HSB 169 (LSB 1691YC (21) 87)

HOUSE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE BILL BY CHAIRPERSON COWNIE)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to workers’ compensation and including effective date and applicability provisions. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 85.16, subsection 2, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  a.  By the employee’s intoxication, which did not arise out of and in the course of employment but which was due to the effects of alcohol or another narcotic, depressant, stimulant, hallucinogenic, or hypnotic drug not prescribed by an authorized medical practitioner, if the intoxication was a substantial factor in causing the injury.
   b.  For the purpose of disallowing compensation under this subsection, both of the following apply:
   (1)  If the employer shows that, at the time of the injury or immediately following the injury, the employee had positive test results reflecting the presence of alcohol, or another narcotic, depressant, stimulant, hallucinogenic, or hypnotic drug which drug either was not prescribed by an authorized medical practitioner or was not used in accordance with the prescribed use of the drug, it shall be presumed that the employee was intoxicated at the time of the injury and that intoxication was the predominant factor in causing the injury.
   (2)  Once the employer has made a showing as provided in subparagraph (1), the burden of proof shall be on the employee to overcome the presumption by establishing that the employee was not intoxicated at the time of the injury, or that intoxication was not the predominant factor in causing the injury.
    Sec. 2.  Section 85.18, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   85.18  Contract to relieve not operative.
   No contract, rule, or device whatsoever shall operate to relieve the employer, in whole or in part, from any liability created by this chapter except as herein provided.  This section does not create a private cause of action.
    Sec. 3.  Section 85.23, Code 2017, 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. 4.  Section 85.26, subsection 1, Code 2017, 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. 5.  Section 85.33, subsection 3, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  a.  If an employee is temporarily, partially disabled and the employer for whom the employee was working at the time of injury offers to the employee suitable work consistent with the employee’s disability the employee shall accept the suitable work, and be compensated with temporary partial benefits. If the employer offers the employee suitable work and the employee refuses to accept the suitable work with the same offered by the employer, the employee shall not be compensated with temporary partial, temporary total, or healing period benefits during the period of the refusal.  Work offered at the employer’s principal place of business or established place of operation where the employee has previously worked is presumed to be geographically suitable for an employee whose duties involve travel away from the employer’s principal place of business or established place of operation more than fifty percent of the time. If suitable work is not offered by the employer for whom the employee was working at the time of the injury and the employee who is temporarily partially disabled elects to perform work with a different employer, the employee shall be compensated with temporary partial benefits.
   b.  The employer shall communicate an offer of temporary work to the employee in writing, including details of lodging, meals, and transportation, and shall communicate to the employee that if the employee refuses the offer of temporary work, the employee shall communicate the refusal and the reason for the refusal to the employer in writing and that during the period of the refusal the employee will not be compensated with temporary partial, temporary total, or healing period benefits, unless the work refused is not suitable. If the employee refuses the offer of temporary work on the grounds that the work is not suitable, the employee shall communicate the refusal, along with the reason for the refusal, to the employer in writing at the time the offer of work is refused. Failure to communicate the reason for the refusal in this manner precludes the employee from raising suitability of the work as the reason for the refusal until such time as the reason for the refusal is communicated in writing to the employer.
    Sec. 6.  Section 85.34, subsection 2, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   Compensation for permanent partial disability shall begin at the termination of the healing period provided in subsection 1 when it is medically indicated that maximum medical improvement from the injury has been reached and that the extent of loss or percentage of permanent impairment can be determined by use of 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 chapter 17A. The compensation shall be in addition to the benefits provided by sections 85.27 and 85.28. The compensation shall be based upon the extent of the disability and 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 one hundred eighty-four percent of the statewide average weekly wage paid employees as determined by the department of workforce development under section 96.19, subsection 36, and in effect at the time of the injury. The minimum weekly benefit amount shall be equal to the weekly benefit amount of a person whose gross weekly earnings are thirty-five percent of the statewide average weekly wage. For all cases of permanent partial disability compensation shall be paid as follows:
    Sec. 7.  Section 85.34, subsection 2, paragraphs m and u, Code 2017, are amended to read as follows:
   m.  The loss of two-thirds of that part of an arm between including the shoulder joint and to the elbow joint shall equal the loss of an arm and the compensation therefor shall be weekly compensation during two hundred fifty weeks.
