What is restricted work or job transfer under OSHA?
Restricted work occurs when, because of a work-related injury or illness, the employer keeps the employee from routine job functions or the full workday, or a health care professional recommends that. Assigning another job for part of the day is a job transfer.
By Cairn. Updated . Sources: eCFR text as of October 27, 2026.
The legal definitions
“How do I decide if the injury or illness resulted in restricted work? Restricted work occurs when, as the result of a work-related injury or illness:
(A) You keep the employee from performing one or more of the routine functions of his or her job, or from working the full workday that he or she would otherwise have been scheduled to work; or
(B) A physician or other licensed health care professional recommends that the employee not perform one or more of the routine functions of his or her job, or not work the full workday that he or she would otherwise have been scheduled to work.”
“How do I decide if an injury or illness involved a transfer to another job? If you assign an injured or ill employee to a job other than his or her regular job for part of the day, the case involves transfer to another job.”
Where it applies
- 29 CFR 1904.7, General recording criteria 18 paragraphs use the term. Read the text on eCFR.
Sources
- 29 CFR 1904.7, General recording criteria. eCFR, text as of October 27, 2026.
Written by Cairn, updated . The quoted text is copied from the sources above. A test compares each quotation with a stored copy of the source, and a separate script compares that copy with the live sources. This page explains the law and is not legal advice.