Americans are no strangers to hard work. According to Forbes, nearly 9 million Americans currently work more than one job. What’s more, an estimated 400,000 Americans work two full-time jobs.
Working two or more jobs can help people earn more income, but it can also put them at greater risk of suffering on-the-job injuries — especially if one of those jobs involves physical labor.
Thankfully, people who work two or more jobs are usually eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, but their eligibility and the amount of money they can receive depend on which job they were working at the time of the injury.
If you work multiple jobs and are injured at one of them, here’s what you need to know about workers’ compensation benefits and how they may affect your other job.
You Must Be an Employee at the Job Where You’re Injured to Be Eligible for Benefits
It’s common for people working multiple jobs to have one job where they’re considered an employee and another job where they’re considered a contractor. This is true for full-time, part-time, or seasonal jobs.
If you work as an employee at one job and as a contractor at another job, you’re only eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if your injury occurs at your job where you’re considered an employee. In Ohio, contractors aren’t covered under the workers’ compensation benefits of the companies they work with.
If you happen to be considered an employee at two different jobs and you are injured at one, the correct path is to file your claim with the employer where your injury occurred. This is true even if your condition impacts your ability to work at both jobs.
Complications With Contractors and Gig Work
Many people who hold more than one job have a traditional W-2 position at one employer and supplement their income with gig work, such as driving for rideshare companies, delivering food or freelancing. This type of work can create confusion when it comes to workers’ compensation. In Ohio, workers’ compensation only applies to employees, not independent contractors. That means if you are injured while performing gig work, you generally cannot file for workers’ comp through that company.
However, complications arise when a workplace injury at your covered job also affects your ability to perform your gig work. For instance, if you injure your back at a warehouse job and cannot drive for rideshare services anymore, the lost rideshare income will not be factored into your workers’ compensation benefits. The law draws a sharp line between W-2 employment and contractor roles, even if both are essential parts of your livelihood.
Your Injury’s Effect on Your Ability to Work Each Job Will Be Considered
Some people who work multiple full-time jobs may work in an office from the morning to late afternoon, then work in a physical labor-based job, such as a retail store or restaurant, in the evening. Because the evening job involves more physical labor, they may get injured while working it.
If the injury at the evening job makes it difficult or impossible to continue the evening job—due to heavy lifting, prolonged standing, or mobility requirements—but does not affect your ability to do your day/office job, the calculation of your workers’ compensation benefits for your evening job will be affected by the income you still receive from your office job.
If you are an employee at one job and a contractor at another, and you get hurt at the job where you’re an employee, your income from your contractor job won’t be factored into your workers’ compensation benefits.
If You Cannot Work at All, You Should Report Your Income From Your Other Jobs
Many serious work-related injuries make it impossible for injured workers to do any jobs. In some cases, even sedentary office work can be physically impossible while you recover from your injuries. If you get hurt at a job where you are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits and cannot perform any work at all, you should include your income information from any additional workers’ compensation-covered jobs when applying for benefits.
Your Benefits May Be Reduced if You’re Cleared to Go Back to One Job Before Others
Things can get complicated when your condition improves enough to allow you to return to work at one job but not another. This is common in situations when one of your jobs is more physically demanding than another. The good news is that your partial recovery will not fully bar you from receiving benefits.
In these situations, your benefits will be recalculated to account for the full income you are earning from the job that you are physically capable of doing. The purpose of this is to provide you with the support you need while taking into account your limited ability to earn a living.
You Cannot Receive More than Two-Thirds of Your Total Monthly Income on Workers’ Compensation
If you get hurt while working and are unable to work any of your jobs, you will likely receive more money than if you were only unable to work one of your jobs. However, workers’ compensation does not pay more than two-thirds of your entire monthly income when combining all of your jobs. In addition, it is capped at a weekly amount that is adjusted each year for inflation.
You Cannot Be Fired for Applying for Workers’ Compensation
Many injured workers are hesitant to apply for workers’ compensation benefits after on-the-job injuries. This can be a major deterrent for people working two or more jobs—they may be even MORE hesitant to apply for benefits when they’re including income from other jobs. Thankfully, Ohio law prevents employers from firing employees for filing for workers’ compensation benefits.
In fact, state law prohibits any form of retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. Your employer is barred from taking the following actions against you due to your claim for benefits:
- Terminating your employment
- Intimidation
- Demotion
- Refusal to extend your contract
- Harassment or threats
- Low performance review
- Negative scheduling or reassignments
Ultimately, you have legal options any time your employer treats you unfairly due to filing a workers’ compensation claim.
Impact on Light Duty or Modified Work
One important factor in workers’ compensation cases involving multiple jobs is how light duty or modified work affects your benefits. After an injury, many employers may offer a temporary assignment with fewer physical demands, such as desk work, shorter shifts or tasks that avoid heavy lifting. Accepting light duty can help you stay employed and maintain income, but it can also change how your workers’ compensation benefits are calculated.
If you work more than one job, the situation becomes more complex. For example, you may be cleared to perform light duty at one job, but still unable to perform the full duties at another. In that case, workers’ compensation may continue to cover lost wages for the job you cannot do, but reduce or end benefits related to the job where you are earning income again. Each case depends on medical restrictions, employer accommodations, and how the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation calculates your wage replacement.
It is also possible that one employer may not have light duty work available, while another does. When that happens, you could return to one job while still receiving partial benefits for the other.
Let Our Ohio Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Help You Navigate This Complex Process
If you work two or more jobs in order to get by, getting hurt at work is the last thing you want to happen. You depend on income from your jobs to keep your head above water, and the thought of losing income from one or all of your jobs, whether temporarily or permanently, is devastating.
The workers’ compensation system in Ohio is difficult enough to navigate when it involves only one job. Trying to get benefits when income from multiple jobs must be considered is extremely complex and requires the knowledge and resources that only an experienced Ohio workers’ compensation attorney has.
Don’t attempt to apply for benefits on your own in such a complex situation. Contact Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy today for a free consultation. We know all of the ins and outs of Ohio’s workers’ compensation system, and we won’t let your application or any of your income slip through the cracks.
Content revised October 16, 2025.