   u.  In all cases of permanent partial disability other than those hereinabove described or referred to in paragraphs “a” through “t” 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 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 disability resulting from the injury, and not in relation to the employee’s earning capacity. If an employee sustains an injury compensable under this paragraph after reaching the age of sixty-seven, compensation shall be paid to the employee based on the employee’s resulting loss of earning capacity not to exceed an amount equal to one hundred fifty weeks of compensation.
    Sec. 8.  Section 85.34, subsection 2, Code 2017, is amended by adding the following new paragraphs:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  w.  In all cases of permanent partial disability described in paragraphs “a” through “t”, or paragraph “u” 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 chapter 17A.  Lay testimony or agency expertise shall not be utilized in determining loss or percentage of permanent impairment pursuant to paragraphs “a” through “t”, or paragraph “u” when determining functional disability and not loss of earning capacity.
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  x.  Compensation for permanent partial disability for an injury shall terminate on the date when compensation for permanent total disability for any injury begins. An employee shall not receive compensation for permanent partial disability if the employee is receiving compensation for permanent total disability.
    Sec. 9.  Section 85.34, subsection 3, Code 2017, 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, 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 during the period of the employee’s disability until the employee is no longer permanently and totally disabled or until the employee reaches the age of sixty-seven, whichever occurs first.  If an employee sustains an injury compensable under this subsection after reaching the age of sixty-seven, compensation shall be paid to the employee so long as the employee remains permanently and totally disabled not to exceed an amount equal to one hundred fifty weeks of compensation.
   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 the same an injury producing a total permanent disability, any such amounts so paid shall be deducted from the total amount of compensation payable for such permanent total disability.  An employee shall not receive compensation for permanent partial disability if the employee is receiving compensation for permanent total disability.
    Sec. 10.  Section 85.34, subsection 3, Code 2017, is amended by adding the following new paragraphs:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  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 services from any source.
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  d.  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. 11.  Section 85.34, subsections 4 and 5, Code 2017, are amended to read as follows:
   4.  Credits for excess payments.  If an employee is paid weekly compensation benefits for temporary total disability under section 85.33, subsection 1, for a healing period under section 85.34, subsection 1, or for temporary partial disability under section 85.33, subsection 2, in excess of that required by this chapter and chapters 85A, 85B, and 86, the excess paid by the employer shall be credited against the liability of the employer for permanent partial disability under section 85.34, subsection 2 any future weekly benefits due for an injury to that employee, provided that the employer or the employer’s representative has acted in good faith in determining and notifying an employee when the temporary total disability, healing period, or temporary partial disability benefits are terminated.
   5.  Recovery of employee overpayment.  If an employee is paid any weekly benefits in excess of that required by this chapter and chapters 85A, 85B, and 86, the excess paid by the employer shall be credited against the liability of the employer for any future weekly benefits due pursuant to subsection 2, for a any current or subsequent injury to the same employee. An overpayment can be established only when the overpayment is recognized in a settlement agreement approved under section 86.13, pursuant to final agency action in a contested case which was commenced within three years from the date that weekly benefits were last paid for the claim for which the benefits were overpaid, or pursuant to final agency action in a contested case for a prior injury to the same employee. The credit shall remain available for eight years after the date the overpayment was established. If an overpayment is established pursuant to this subsection, the employee and employer may enter into a written settlement agreement providing for the repayment by the employee of the overpayment. The agreement is subject to the approval of the workers’ compensation commissioner. The employer shall not take any adverse action against the employee for failing to agree to such a written settlement agreement.
