Text: HSB00006                          Text: HSB00008
Text: HSB00000 - HSB00099               Text: HSB Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

House Study Bill 7

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  Section 85.1, subsection 6, Code 2001, is
  1  2 amended to read as follows:
  1  3    6.  Employers may with respect to an employee or a
  1  4 classification of employees exempt from coverage provided by
  1  5 this chapter pursuant to subsection 1, 2, or 3, 4, or 5, other
  1  6 than the employee or classification of employees with respect
  1  7 to whom a rule of liability or a method of compensation is
  1  8 established by the Congress of the United States, assume a
  1  9 liability for compensation imposed upon employers by this
  1 10 chapter, for the benefit of employees within the coverage of
  1 11 this chapter, by the purchase of valid workers' compensation
  1 12 insurance which does not specifically including exclude the
  1 13 employee or classification of employees.  The purchase of and
  1 14 acceptance by an employer of valid workers' compensation
  1 15 insurance applicable to the employee or classification of
  1 16 employees constitutes an assumption by the employer of
  1 17 liability without any further act on the part of the employer,
  1 18 but only with respect to the employee or classification of
  1 19 employees as are within the coverage of the workers'
  1 20 compensation insurance contract and only for the time period
  1 21 in which the insurance contract is in force.  Upon an election
  1 22 of such coverage, the employee or classification of employees
  1 23 shall accept compensation in the manner provided by this
  1 24 chapter and the employer shall be relieved from any other
  1 25 liability for recovery of damage, or other compensation for
  1 26 injury.
  1 27    Sec. 2.  Section 85.1A, Code 2001, is amended to read as
  1 28 follows:
  1 29    85.1A  PROPRIETORS, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY MEMBERS,
  1 30 LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERS, AND PARTNERS.
  1 31    A proprietor, limited liability company member, limited
  1 32 liability partner, or partner who is actively engaged in the
  1 33 proprietor's, limited liability company member's, limited
  1 34 liability partner's, or partner's business on a substantially
  1 35 full-time basis, may elect to be covered by the workers'
  2  1 compensation law of this state by purchasing valid workers'
  2  2 compensation insurance specifically including the proprietor,
  2  3 limited liability company member, limited liability partner,
  2  4 or partner.  The election constitutes an assumption by the
  2  5 employer of workers' compensation liability for the
  2  6 proprietor, limited liability company member, limited
  2  7 liability partner, or partner for the time period in which the
  2  8 insurance contract is in force.  The proprietor, limited
  2  9 liability company member, limited liability partner, or
  2 10 partner shall accept compensation in the manner provided by
  2 11 the workers' compensation law and the employer is relieved
  2 12 from any other liability for recovery of damages, or other
  2 13 compensation for injury.
  2 14    Sec. 3.  Section 85.27, unnumbered paragraph 3, Code 2001,
  2 15 is amended to read as follows:
  2 16    Notwithstanding section 85.26, subsection 4, charges
  2 17 believed to be excessive or unnecessary may be referred by the
  2 18 employer, insurance carrier, or health service provider to the
  2 19 workers' compensation commissioner for determination, and the
  2 20 commissioner may utilize the procedures provided in sections
  2 21 86.38 and 86.39, or set by rule, and conduct such inquiry as
  2 22 the commissioner deems necessary.  Any health service provider
  2 23 charges not in dispute shall be paid directly to the health
  2 24 service provider prior to utilization of procedures provided
  2 25 in sections 86.38 and 86.39 or set by rule.  A health service
  2 26 provider rendering treatment to an employee whose injury is
  2 27 compensable under this section agrees to be bound by such
  2 28 charges as allowed by the workers' compensation commissioner
  2 29 and shall not recover in law or equity any amount in excess of
  2 30 charges set by the commissioner.  When a dispute under chapter
  2 31 85, 85A, or 85B regarding reasonableness of a fee for medical
  2 32 services arises between a health service provider and an
  2 33 employer or insurance carrier, the health service provider,
  2 34 employer, or insurance carrier shall not seek payment from the
  2 35 injured employee.
