COVID-19: IOWA COMMISSIONER JOSEPH CORTESE POSTPONES IN-PERSON HEARINGS UNTIL JUNE 18, 2021

On February 2, 2021, the Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Joseph Cortese extended the postponement of in-person hearings by the Commission from March 19, 2021, to June 18, 2021. For those of our avid followers who are keeping track, this is the sixth continuation of the suspension of in-person hearings since March 13, 2020, when the pandemic began. Even so, this order still had far reaching implications for workers’ compensation claims in Iowa.

For example, as part of the order, all in-person hearings scheduled to take place between March 19, 2021, to June 18, 2021, will automatically be set to take place over CourtCall, an internet-video based system, at their previously scheduled times. CourtCall is paid for by the Division of Workers’ Compensation, but witnesses and those wishing to observe the hearings must be prepared to use the system to attend.

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.