This is a question that we often hear during our client's cases. There is no simple answer. The best advice is to contact a workers' compensation lawyer with regard to your specific case. However, I will provide you with a few different scenarios where receiving workers' compensation benefits is both prohibited and allowed. The typical answer is that you cannot both receive workers' compensation benefits and work. This generalization is a safe guide, but it is not true in all cases. An instance where it is true is if you had one job at the time of your injury and the doctor has taken you completely out of work for that injury. During the period of time you are receiving temporary total disability benefits, you cannot work. In fact, it is fraud to receive workers' compensation benefits and work under this scenario. However, if an individual had two jobs at the time of their accident and those jobs were not similar, they can receive workers' compensation benefits and work. For example, if an individual worked as a janitor at night and a bus driver during the day. Each job requires one to do separate and unique tasks. If someone hurts their shoulder while working as a janitor but could still drive a bus, they could work and receive workers' compensation indemnity benefits. There are also scenarios in which you may be required to work while you are being paid workers' compensation benefits. If a doctor has placed an individual on work restrictions, but the employer cannot offer the same wage to the employee even though they can offer them a job, then they may be entitled to temporary partial disability benefits. This figure is calculated by taking two-thirds (⅔) of the difference between their pre injury average weekly wage and their current paycheck each week. As you can see, there is no simple answer as to whether or not you can work and receive workers' compensation benefits. The best thing to do is to contact us at Gerber & Holder and we will work with you to help determine what you can and cannot do.