  3  1    Sec. 4.  Section 85.27, unnumbered paragraph 4, Code 2001,
  3  2 is amended to read as follows:
  3  3    For purposes of this section, the employer is obliged to
  3  4 furnish reasonable services and supplies to treat an injured
  3  5 employee, and has the right to choose the care.  The employer
  3  6 is liable for the reasonable cost of the care chosen by the
  3  7 employer or by the employee's representative.  The treatment
  3  8 must be offered promptly and be reasonably suited to treat the
  3  9 injury without undue inconvenience to the employee.  If the
  3 10 employee has reason to be dissatisfied with the care offered,
  3 11 the employee should communicate the basis of such
  3 12 dissatisfaction to the employer, in writing if requested,
  3 13 following which the employer and the employee may agree to
  3 14 alternate care reasonably suited to treat the injury.  If the
  3 15 employer and employee cannot agree on such alternate care, the
  3 16 commissioner may, upon application and reasonable proofs of
  3 17 the necessity therefore, allow and order other care.  In an
  3 18 emergency, the employee may choose the employee's care at the
  3 19 employer's expense, provided the employer or the employer's
  3 20 agent cannot be reached immediately.  An application made
  3 21 under this paragraph shall be considered an original
  3 22 proceeding for purposes of commencement and contested case
  3 23 proceedings under section 85.26.  The hearing shall be
  3 24 conducted pursuant to chapter 17A.  Before a hearing is
  3 25 scheduled, the parties may choose a telephone hearing or an
  3 26 in-person hearing.  A request for an in-person hearing shall
  3 27 be approved unless the in-person hearing would be impractical
  3 28 because of the distance between the parties to the hearing.
  3 29 The workers' compensation commissioner shall issue a decision
  3 30 within ten working days of receipt of an application for
  3 31 alternate care made pursuant to a telephone hearing or within
  3 32 fourteen working days of receipt of an application for
  3 33 alternate care made pursuant to an in-person hearing.  The
  3 34 employer shall notify an injured employee of the employee's
  3 35 ability to contest the employer's choice of care pursuant to
  4  1 this paragraph.
  4  2    Sec. 5.  Section 85.27, unnumbered paragraph 7, Code 2001,
  4  3 is amended to read as follows:
  4  4    If, after the third day of incapacity to work following the
  4  5 date of sustaining a compensable injury which does not result
  4  6 in permanent partial disability, or if, at any time after
  4  7 sustaining a compensable injury which results in permanent
  4  8 partial disability, an employee, who is not receiving weekly
  4  9 benefits under section 85.33 or section 85.34, subsection 1,
  4 10 returns to work and is required to leave work for one full day
  4 11 or less to receive services pursuant to this section, the
  4 12 employee shall be paid an amount equivalent to the wages lost
  4 13 at the employee's regular rate of pay for the time the
  4 14 employee is required to leave work.  For the purposes of this
  4 15 paragraph, "day of incapacity to work" means eight hours of
  4 16 accumulated absence from work due to incapacity to work or due
  4 17 to the receipt of services pursuant to this section.  The
  4 18 employer shall make the payments under this paragraph as wages
  4 19 to the employee after making such deductions from the amount
  4 20 as legally required or customarily made by the employer from
  4 21 wages.  Payments made under this paragraph shall be required
  4 22 to be reimbursed pursuant to any insurance policy covering
  4 23 workers' compensation.  Payments under this paragraph shall
  4 24 not be construed to be payment of weekly benefits.
  4 25    Sec. 6.  Section 85.35, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2001,
  4 26 is amended to read as follows:
  4 27    The parties to a contested case, or persons who are
  4 28 involved in a dispute which could culminate in a contested
  4 29 case may enter into a settlement of any claim arising under
  4 30 this chapter or chapter 85A, 85B, or 86, providing for final
  4 31 disposition of the claim, provided that no final disposition
  4 32 affecting rights to future benefits may be had when the only
  4 33 dispute is the degree of disability resulting from an injury
  4 34 for which an award for payments or agreement for settlement
  4 35 under section 86.13 has been made.  The settlement shall be in
  5  1 writing and submitted to the workers' compensation
  5  2 commissioner for approval.
  5  3    The parties may agree that settlement proceeds, which are
  5  4 paid in a lump sum, are intended to compensate the injured
  5  5 worker at a given monthly or weekly rate over the life
  5  6 expectancy of the injured worker.  If such an agreement is
  5  7 reached, neither the weekly compensation rate which either has
  5  8 been paid, or should have been paid, throughout the case, nor
  5  9 the maximum statutory weekly rate applicable to the injury
  5 10 shall apply.  Instead, the rate set forth in the settlement
  5 11 agreement shall be the rate for the case.
