You got hurt on the job. You filed your workers' compensation claim. Now you're wondering whether you can pick up any work while you recover, or whether working at all will cost you your benefits.
This is one of the most common questions injured construction workers and skilled tradesmen ask. The answer depends on what kind of disability you have, how much you earn, and whether you report your wages correctly.
New York's workers' compensation system does allow many injured workers to work while collecting benefits. But the rules are specific. Getting them wrong can result in reduced benefits, suspended benefits, or a fraud finding that ends your case entirely.
Here is what tradesmen across New York City and Long Island need to understand.
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The Three Disability Classifications That Control Everything
The New York Workers' Compensation Law classifies injured workers into disability categories. Your category determines what benefits you receive and whether you can work.
Temporary total disability means you cannot work at all while you recover. You receive two-thirds of your pre-injury average weekly wage, up to the statutory maximum. For injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2026, that maximum is $1,281.50 per week.
Temporary partial disability means you can work, but your injury limits what you can do. You may be cleared for light duty or restricted hours. Your benefits are reduced based on what you earn.
Permanent partial disability applies once your condition stabilizes. You have a lasting limitation, but you retain some capacity to work. Benefits continue, subject to durational caps and earnings offsets.
Your treating physician's findings drive the classification. The Workers' Compensation Board and the insurance carrier both rely on those independent clinical findings to determine your status.
Partial Disability and Reduced Earnings: How the Math Works
If you are classified as temporarily partially disabled, you can work. Your benefits are calculated based on the difference between what you earned before the injury and what you earn now.
The formula under Workers' Compensation Law § 15 is straightforward. The Board calculates your reduced earnings benefit as two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury average weekly wage and your current earnings.
Here is a concrete example. A journeyman ironworker with a pre-injury average weekly wage of $1,800 returns to light-duty work earning $900 per week. The wage difference is $900. Two-thirds of $900 is $600. That worker receives $600 per week in partial disability benefits, in addition to the $900 earned at work.
The combined income in that example is $1,500 per week. That is less than the pre-injury $1,800, but it reflects the partial nature of the disability.
If your current earnings equal or exceed your pre-injury average weekly wage, benefits stop. If your earnings drop again because of your injury, benefits can resume.
For more on how to protect your claim from the start, see our guide on how to file a workers' compensation claim in New York.
There Is No Hour Limit, But There Is an Earnings Limit
Workers' compensation in New York does not set a maximum number of hours you can work while collecting benefits. The system does not say "you can only work twenty hours a week."
What it does is measure your earnings. Hours matter only because they produce wages. The wages are what the Board tracks.
If you work forty hours at a reduced rate because of your injury restrictions, your benefits are calculated on your actual earnings. If you work ten hours at a high rate and earn close to your pre-injury wage, your benefits shrink accordingly.
The practical limit for most tradesmen is not hours. It is the physical restrictions your doctor has placed on you. A carpenter cleared for light duty cannot return to full framing work. A pipefitter with a shoulder injury cannot perform overhead work. Exceeding your medical restrictions can jeopardize your health, your claim, and your credibility with the Board.
Stay within your restrictions. Document everything your doctor tells you about what you can and cannot do.
You Must Report Every Dollar You Earn
This is the rule that trips up injured workers more than any other.
If you work while collecting workers' compensation benefits, you must report your earnings to the insurance carrier and to the Board. Every week. Every dollar.
Failing to report earnings is not a technicality. Under Workers' Compensation Law § 114-a, knowingly misrepresenting earnings to obtain benefits is fraud. The consequences are severe.
A § 114-a finding can result in permanent disqualification from receiving further benefits in your case. The Board has discretion to impose that penalty even for a first offense. It can also result in criminal referral.
Insurance carriers conduct surveillance. They check payroll records, tax filings, and social media. A carrier that discovers unreported work income will use it aggressively.
Report your earnings accurately and on time. If you are unsure how to report, ask your attorney before you start working, not after.
