IOWA DEPUTY COMMISSIONER PROVIDES GUIDANCE ON COMPENSABILITY WHEN AN EMPLOYEE IS INJURED WHILE VIOLATING EMPLOYER’S POLICIES

Goede v. US Xpress, Inc. provides an example on how an injured employee could still receive workers’ compensation benefits even though the employee’s injury resulted from violations of the employer’s company policies. In some circumstances, an employee may be barred by statute from receiving workers compensation benefits if the employee’s injuries arose out of a […]

NEW GUIDANCE IN IOWA INCLUDES FREQUENT “ZERO” WEEKLY EARNINGS IN AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE CALCULATION

In Lutz v. Consolidated Refrigerated Services, an Iowa Deputy Workers’ Compensation Commissioner provided guidance on how to calculate an employee’s average weekly wage when that employee frequently submits pay logs with “zero” weekly earnings due to an irregular pay schedule. Section 85.36 of the Iowa Code provides that the basis of compensation for an employee’s […]

AN IOWA DEPUTY WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COMMISSIONER INTERPRETS A SHOULDER REPLACEMENT SURGERY AS A BODY AS A WHOLE INJURY

In Bolinger v. Trillium, an Iowa Deputy Workers’ Compensation Commissioner provided guidance as to whether a reverse shoulder replacement surgery is considered an injury to the shoulder or if it extends to the body as a whole. The claimant in Bolinger argued that her reverse shoulder replacement surgery should be treated as a body as […]

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 […]
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