Bill Text: IA SF349 | 2019-2020 | 88th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to workers' compensation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-25 - Subcommittee: Breitbach, Bisignano, and Chapman. S.J. 390. [SF349 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2019-SF349-Introduced.html

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Senate File 349 - Introduced
SENATE FILE 349
BY BOULTON , BISIGNANO ,
HOGG , DOTZLER , BOLKCOM ,
T. TAYLOR , JOCHUM , J.
SMITH , QUIRMBACH , WAHLS ,
MATHIS , RAGAN , R. TAYLOR ,
KINNEY , CELSI , PETERSEN ,
and LYKAM
A BILL FOR
An Act relating to workers’ compensation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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Section 1. Section 85.23, Code 2019, is amended to read as
follows:
85.23 Notice of injury —— failure to give.
Unless the employer or the employer’s representative shall
have actual knowledge of the occurrence of an injury received
within ninety days from the date of the occurrence of the
injury, or unless the employee or someone on the employee’s
behalf or a dependent or someone on the dependent’s behalf
shall give notice thereof to the employer within ninety days
from the date of the occurrence of the injury, no compensation
shall be allowed. For the purposes of this section , “date of
the occurrence of the injury” means the date that the employee
knew or should have known that the injury was work-related.
Sec. 2. Section 85.26, subsection 1, Code 2019, is amended
to read as follows:
1. An original proceeding for benefits under this chapter
or chapter 85A , 85B , or 86 , shall not be maintained in any
contested case unless the proceeding is commenced within two
years from the date of the occurrence of the injury for which
benefits are claimed or, if weekly compensation benefits are
paid under section 86.13 , within three years from the date of
the last payment of weekly compensation benefits. For the
purposes of this section , “date of the occurrence of the injury”
means the date that the employee knew or should have known that
the injury was work-related.
Sec. 3. Section 85.34, subsection 2, paragraph n, Code 2019,
is amended by striking the paragraph.
Sec. 4. Section 85.34, subsection 2, paragraph v, Code 2019,
is amended to read as follows:
v. In all cases of permanent partial disability other than
those hereinabove described or referred to in paragraphs “a”
through “u” hereof, the compensation shall be paid during
the number of weeks in relation to five hundred weeks as the
reduction in the employee’s earning capacity caused by the
disability bears in relation to the earning capacity that the
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employee possessed when the injury occurred. A determination
of the reduction in the employee’s earning capacity caused
by the disability shall take into account the permanent
partial disability of the employee and the number of years in
the future it was reasonably anticipated that the employee
would work at the time of the injury. If an employee who
is eligible for compensation under this paragraph returns to
work or is offered work for which the employee receives or
would receive the same or greater salary, wages, or earnings
than the employee received at the time of the injury, the
employee shall be compensated based only upon the employee’s
functional impairment resulting from the injury, and not in
relation to the employee’s earning capacity. Notwithstanding
section 85.26, subsection 2 , if an employee who is eligible
for compensation under this paragraph returns to work with the
same employer and is compensated based only upon the employee’s
functional impairment resulting from the injury as provided
in this paragraph and is terminated from employment by that
employer, the award or agreement for settlement for benefits
under this chapter shall be reviewed upon commencement of
reopening proceedings by the employee for a determination of
any reduction in the employee’s earning capacity caused by the
employee’s permanent partial disability.
Sec. 5. Section 85.34, subsection 2, paragraphs x and y,
Code 2019, are amended by striking the paragraphs.
Sec. 6. Section 85.34, subsection 3, Code 2019, is amended
to read as follows:
3. Permanent total disability.
a. Compensation for an injury causing permanent total
disability shall be upon the basis of eighty percent per week
of the employee’s average spendable weekly earnings, but not
more than a weekly benefit amount, rounded to the nearest
dollar, equal to two hundred percent of the statewide average
weekly wage paid employees as determined by the department
of workforce development under section 96.19, subsection 36 ,
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and in effect at the time of the injury. The minimum weekly
benefit amount is equal to the weekly benefit amount of a
person whose gross weekly earnings are thirty-five percent of
the statewide average weekly wage. The weekly compensation is
payable until the employee is no longer permanently and totally
disabled during the period of the employee’s disability .
b. Such compensation shall be in addition to the benefits
provided in sections 85.27 and 85.28 . No compensation shall
be payable under this subsection for any injury for which
compensation is payable under subsection 2 of this section .