  5 12    PARAGRAPH DIVIDED.  The settlement shall not be approved
  5 13 unless evidence of a bona fide dispute exists concerning any
  5 14 of the following:
  5 15    Sec. 7.  Section 85.36, subsection 10, Code 2001, is
  5 16 amended to read as follows:
  5 17    10.  If a wage, or method of calculating a wage, is used
  5 18 for the basis of the payment of a workers' compensation
  5 19 insurance premium for a proprietor, partner, limited liability
  5 20 company member, limited liability partner, or officer of a
  5 21 corporation, the wage or the method of calculating the wage is
  5 22 determinative for purposes of computing the proprietor's,
  5 23 partner's, limited liability company member's, limited
  5 24 liability partner's, or officer's weekly workers' compensation
  5 25 benefit rate.
  5 26    Sec. 8.  Section 85.38, subsection 2, unnumbered paragraph
  5 27 2, Code 2001, is amended to read as follows:
  5 28    If an employer denies liability under this chapter, chapter
  5 29 85A, or chapter 85B, for payment for any medical services
  5 30 received or weekly compensation requested by an employee with
  5 31 a disability, and the employee is a beneficiary under either
  5 32 an individual or group plan for nonoccupational illness,
  5 33 injury, or disability, the nonoccupational plan shall not deny
  5 34 payment for the medical services received of benefits under
  5 35 the plan on the basis that the employer's liability for the
  6  1 medical services under this chapter, chapter 85A, or chapter
  6  2 85B is unresolved.
  6  3    Sec. 9.  Section 85.61, subsection 11, unnumbered paragraph
  6  4 1, Code 2001, is amended to read as follows:
  6  5    "Worker" or "employee" means a person who has entered into
  6  6 the employment of, or works under contract of service, express
  6  7 or implied, or apprenticeship, for an employer; an executive
  6  8 officer elected or appointed and empowered under and in
  6  9 accordance with the charter and bylaws of a corporation,
  6 10 including a person holding an official position, or standing
  6 11 in a representative capacity of the employer; an official
  6 12 elected or appointed by the state, or a county, school
  6 13 district, area education agency, municipal corporation, or
  6 14 city under any form of government; a member of the Iowa state
  6 15 patrol; a conservation officer; and a proprietor, limited
  6 16 liability company member, limited liability partner, or
  6 17 partner who elects to be covered pursuant to section 85.1A,
  6 18 except as specified in this chapter.
  6 19    Sec. 10.  Section 85.61, subsection 13, paragraph e, Code
  6 20 2001, is amended to read as follows:
  6 21    e.  Proprietors, limited liability company members, limited
  6 22 liability partners, and partners who have not elected to be
  6 23 covered by the workers' compensation law of this state
  6 24 pursuant to section 85.1A.
  6 25    Sec. 11.  Section 86.26, Code 2001, is amended to read as
  6 26 follows:
  6 27    86.26  JUDICIAL REVIEW.
  6 28    Judicial review of decisions or orders of the workers'
  6 29 compensation commissioner may be sought in accordance with
  6 30 chapter 17A.  Notwithstanding chapter 17A, the Iowa
  6 31 administrative procedure Act, petitions for judicial review
  6 32 may be filed in the district court of the county in which the
  6 33 hearing under section 86.17 was held, and the workers'
  6 34 compensation commissioner shall transmit to the reviewing
  6 35 court the original or a certified copy of the entire record of
  7  1 the contested case which is the subject of the petition within
  7  2 thirty days after receiving written notice from the party
  7  3 filing the petition that a petition for judicial review has
  7  4 been filed, and an application for stay of agency action
  7  5 during the pendency of judicial review shall not be filed in
  7  6 the division of workers' compensation of the department of
  7  7 workforce development but shall be filed with the district
  7  8 court.  Such a review proceeding shall be accorded priority
  7  9 over other matters pending before the district court.
  7 10    Sec. 12.  Section 86.42, Code 2001, is amended to read as
  7 11 follows:
  7 12    86.42  JUDGMENT BY DISTRICT COURT ON AWARD.
  7 13    Any party in interest may present a certified copy of an
  7 14 order or decision of the commissioner, from which a timely
  7 15 petition for judicial review has not been filed or if judicial
  7 16 review has been filed, which has not had execution or
  7 17 enforcement stayed as provided in section 17A.19, subsection
  7 18 5, or an order or decision of a deputy commissioner from which
  7 19 a timely appeal has not been taken within the agency and which
  7 20 has become final by the passage of time as provided by rule
  7 21 and section 17A.15, or an agreement for settlement approved by
  7 22 the commissioner, and all papers in connection therewith, to
  7 23 the district court where judicial review of the agency action
  7 24 may be commenced.  The court shall render a decree or judgment
  7 25 and cause the clerk to notify the parties.  The decree or
  7 26 judgment, in the absence of a petition for judicial review or
  7 27 if judicial review has been commenced, in the absence of a
  7 28 stay of execution or enforcement of the decision or order of
  7 29 the workers' compensation commissioner, or in the absence of
  7 30 an act of any party which prevents a decision of a deputy
  7 31 workers' compensation commissioner from becoming final, has
  7 32 the same effect and in all proceedings in relation thereto is
  7 33 the same as though rendered in a suit duly heard and
  7 34 determined by the court.
