recovery almost always involves some form of modified work. Offering light duty work is a critical legal obligation with major financial consequences under Georgia Workers’ Compensation law. If you mismanage this part of the claim, a simple injury can quickly spiral into a long and expensive legal fight.

The Problem: Mismanaging Light Duty Offers Leads to Financial Penalties

A lot of Roswell employers, even when they mean well, completely bungle the light duty requirements. This usually happens because they don’t understand the specific Georgia Workers’ Comp statutes or the procedures required by the State Board of Workers’ Compensation. An invalid or poorly handled light duty offer can leave you on the hook for paying ongoing temporary total disability (TTD) benefits, even if your injured employee has some capacity to work. This means you could be paying a full salary for an employee who isn’t performing any labor, which is a direct drain on your resources and productivity. Let’s say a machine operator at a plant near the Chattahoochee River, off Holcomb Bridge Road, hurts their back and gets a 10-pound lifting restriction. The boss, trying to get them back, just tells them to “come in and do whatever you can.” This sounds helpful, but it’s a legal minefield. The employee comes in, can’t find anything to do that fits their restriction, and goes home. You think you’ve done your part, but legally, you haven’t made a valid offer. As a result, that employee can likely continue collecting full TTD benefits, even though you thought you were accommodating them.

What Went Wrong First: Common Employer Mistakes

Invalid light duty offers often come from good intentions paired with sloppy execution. Here are the most common ways employers mess this up:

• Vague Job Descriptions: You assume the employee or the doctor knows what “light duty” means for your business. But without a written, detailed job description showing specific tasks and physical demands, the offer is legally weak. A doctor can’t sign off on a job they don’t understand.
• Lack of Communication: Just telling an employee about a light duty spot isn’t enough. You have to formally communicate the offer to both the employee and their authorized treating physician. A casual chat won’t stand up in front of the State Board of Workers’ Compensation.
• Ignoring Medical Restrictions: This one seems obvious, but it happens. Offering a job that requires the employee to work outside their medical restrictions is dangerous and makes the offer invalid. It happens when business needs are put ahead of the doctor’s orders.
• Delayed Offers: Waiting to offer a suitable light duty role just extends how long you’re paying TTD benefits. The faster you make a proper offer, the faster you can get that employee back to productive work.
• Improper Use of Form WC-240: Georgia law has specific paperwork for this. Many employers don’t use the official Form WC-240, or they fill it out wrong which makes their offer completely unenforceable.
• Inadequate Tracking and Documentation: If you don’t have a clean record of your communications, the medical reports, and the job offers, how are you going to defend your actions if a dispute comes up? It becomes your word against theirs.

These mistakes lead to higher Workers’ Compensation premiums, longer periods of disability payments, and expensive litigation.

The Solution: A Structured Approach to Light Duty Compliance in Georgia

To navigate light duty requirements correctly, you need a structured, proactive plan that follows Georgia law to the letter. The objective is to get the employee working again safely while protecting your business from paying unnecessary benefits.

Step 1: Understand Medical Restrictions Clearly

A valid light duty offer is built on a clear understanding of the employee’s medical restrictions. This information has to come from the authorized treating physician. Get your hands on a detailed work status report (usually a Form WC-205) that spells out limitations on lifting, standing, sitting, walking, and any other physical demands. You need to engage directly with the medical provider. If a report is vague, call the doctor’s office and ask for specifics. Questions like, “Can the employee lift 5 pounds continuously or only occasionally?” or “Is the sitting restriction for a full 8-hour shift or can it be broken up?” help define the job you can offer. This direct contact ensures the work you propose actually lines up with the doctor’s orders.

