Senate File 297 - Introduced SENATE FILE 297 BY PETERSEN , McCOY , and SCHOENJAHN A BILL FOR An Act concerning employment of and merit system protection 1 for administrative law judges, workers’ compensation 2 commissioners, and the administrator of the administrative 3 hearings division of the department of inspections and 4 appeals. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 1616XS (7) 86 ec/rj

S.F. 297 Section 1. Section 8A.412, subsection 11, Code 2015, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 11. Professional employees under the supervision of the 3 attorney general, the state public defender, the secretary 4 of state, the auditor of state, the treasurer of state, and 5 the public employment relations board. However, employees of 6 the consumer advocate division of the department of justice, 7 other than the consumer advocate, and administrative law judges 8 appointed or employed by the public employment relations board, 9 are subject to the merit system. 10 Sec. 2. Section 10A.801, subsection 3, paragraph a, Code 11 2015, is amended to read as follows: 12 a. The department shall employ a sufficient number of 13 administrative law judges to conduct proceedings for which 14 agencies are required, by section 17A.11 or any other provision 15 of law, to use an administrative law judge employed by the 16 division. An administrative law judge employed by the division 17 shall not perform duties inconsistent with the judge’s duties 18 and responsibilities as an administrative law judge and shall 19 be located in an office that is separated from the offices of 20 the agencies for which that person acts as a presiding officer. 21 Administrative The administrator and all administrative law 22 judges shall be covered by the merit system provisions of 23 chapter 8A, subchapter IV . 24 Sec. 3. Section 86.2, subsection 1, paragraphs a and b, Code 25 2015, are amended to read as follows: 26 a. Chief deputy workers’ compensation commissioners for 27 whose acts the commissioner is responsible, who are exempt from 28 who shall be appointed and serve pursuant to the merit system 29 provisions of chapter 8A, subchapter IV , and who shall serve at 30 the pleasure of the commissioner unless the commissioners are 31 otherwise covered by a collective bargaining agreement . 32 b. Deputy workers’ compensation commissioners for whose 33 acts the commissioner is responsible and who shall serve at the 34 pleasure of the commissioner be appointed and serve pursuant 35 -1- LSB 1616XS (7) 86 ec/rj 1/ 3

S.F. 297 to the merit system provisions of chapter 8A, subchapter IV, 1 unless the commissioners are otherwise covered by a collective 2 bargaining agreement . 3 Sec. 4. Section 96.6, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code 2015, 4 is amended to read as follows: 5 b. Appeals from the initial determination shall be heard 6 by an administrative law judge employed by the department who 7 shall be covered by the merit system provisions of chapter 8 8A, subchapter IV, unless the administrative law judge is 9 otherwise covered by a collective bargaining agreement . An 10 administrative law judge’s decision may be appealed by any 11 party to the employment appeal board created in section 12 10A.601 . The decision of the appeal board is final agency 13 action and an appeal of the decision shall be made directly to 14 the district court. 15 EXPLANATION 16 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 17 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 18 This bill concerns administrative law judges, workers’ 19 compensation commissioners, and the administrative hearings 20 division of the department of inspections and appeals. 21 Code section 8A.412 is amended to provide that 22 administrative law judges appointed or employed by the public 23 employment relations board are subject to the merit system 24 provision of Code chapter 8A. 25 Code section 10A.801 is amended to provide that the 26 administrator of the administrative hearings division of the 27 department of inspections and appeals is covered by the merit 28 system as provided in Code chapter 8A. 29 Code section 86.2 is amended to provide that chief deputy 30 workers’ compensation commissioners and deputy workers’ 31 compensation commissioners shall be appointed and serve 32 pursuant to the merit system provision of Code chapter 8A 33 unless the commissioners are otherwise covered by a collective 34 bargaining agreement. Current law provides that chief deputy 35 -2- LSB 1616XS (7) 86 ec/rj 2/ 3

S.F. 297 commissioners are exempt from the merit system and that all 1 chief deputy and deputy commissioners serve at the pleasure of 2 the workers’ compensation commissioner. 3 Code section 96.6 is amended to provide that an 4 administrative law judge employed by the department of 5 workforce development for unemployment compensation cases shall 6 be covered by the merit system provisions of Code chapter 7 8A unless the judge is otherwise covered by a collective 8 bargaining agreement. 9 -3- LSB 1616XS (7) 86 ec/rj 3/ 3