In the event compensation has been paid to any person under
any provision of this chapter , chapter 85A , or chapter 85B
for an the same injury producing a permanent disability, any
such amounts so paid shall be deducted from the total amount
of compensation payable for permanent total disability. An
employee shall not receive compensation for permanent partial
disability if the employee is receiving compensation for
permanent total disability.
c. An employee forfeits the employee’s weekly compensation
for a permanent total disability under this subsection for a
week in which the employee is receiving a payment equal to or
greater than fifty percent of the statewide average weekly wage
from any of the following sources:
(1) Gross earnings from any employer.
(2) Payment for current services from any source.
d. c. An employee is not entitled to compensation for a
permanent total disability under this subsection while the
employee is receiving unemployment compensation under chapter
96 .
Sec. 7. Section 85.34, subsection 7, Code 2019, is amended
to read as follows:
7. Successive disabilities.
a. An employer is fully liable for compensating only that
portion all of an employee’s disability that arises out of and
in the course of the employee’s employment with the employer
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and that relates to the injury that serves as the basis for
the employee’s claim for compensation under this chapter ,
or chapter 85A , 85B , or 86 . An employer is not liable for
compensating an employee’s preexisting disability that arose
out of and in the course of employment from a prior injury with
the employer, to the extent that the employee’s preexisting
disability has already been compensated under this chapter ,
or chapter 85A , 85B , or 86 . An employer is not liable for
compensating an employee’s preexisting disability that arose
out of and in the course of employment with a different
employer or from causes unrelated to employment.
b. (1) If an injured employee has a preexisting disability
that was caused by a prior injury arising out of and in
the course of employment with the same employer, and the
preexisting disability was compensable under the same paragraph
of subsection 2 as the employee’s present injury, the employer
is liable for the combined disability that is caused by the
injuries, measured in relation to the employee’s condition
immediately prior to the first injury. In this instance, the
employer’s liability for the combined disability shall be
considered to be already partially satisfied to the extent
of the percentage of disability for which the employee was
previously compensated by the employer.
(2) If, however, an employer is liable to an employee for
a combined disability that is payable under subsection 2,
paragraph “v” , and the employee has a preexisting disability
that causes the employee’s earnings to be less at the time of
the present injury than if the prior injury had not occurred,
the employer’s liability for the combined disability shall be
considered to be already partially satisfied to the extent
of the percentage of disability for which the employee was
previously compensated by the employer minus the percentage
that the employee’s earnings are less at the time of the
present injury than if the prior injury had not occurred.
c. A successor employer shall be considered to be the
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same employer if the employee became part of the successor
employer’s workforce through a merger, purchase, or other
transaction that assumes the employee into the successor
employer’s workforce without substantially changing the nature
of the employee’s employment.
Sec. 8. Section 85.45, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph
1, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
Future payments of compensation may be commuted to a present
worth lump sum payment only upon application of a party to
the commissioner and upon written consent of all parties to
the proposed commutation or partial commutation, and on the
following conditions:
Sec. 9. Section 85.45, subsection 3, Code 2019, is amended
by striking the subsection.
Sec. 10. Section 85.70, subsection 1, Code 2019, is amended
to read as follows:
1. An employee who has sustained an injury resulting in
permanent partial or permanent total disability, for which
compensation is payable under this chapter other than an
injury to the shoulder compensable pursuant to section 85.34,
subsection 2 , paragraph “n” , and who cannot return to gainful
employment because of such disability, shall upon application
to and approval by the workers’ compensation commissioner
be entitled to a one hundred dollar weekly payment from the
employer in addition to any other benefit payments, during each
full week in which the employee is actively participating in a
vocational rehabilitation program recognized by the vocational
rehabilitation services division of the department of
education. The workers’ compensation commissioner’s approval
of such application for payment may be given only after a
careful evaluation of available facts, and after consultation
with the employer or the employer’s representative.