Step 2: Identify Suitable Light Duty Positions

Once you have clear restrictions, you have to find or create a job that fits within them. This means looking at your existing roles and sometimes getting creative with how tasks are assigned. You might need to break down a job into smaller, less physically demanding parts. For instance, an employee with a lifting restriction could still handle administrative work, answer phones, monitor security cameras, or do inventory counts that don’t involve heavy items. Businesses with more varied work, like those in the Roswell Historic District or near the shops on Canton Street, may have an easier time finding these kinds of roles. Document these potential jobs with their specific tasks and physical requirements.

Step 3: Create a Detailed Written Job Description for Light Duty

Many employers skip this step, and it’s a huge mistake. A verbal offer of “light duty” is basically worthless. Georgia law, specifically O.C.G.A. Section 34-9-240, requires a specific job offer. That means you have to create a formal, written job description for the light duty position. This document has to spell out:

• The job title.
• The exact tasks the employee will perform.
• The work schedule (days and hours).
• The pay rate.
• The physical demands of the job, making sure they match the doctor’s restrictions perfectly. For example, if the restriction is “no lifting over 10 pounds,” the job description must confirm that no task requires lifting more than that.
• The location of the work.

This written description gives clarity to the employee and, just as important, to the doctor who has to approve it.

Step 4: Obtain Medical Approval for the Proposed Light Duty

Before you ever present the offer to the employee, the authorized treating physician must review and approve it. Send the detailed, written job description to the doctor’s office and ask for their written approval confirming the job is within the employee’s current medical restrictions. You absolutely need this medical sign-off. Without the doctor’s signature on that specific job description, your offer is wide open to being challenged.

Step 5: Formally Offer the Light Duty Position Using Form WC-240

Once the doctor approves the job, you must formally offer it to the injured employee. In Georgia, this means using the State Board of Workers’ Compensation Form WC-240, titled “Notice of Offer of Work.” This form is mandatory for any employer trying to modify or suspend income benefits because of a work offer. It must be filled out completely and accurately, with the detailed job description and the doctor’s approval attached. Send it to the employee by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you have proof of delivery. You also have to file a copy with the State Board of Workers’ Compensation. Don’t forget this part. You can find all the official forms and instructions on the State Board’s website, sbwc.georgia.gov. A mistake on this form can make the whole offer invalid.

Step 6: Document Everything

Careful documentation is everything. You need to keep a complete file with:

• All medical reports and work status forms.
• Records of all communication with the authorized treating physician.
• The detailed written light duty job description.
• The physician’s written approval of that job.
• The completed Form WC-240 and the certified mail receipt.
• Any letters or emails from the employee about the offer.
• Logs of the employee’s hours and tasks if they return to the light duty role.

This paper trail is your best (and sometimes only) defense if the employee refuses the job or a dispute arises over whether the work was suitable.

The Result: Reduced Costs and Smoother Claims Management

So what’s the payoff for doing all this correctly? A serious reduction in your Workers’ Compensation costs. As soon as an employee accepts a valid light duty offer, your obligation to pay temporary total disability benefits either stops or gets reduced, based on what they’re earning. If the employee unreasonably turns down a suitable light duty job you’ve properly offered, you may be able to suspend their income benefits completely under O.C.G.A. Section 34-9-240 (b). That’s real money saved over the life of a claim. But it’s not just about direct savings. Good light duty management leads to a much smoother claims process. When you communicate clearly and follow the rules, you have fewer disputes, which means less money spent on lawyers and administrative headaches. It also shows your employees that you’re committed to their well-being and want them back safely which can go a long way in preventing an adversarial relationship. An employee who feels supported is far less likely to run to a lawyer. Getting someone back to work, even in a modified role, is also good for workplace morale and productivity, preventing the disruption that comes with long-term absences. A well-run light duty program protects both your finances and your ability to operate.

FAQ Section

For any employer in Roswell, getting the light duty process right isn’t just about being proactive. It’s about financial self-preservation and running a fair workplace. By following Georgia’s legal rules and communicating clearly, your business can dramatically cut its Workers’ Compensation costs and make the return-to-work process much smoother for everyone involved.