IOWA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT RATE RISES ON JULY 1, 2022

Effective July 1, 2022, the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Mileage Reimbursement Rate will rise to 62.5 cents per mile for travel related to medical treatment or participation in an approved vocational rehabilitation plan. The new rate is the first increase since July 1, 2021, when the rate was decreased from 57.5 cents per mile to 56 […]

NEW IOWA WORKERS COMPENSATION DISABILITY BENEFIT RATE BOOK

The Iowa Division of Workers’ Compensation recently released the 2022-2023 rate book spreadsheet for disability benefits. The rate book is a table of disability compensation rates by income and tax status of the employee issued each year by the Division of Workers’ Compensation. The new rate book goes into effect on July 1, 2022, and […]

IOWA SUPREME COURT DEFINES WHAT A SHOULDER IS UNDER SECTION 85.34(2)(n).

On April 1, 2022, the Iowa Supreme Court handed down two opinions that significantly impact how shoulder injuries will be treated in Iowa for years to come. These are the much anticipated opinions in Chavez v. MS Technologies, LLC and Deng v. Farmland Foods, Inc. The Supreme Court’s primary opinion is contained in the Chavez […]

COVID-19: CHANGES TO THE WAY HEARINGS ARE HELD IN IOWA AND CONTINUED POSTPONEMENT OF IN-PERSON HEARINGS UNTIL OCTOBER 28, 2022

On March 11, 2022, Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Joseph Cortese extended the postponement of in-person hearings by the commission from April 30, 2022, through October 28, 2022. This is the same order that has been in effect in Iowa since March 16, 2020, but this order changes the way virtual hearing are held. Unlike the prior […]

IOWA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COMMISSIONER RESOLVES SPLIT OF DEPUTIES ON PROPER INDEMNITY OWED FOR PERMANENT IMPAIRMENT TO SHOULDER INJURIES

The Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner recently decided an appeal in Carmer v. Nordstrom, Inc. that resolved a split of deputy commissioners as to how to compensate an employee who sustains bilateral shoulder injuries from a single accident. Our blog post for the lower deputy commissioner’s decision in this case can be found here. In Carmer, […]

IOWA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION DEPUTIES SPLIT ON BILATERAL INDEMNITY OWED FOR PERMANENT IMPAIRMENT TO SHOULDER INJURIES

Recently, a Deputy Commissioner caused quite the stir by breaking with the prior consensus among the Commission about how to compensate an employee who sustains bilateral shoulder injuries from a single accident. In Carmer v. Nordstrom, Inc., the claimant injured both of her shoulders in one work-related accident.  Her employer stipulated that her injuries were […]
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