Can You Quit Your Job While on Workers’ Comp in PA?

Quitting does not automatically disqualify you from benefits. What matters is:

• why you left
• whether suitable work was still available to you
• whether your work injury still limits how much you can earn

The answer also changes depending on whether you quit, retire, or resign as part of a settlement. Below, we explain each situation. Before you make any of these decisions, talk with a Pennsylvania workers’ compensation lawyer.

What happens to your benefits if you quit while on workers’ comp?

Section 413 of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act controls this. In simple terms, if you go back to work earning as much as or more than you made before your injury, your wage loss benefits can be suspended or reduced. So if you leave your time-of-injury job and take another job that pays the same or more, your benefits may be affected.

Under the same section, if your earnings later drop while you are still disabled, you can ask to have your benefits reinstated by showing the loss of earnings is connected to your original work injury. Your time-of-injury employer would then have to prove the drop in earnings has nothing to do with your injury.

Your wage loss benefits are most at risk if:

• you were physically able to do your job and left for reasons unrelated to your injury
• you don’t take another job that fits your work restrictions
• you quit your original job, take a new one, and then quit that one too

Medical benefits usually continue. Even when wage loss benefits are suspended, your employer must still pay for treatment of your work injury.

If you’re thinking about taking a different job, see can you work while on workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania.

What if you leave for a better job and get laid off?

Sometimes an injured worker leaves a modified job with their employer for a better-paying job that fits their restrictions, and is later laid off. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that leaving for a better-paying job is not the worker’s “fault.” The question becomes whether suitable work was available when the later job ended, and whether the worker turned it down in bad faith. See Bufford v. W.C.A.B. (North American Telecom), 2 A.3d 548.

Real examples: quitting a job while on workers’ comp in Pennsylvania

These Pennsylvania cases show how courts apply these rules.

Losing transportation to a light-duty job. An injured worker was offered a modified, light-duty job with the same employer. He had been borrowing a car, lost access to it, and stopped showing up, even though he was physically able to do the work. The court suspended his benefits because he left for a reason unrelated to his injury. See North Pittsburgh Drywall v. W.C.A.B. (Owen), 59 A.3d 30.

Quitting a new job the employer found. An employer had no work within an injured worker’s restrictions, so it found him a suitable job elsewhere. He later quit that job because of transportation problems. The court denied reinstatement of his benefits because his lost earnings had nothing to do with his injury. See Campbell v. W.C.A.B., 707 A.2d 1188.

Leaving for a better-paying job, then getting laid off. An injured worker returned to a modified, light-duty job, then left it for a higher-paying electrician job within his restrictions. The electrician job laid him off for economic reasons while he was still affected by his work injury. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held he could seek reinstatement. To defeat his claim, the employer had to show suitable work was available and that he turned it down in bad faith. See Bufford v. W.C.A.B. (North American Telecom), 2 A.3d 548.

If your employer has offered you a modified position, read our guide to light duty work and Pennsylvania workers’ compensation.

What happens if you retire while on workers’ comp in Pennsylvania?

Retiring from your time-of-injury job is not necessarily the same as leaving the workforce entirely, and the difference matters.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that wage loss benefits must be suspended when a worker voluntarily leaves the labor market by retiring. See SEPTA v. W.C.A.B. (Henderson), 669 A.2d 911. However, if your work injury forced you out of the workforce and into retirement, your disability is still compensable. See Republic Steel Corp. v. W.C.A.B. (Petrisek), 640 A.2d 1266. A forced retirement is treated differently from a voluntary one.

Who has to prove what:

1. The employer goes first. If your employer claims you retired and left the workforce, it has to produce evidence that you left voluntarily. See City of Pittsburgh v. W.C.A.B. (Robinson), 67 A.3d 1194.
2. Then it’s your turn. If the employer makes that showing, you must prove either (1) you are looking for work, or (2) your work injury forced you out of the workforce entirely. See Day v. W.C.A.B., 6 A.3d 633; SEPTA v. W.C.A.B. (Henderson), 669 A.2d 911.

For more on this, see how workers’ compensation affects retirement.

Can a pension affect your workers’ comp benefits in Pennsylvania?

Accepting or applying for a pension does not, by itself, mean you have voluntarily retired. See City of Pittsburgh v. W.C.A.B. (Robinson), 67 A.3d 1194.

However, your employer can reduce your weekly workers’ comp benefits by the portion of your pension it paid for. It cannot reduce them by the portion you contributed yourself. Before taking this offset, your employer must give you written notice on Form LIBC-761.

What if you’re asked to resign as part of a workers’ comp settlement?

Many Pennsylvania workers’ comp cases end in a lump-sum settlement called a Compromise and Release (C&R). A C&R can work in your favor because it can pay a meaningful amount of money, sometimes fairly quickly. As part of the deal, employers often ask the injured worker to resign from the time-of-injury job, so you may be asked to sign a resignation letter as a term of the settlement.

Keep these points in mind:

• A C&R is final. If your condition gets worse later, you cannot reopen your claim.
• Benefits usually end. You will likely give up any future wage loss benefits.
• Medical coverage may end too. Many C&R agreements close out medical benefits, which would leave you responsible for future treatment of your work injury. Read the agreement carefully.

Learn more about the two types of workers’ compensation settlements in Pennsylvania.

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