Judicial review of the decision of the workers’ compensation
commissioner may be obtained in accordance with the terms of
the Iowa administrative procedure Act, chapter 17A , and in
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section 86.26 . Such additional benefit payment shall be paid
for a period not to exceed thirteen consecutive weeks except
that the workers’ compensation commissioner may extend the
period of payment not to exceed an additional thirteen weeks if
the circumstances indicate that a continuation of training will
in fact accomplish rehabilitation.
Sec. 11. Section 85.70, subsection 2, Code 2019, is amended
by striking the subsection.
Sec. 12. Section 85.71, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code
2019, is amended to read as follows:
a. The employer has a place of business in this state and
the employee regularly works at or from that place of business ,
or the employer has a place of business in this state and the
employee is domiciled in this state .
Sec. 13. Section 535.3, subsection 1, Code 2019, is amended
to read as follows:
1. a. Interest shall be allowed on all money due on
judgments and decrees of courts at a rate calculated according
to section 668.13 , except for interest due pursuant to section
85.30 for which the rate shall be ten percent per year .
b. Notwithstanding paragraph “a” , interest due pursuant
to section 85.30 shall accrue from the date each compensation
payment is due at an annual rate equal to the one-year treasury
constant maturity published by the federal reserve in the most
recent H15 report settled as of the date of injury, plus two
percent.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
This bill relates to workers’ compensation by reversing some
of the changes to the Code that were made with the passage of
House File 518 in 2017.
The bill amends Code section 85.23, requiring notice of
injury, and Code section 85.26(1), concerning limitations of
actions, to remove definitions of “date of the occurrence of
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the injury” to mean the date the employee knew or should have
known that the injury was work-related.
The bill removes a shoulder injury from the scheduled injury
list for permanent partial disability in Code section 85.34(2)
by striking paragraph “n”, which stated: “For the loss of a
shoulder, weekly compensation during four hundred weeks”.
The bill amends Code section 85.34(2)(v), concerning
compensation for permanent partial disability for
injuries other than scheduled injuries under Code section
85.34(2)(a)-(u), to remove a provision that a reduction in the
employee’s earning capacity caused by a disability must take
into account the employee’s permanent partial disability and
the number of years in the future it was reasonably anticipated
the employee would work at the time of the injury. The bill
removes a provision that an employee who returns to work or
is offered work for the same or more money than the employee
received when injured shall be compensated only for functional
disability, and not in relation to earning capacity. The
bill also removes a provision that notwithstands Code section
85.26(2), regarding limitations of actions.
The bill strikes Code section 85.34(2)(x), concerning
permanent partial disability. The paragraph provides that in
all cases of permanent partial disability described in Code
section 85.34(2)(a)-(u), or Code section 85.34(2)(v), when
determining functional disability and not loss of earning
capacity, the extent of loss or percentage of permanent
impairment shall be determined solely by utilizing the guides
to the evaluation of permanent impairment, published by the
American medical association, as adopted by the workers’
compensation commissioner by rule pursuant to Code chapter 17A.
The Code section prohibits lay testimony or agency expertise
from being utilized in making this determination.
The bill strikes Code section 85.34(2)(y), concerning
permanent partial disability. The paragraph provides that
compensation for permanent partial disability for an injury
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shall terminate on the date when compensation for permanent
total disability for any injury begins. The Code section
prohibits an employee from receiving compensation for permanent
partial disability if the employee is receiving compensation
for permanent total disability.
The bill amends Code section 85.34(3)(a), concerning
permanent total disability, to provide that the weekly
compensation is payable “during the period of the employee’s
disability”, rather than “until the employee is no longer
permanently and totally disabled”.
The bill amends Code section 85.34(3)(b) to provide that in
the event compensation has been paid to any person under any
provision of Code chapter 85, 85A, or 85B for the same injury,
rather than an injury, producing a permanent disability, any
such amount so paid shall be deducted from the total amount of
compensation payable for permanent total disability. The bill
also amends the paragraph to remove a provision which provided
that “an employee shall not receive compensation for permanent
partial disability if the employee is receiving compensation
for permanent total disability”.
The bill strikes Code section 85.34(3)(c), which provides
that an employee forfeits the employee’s weekly compensation
for a permanent total disability under this subsection for a
week in which the employee is receiving a payment equal to or
greater than 50 percent of the statewide average weekly wage
from any of the following sources: gross earnings from any
employer or payment for current services from any source.
