O'Keefe v. Department of Labor & Industries

**Worker Loses Appeal for Disability Benefits After Being Fired** This case involved a worker who was injured on the job at Woodinville Lumber and was receiving temporary disability benefits. The Department of Labor & Industries had arranged for him to do modified work that accommodated his injury limitations. However, the worker was later fired for attendance and conduct problems while performing this modified duty work. After being terminated, he asked to restart his temporary disability benefits, but the Department denied his request. The worker appealed this denial to court, but lost. The court agreed with the Department's decision, ruling that his modified work assignment hadn't truly "ended" in the legal sense because he was still physically capable of doing the work. Since he was fired for misconduct unrelated to his work injury - not because his injury prevented him from working - he couldn't resume disability benefits. **What this means for workers:** If you're on modified duty due to a work injury, getting fired for reasons unrelated to your injury (like poor attendance or conduct issues) will likely disqualify you from receiving temporary disability benefits again. To maintain eligibility for these benefits, you must follow workplace rules even while on modified duty.