Light Duty Offers From Your Employer
After a workplace injury, your employer may offer you a light-duty position. This is common in union construction environments. The offer may come from the general contractor, the signatory employer, or a related company.
The work must be within your medical restrictions. It must be at a location you can reasonably reach. It must not require you to perform tasks your doctor has prohibited.
If the offered position exceeds your restrictions, document that clearly with your treating physician. The physician's independent clinical findings are what protect you if the carrier challenges your refusal.
If you accept light-duty work, your partial disability benefits are calculated based on the wage difference, as described above. Your benefits do not simply stop because you returned to some form of work.
Union Benefits, Prevailing Wage, and Average Weekly Wage Calculations
For union tradesmen, the average weekly wage calculation is more complex than it is for salaried workers. Your AWW is the foundation of every benefit calculation in your case. Getting it right matters.
Under Workers' Compensation Law § 14, the AWW is calculated based on your actual earnings in the fifty-two weeks before the injury. For construction workers with seasonal employment patterns, this can produce a lower AWW than your actual earning capacity.
Fringe benefits, including health insurance contributions and annuity fund contributions paid by your employer, may be included in the AWW calculation under certain circumstances. This is a contested area, and the outcome depends on the specific facts of your employment.
If your work history includes periods of unemployment, layoffs, or work for multiple employers, the calculation becomes more complicated. An experienced attorney can identify whether the carrier has calculated your AWW correctly.
An understated AWW means understated benefits for the entire life of your claim. It is worth examining carefully.
Permanent Partial Disability: Working After Maximum Medical Improvement
Once your treating physician determines that you have reached maximum medical improvement, your case moves toward a permanent classification. If you have a lasting limitation but retain some capacity to work, you will likely be classified as permanently partially disabled.
For injuries occurring on or after March 13, 2007, permanent partial disability benefits are capped by duration. The cap ranges from 225 weeks for a 15% or lower loss of wage-earning capacity, up to 525 weeks for a loss greater than 95%.
During this period, you can work. Your benefits are subject to an earnings offset. If your earnings exceed your pre-injury AWW, benefits stop. If your earnings fall below that threshold because of your disability, benefits continue.
The classification of your loss of wage-earning capacity is determined by the Board based on medical evidence and vocational factors. It is not simply a medical question. The degree of classification directly affects how long benefits continue and how much you receive.
For a full overview of the workers' compensation process in New York, including how permanent disability benefits are structured, see our practice area page.
What Happens If You Work Under the Table
Some injured workers consider working for cash while collecting benefits. This is a serious mistake.
Insurance carriers investigate. Surveillance is common in workers' compensation cases, particularly in construction. A carrier that documents unreported work will file a § 114-a application immediately.
The consequences go beyond losing benefits. A fraud finding can be used against you in any future workers' compensation claim. It can affect your union standing. It can result in criminal prosecution under Penal Law § 175.10 for falsifying business records.
The workers' compensation system is designed to support workers who are genuinely injured and genuinely limited. Working within the rules protects your benefits and your credibility. Working outside them puts everything at risk.
How Schwartzapfel Holbrook Handles Partial Disability Cases for Tradesmen
At Schwartzapfel Holbrook, we handle workers' compensation cases for union construction workers and skilled tradesmen across New York City and Long Island. Partial disability cases require close attention to the medical record, the AWW calculation, and the earnings reporting process.
We review the treating physician's findings to ensure the disability classification reflects the actual limitations our clients are living with. We examine the AWW calculation to identify whether fringe benefits, multi-employer earnings, or seasonal work patterns have been handled correctly. We monitor the earnings offset as clients return to work, so benefits are not reduced more than the law requires.
We also identify when there is an actual lawsuit that goes beyond Workers' Comp. That is how we are able to recover millions of dollars for our clients.
Insurance carriers evaluate cases differently when they know the firm on the other side is prepared to litigate. For injured tradesmen across Nassau County, Suffolk County, and the five boroughs, that preparation is what produces the strongest possible result.