    Sec. 12.  Section 85.34, subsection 7, paragraph a, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  An employer is fully liable for compensating all only that portion of an employee’s disability that arises out of and in the course of the employee’s employment with the employer 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.
    Sec. 13.  Section 85.34, subsection 7, paragraphs b and c, Code 2017, are amended by striking the paragraphs.
    Sec. 14.  Section 85.39, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   85.39  Examination of injured employees.
   1.  After an injury, the employee, if requested by the employer, shall submit for examination at some reasonable time and place and as often as reasonably requested, to a physician or physicians authorized to practice under the laws of this state or another state, without cost to the employee; but if the employee requests, the employee, at the employee’s own cost, is entitled to have a physician or physicians of the employee’s own selection present to participate in the examination. If an employee is required to leave work for which the employee is being paid wages to attend the requested examination, the employee shall be compensated at the employee’s regular rate for the time the employee is required to leave work, and the employee shall be furnished transportation to and from the place of examination, or the employer may elect to pay the employee the reasonable cost of the transportation. The refusal of the employee to submit to the examination shall suspend forfeit the employee’s right to any compensation for the period of the refusal. Compensation shall not be payable for the period of suspension refusal.
   2.  If an evaluation of permanent disability has been made by a physician retained by the employer and the employee believes this evaluation to be too low, the employee shall, upon application to the commissioner and upon delivery of a copy of the application to the employer and its insurance carrier, be reimbursed by the employer the reasonable fee for a subsequent examination by a physician of the employee’s own choice, and reasonably necessary transportation expenses incurred for the examination. The physician chosen by the employee has the right to confer with and obtain from the employer-retained physician sufficient history of the injury to make a proper examination.  An employer is only liable to reimburse an employee for the cost of an examination conducted pursuant to this subsection if the injury for which the employee is being examined is determined to be compensable under this chapter or chapter 85A or 85B. An employer is not liable for the cost of such an examination if the injury for which the employee is being examined is determined not to be a compensable injury. A determination of the reasonableness of a fee for an examination made pursuant to this subsection, shall be based on the typical fee charged by a medical provider to perform an impairment rating in the local area where the examination is conducted.
    Sec. 15.  Section 85.45, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2017, 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. 16.  Section 85.45, Code 2017, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  3.  The parties to any commutation or partial commutation of future payments agreed to and ordered pursuant to this section may agree that the employee has the right to benefits pursuant to section 85.27 under such terms and conditions as agreed to by the parties, for a specified period of time after the commutation or partial commutation agreement has been ordered by the workers’ compensation commissioner. During that 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 section 85.27 as provided in the agreement.
    Sec. 17.  Section 85.61, subsection 7, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   The words “personal injury arising out of and in the course of the employment” shall include injuries to employees whose services are being performed on, in, or about the premises which are occupied, used, or controlled by the employer, and also injuries to those who are engaged elsewhere in places where their employer’s business requires their presence and subjects them to dangers incident to the business but only if such injuries are found to be the predominant factor in causing the disability for which compensation is claimed under this chapter, or chapter 85A or 85B.  For purposes of this subsection, an injury is the predominant factor in causing a disability if more than fifty percent of the disability is attributable to the injury.
    Sec. 18.  Section 85.71, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2017, 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. 19.  Section 86.26, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   86.26  Judicial review.
   1.  Judicial review of decisions or orders of the workers’ compensation commissioner may be sought in accordance with chapter 17A. Notwithstanding chapter 17A, the Iowa administrative procedure Act, petitions for judicial review may be filed in the district court of the county in which the hearing under section 86.17 was held, the workers’ compensation commissioner shall transmit to the reviewing court the original or a certified copy of the entire record of the contested case which is the subject of the petition within thirty days after receiving written notice from the party filing the petition that a petition for judicial review has been filed, and an application for stay of agency action during the pendency of judicial review shall not be filed in the division of workers’ compensation of the department of workforce development but shall be filed with the district court. Such a review proceeding shall be accorded priority over other matters pending before the district court.
