An Iowa appellate court held that an assistant manager’s annual bonus was sufficiently “regular” to be included in the assistant manager’s “gross salary, wages, or earnings” identified in Iowa Code § 85.36, and should, therefore, be included in the computation...
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an order granting a workers’ compensation insurer summary judgment in an action originally filed in Iowa state court alleging the insurer had exercised bad faith in failing to pay an injured worker’s medical expenses, which...
An Iowa appellate court, following the “narrow” exception to co-employee immunity established in Thompson v. Bohlken , 312 N.W.2d 501, 505 (Iowa 1981), held that a state trial court was correct when it granted a defendant/co-employee a judgment notwithstanding...
Where a registered nurse provided in-home health care services and sustained injuries in an automobile accident as she traveled to her first patient of the day, her injuries arose out of and in the course of the employment, held an Iowa appellate court. The fact...
A common law cause of action for bad-faith failure to pay workers’ compensation benefits may not be pursued against a third-party administrator of a workers’ compensation insurer, held the Supreme Court of Iowa, in a divided (5-2) decision. Answering...
The employer’s matching contributions to an employee’s 401k plan are not weekly earnings for purposes of calculating the employee’s workers’ compensation benefits, held an Iowa appellate court, affirming a decision by a state district court...
ProPublica Examines Power, Wealth of Middlemen at Workers Comp Conferences . CDC Reports Increase in Drug, Opioid Overdose Deaths in U.S. 2000-2014 . CDC Opens Comment Period for Proposed 2016 Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain . NIOSH Examines...
An Iowa employer is responsible for paying indemnity and medical benefits related to a serious back injury sustained by an employee while helping a friend move go-kart frames onto a trailer since substantial evidence indicated that six weeks earlier the employee...
In a case of first impression in Iowa, a state appellate court held that catching up on occasional work at home or completing tasks at home that could be completed at the employer’s premises is an insufficient basis to find that an employee had dual employment...
US DOL Reports 2 Percent Increase in Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2014 . CDC Unveils Draft Guidelines for Physicians Prescribing Opioids . HHS to Revise Rules for Medication to Treat Opioid Dependence . OSHA Revises Publication to Protect Safety of Firefighters...
Shareholders Allege TriNet Group Failed to Disclose Claims Trends, Including WC . OSHA Establishes New Procedures for Early Resolution Process in ADR Program . Uber Allegedly Failed to Uncover Criminal Records of 25 Drivers in Two Calif. Cities . AZ: ICA...
WCRI Study Examines Variation of Surgery Rates Across States . Coventry Workers Comp Services Releases 2014 Drug Trends Analysis . National Survey Finds Big Decline in Poor Uninsured After Affordable Care Act . US Sup. Ct.: Same-Sex Couples May Marry, Obtain...
Iowa Code § 85.27(2), which generally requires an employer or insurance carrier immediately to release all information concerning the employee’s physical or mental condition relative to the workers’ compensation claim, does not override the state’s work product...
NIOSH Research Improves Equipment Design to Help Protect Firefighters . Congressman Wants to Help Gig Economy Survive, Protect On-Demand Worker Rights . Bipartisan Legislation Unveiled for Medicare Secondary Payer, Workers Comp Settlements . AIA Supports...
Where an Iowa employee worked concurrently for employer A (“A”) and employer B (“B”), sustained compensable permanent injuries while working for A, received a permanent impairment award from A and, after ceasing employment with A, suffered an additional work-related...