  7 35    Sec. 13.  Section 86.43, Code 2001, is amended to read as
  8  1 follows:
  8  2    86.43  JUDGMENT – MODIFICATION OF.
  8  3    Upon the presentation to the court of a certified copy of a
  8  4 decision of the workers' compensation commissioner, ending,
  8  5 diminishing, or increasing the compensation under the
  8  6 provisions of this chapter, the court shall revoke or modify
  8  7 the decree or judgment to conform to such decision.
  8  8    Sec. 14.  Section 627.13, Code 2001, is amended to read as
  8  9 follows:
  8 10    627.13  WORKERS' COMPENSATION.
  8 11    Any Notwithstanding the provisions of section 554.9408, any
  8 12 compensation due or that may become due an employee or
  8 13 dependent under chapter 85, 85A, or 85B is exempt from
  8 14 garnishment, attachment, execution, and assignment of income,
  8 15 except for the purposes of enforcing child, spousal, or
  8 16 medical support obligations.  For the purposes of enforcing
  8 17 child, spousal, or medical support obligations, an assignment
  8 18 of income, garnishment or attachment of or the execution
  8 19 against compensation due an employee under chapter 85, 85A, or
  8 20 85B is not exempt but shall be limited as specified in 15
  8 21 U.S.C. } 1673(b).  
  8 22                           EXPLANATION
  8 23    This bill amends Code section 85.1 to provide that the
  8 24 workers' compensation law applies to exempt household, casual,
  8 25 and agricultural employees if such employees are covered by a
  8 26 workers' compensation insurance policy, unless the exempt
  8 27 classifications are specifically excluded by the policy.
  8 28    The bill amends Code sections 85.1A, 85.36, and 85.61 to
  8 29 specify that limited liability partnerships will be treated
  8 30 the same as partnerships and limited liability companies for
  8 31 purposes of the workers' compensation law.
  8 32    The bill amends Code section 85.27 to reference Code
  8 33 chapters 85A and 85B so that disputed medical expenses are
  8 34 treated the same under Code chapter 85 and Code chapters 85A
  8 35 and 85B.
  9  1    The bill also amends Code section 85.27 to provide that the
  9  2 employer or its representatives are responsible for payment of
  9  3 the reasonable cost of all medical services chosen and
  9  4 provided at their direction to an injured worker.
  9  5    The bill also amends Code section 85.27 to provide that a
  9  6 "day of incapacity to work" means eight work hours which can
  9  7 be accumulated over more than one day toward meeting the
  9  8 three-day incapacity to work threshold under the paragraph.
  9  9    The bill amends Code section 85.35 to provide that parties
  9 10 may agree that settlement proceeds paid in a lump sum as a
  9 11 result of a contested case settlement are intended to be paid
  9 12 at a rate over the employee's lifetime rather than during the
  9 13 time otherwise provided for in Code section 85.34.
  9 14    The bill amends Code section 85.38 to provide that a
  9 15 nonoccupational, individual, or group insurance plan shall not
  9 16 deny payment of benefits to an employee under the plan for
  9 17 weekly compensation because the employer's liability for
  9 18 workers' compensation is unresolved.
  9 19    The bill amends Code section 86.26 to create an exception
  9 20 to Code section 17A.19(5) by providing that an application for
  9 21 a stay of agency review shall be filed in the district court,
  9 22 not in the division of workers' compensation.
  9 23    The bill amends Code sections 86.42 and 86.43 to eliminate
  9 24 the requirement that a party who wishes to enforce a workers'
  9 25 compensation award initially made by the workers' compensation
  9 26 division must present a certified copy of the order or
  9 27 decision to the district court.
  9 28    The bill amends Code section 627.13 to provide that the
  9 29 section exempting workers' compensation benefits from
  9 30 collection proceedings prevails over new Code section
  9 31 554.9408, which is effective July 1, 2001.  
  9 32 LSB 1226HC 79
  9 33 av/gg/8.1
     

Text: HSB00006                          Text: HSB00008
Text: HSB00000 - HSB00099               Text: HSB Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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