The bill amends Code section 85.34(7), concerning successive
disabilities, to provide that an employer is fully liable for
compensating all of an employee’s disability that arises out
of and in the course of the employee’s employment with the
employer and removes the requirement that it relate to the
injury that serves as the basis for the employee’s claim for
compensation under Code chapter 85, 85A, 85B, or 86. The bill
also removes a provision that an employer is not liable for
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compensating an employee’s preexisting disability that arose
out of and in the course of employment from a prior injury with
the employer, to the extent that the employee’s preexisting
disability has already been compensated under Code chapter
85, 85A, 85B, or 86. The bill provides that if an injured
employee has a preexisting disability that was caused by a
prior injury arising out of and in the course of employment
with the same employer, and the preexisting disability was
compensable under Code section 85.34(2) as the employee’s
present injury, the employer is liable for the combined
disability that is caused by the injuries, measured in relation
to the employee’s condition immediately prior to the first
injury. In this instance, the employer’s liability for the
combined disability shall be considered to be already partially
satisfied to the extent of the percentage of disability for
which the employee was previously compensated by the employer.
The bill provides, however, that if an employer is liable to
an employee for a combined disability that is payable under
Code section 85.34(2)(v) and the employee has a preexisting
disability that causes the employee’s earnings to be less at
the time of the present injury than if the prior injury had not
occurred, the employer’s liability for the combined disability
shall be considered to be already partially satisfied to the
extent of the percentage of disability for which the employee
was previously compensated by the employer minus the percentage
that the employee’s earnings are less at the time of the
present injury than if the prior injury had not occurred.
Additionally, the bill provides that a successor employer shall
be considered to be the same employer if the employee became
part of the successor employer’s workforce through a merger,
purchase, or other transaction that assumes the employee into
the successor employer’s workforce without substantially
changing the nature of the employee’s employment.
The bill amends Code section 85.45(1), concerning
commutation, by removing the requirement that commutation
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of future payments of compensation shall take place only
upon application by a party to the commissioner and the
written consent of all parties to the commutation or partial
commutation.
The bill strikes Code section 85.45(3), which provides that
the parties to any commutation or partial commutation of future
payments agreed to and ordered pursuant to Code section 85.45
may agree that the employee has the right to benefits pursuant
to Code section 85.27 for a specified period of time under such
terms and conditions as agreed to by the workers’ compensation
commissioner. The stricken Code section also provides that
during the specified period of time, the commissioner shall
have jurisdiction of the commutation or partial commutation
agreement for the purpose of adjudicating the employee’s
entitlement to benefits provided for in Code section 85.27 as
provided in the agreement.
Under current law pursuant to Code section 85.70, an
employee who has sustained an injury resulting in permanent
partial or permanent total disability that is compensable under
Code chapter 85 (other than a shoulder injury compensable
pursuant to Code section 85.34(2)(n)) and who cannot return
to gainful employment because of such disability and who
applies and receives approval from the workers’ compensation
commissioner shall be entitled to a weekly payment of $100
in addition to any other weekly benefit payment, during each
full week that the employee is actively participating in a
vocational rehabilitation program, which has been recognized
by the vocational rehabilitation services division of the
department of education. The bill removes the reference to
a shoulder injury. The bill strikes a provision relating to
the vocational training and education program for shoulder
injuries.
The bill amends Code section 85.71, concerning compensation
for injuries that occur outside of the state. The bill amends
the Code section to provide that the statute is applicable not
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only if the employer has a place of business in this state and
the employee regularly works at or from that place of business,
but also if the employer has a place of business in this state
and the employee is domiciled in this state.
The bill amends Code section 535.3(1)(a), concerning
interest due on unpaid weekly workers’ compensation payments,
to provide that interest shall be allowed on all money due on
judgments and decrees of courts at a rate calculated according
to Code section 668.13, except for interest due pursuant to
Code section 85.30 for which the rate shall be 10 percent
per year. The bill eliminates paragraph “b” of Code section
535.3(1) which provides that interest due pursuant to Code
section 85.30 shall accrue from the date each compensation
payment is due at an annual rate equal to the one-year treasury
constant maturity published by the federal reserve in the most
recent H15 report settled as of the date of injury, plus 2
percent.
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