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 continuations of this order in the past, all previously scheduled hearings from April 30, 2022 through October 28, 2022 will be automatically rescheduled to take place over Zoom, instead of CourtCall like in the past. A joint stipulation may be filed by the parties to have the hearing held over CourtCall instead of Zoom, but the parties are responsible for the costs associated with CourtCall.

Alternatively, the parties may also request that the hearing be held in person, but the commission currently disfavors in-person hearings. Since the pandemic began, the commission has become accustomed to virtual hearings has part of its “new normal.”

COVID-19 has had far reaching implications in the Iowa Workers’ Compensation field. For information on how the order will specifically affect your case, please contact Paul Barta or Micah Hawker Boehnke at 402-475-1075.