   2.  Notwithstanding section 17A.19, subsection 5, a timely petition for judicial review filed pursuant to this section shall stay execution or enforcement of a decision or order of the workers’ compensation commissioner if the party seeking judicial review posts a bond securing any compensation awarded pursuant to the decision or order with the district court within thirty days of filing the petition, in a reasonable amount as fixed and approved by the court. Unless either the party posting the bond files an objection with the court, within twenty days from the date that the bond is fixed and approved by the court, that the amount of the bond is not reasonable, or the party whose interests are protected by the bond files an objection with the court, within twenty days from the date that the amount of the bond is fixed and approved by the court, that the amount of the bond is not reasonable or adequate, the amount of the bond shall be deemed reasonable and adequate. If, upon objection, the district court orders the amount of the bond posted to be modified, the party seeking judicial review shall repost the bond in the amount ordered, within twenty days of the date of the order modifying the bond, in order to continue the stay of execution or enforcement of the decision or order of the workers’ compensation commissioner.
    Sec. 20.  Section 86.39, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   86.39  Fees —— approval.
   1.  All fees or claims for legal, medical, hospital, and burial services rendered under this chapter and chapters 85, 85A, 85B, and 87 are subject to the approval of the workers’ compensation commissioner. For services rendered in the district court and appellate courts, the attorney fee is subject to the approval of a judge of the district court.
   2.  An attorney shall not recover fees for legal services based on the amount of compensation voluntarily paid or agreed to be paid to an employee for temporary or permanent disability under this chapter, or chapter 85, 85A, 85B, or 87. An attorney shall only recover a fee based on the amount of compensation that the attorney demonstrates would not have been paid to the employee but for the efforts of the attorney. Any disputes over the recovery of attorney fees under this subsection shall be resolved by the workers’ compensation commissioner.
    Sec. 21.  Section 86.42, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   86.42  Judgment by district court on award.
   Any party in interest may present a file-stamped copy of an order or decision of the commissioner, from which a timely petition for judicial review has not been filed or if judicial review has been filed, which has not had execution or enforcement stayed as provided in section 17A.19, subsection 5, or section 86.26, subsection 2, or an order or decision of a deputy commissioner from which a timely appeal has not been taken within the agency and which has become final by the passage of time as provided by rule and section 17A.15, or an agreement for settlement approved by the commissioner, and all papers in connection therewith, to the district court where judicial review of the agency action may be commenced. The court shall render a decree or judgment and cause the clerk to notify the parties. The decree or judgment, in the absence of a petition for judicial review or if judicial review has been commenced, in the absence of a stay of execution or enforcement of the decision or order of the workers’ compensation commissioner as provided in section 17A.19, subsection 5, or section 86.26, subsection 2, or in the absence of an act of any party which prevents a decision of a deputy workers’ compensation commissioner from becoming final, has the same effect and in all proceedings in relation thereto is the same as though rendered in a suit duly heard and determined by the court.
    Sec. 22.  Section 535.3, subsection 1, Code 2017, 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 prior to the date each compensation payment is due plus two percent.
    Sec. 23.  EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
    Sec. 24.  APPLICABILITY.
   1.  The sections of this Act amending sections 85.16, 85.18, 85.23, 85.26, 85.33, 85.34, 85.39, 85.61, 85.71, 86.26, 86.39, and 86.42 apply to injuries occurring on or after the effective date of this Act.
   2.  The sections of this Act amending section 85.45 apply to commutations for which applications are filed on or after the effective date of this Act.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill contains various provisions relating to workers’ compensation.
   Code section 85.16(2) is amended to provide that if an employer shows that at the time of an injury for which workers’ compensation is sought, an employee had positive test results reflecting the presence of alcohol or drugs, there is a presumption that the employee was intoxicated at the time of the injury, and the intoxication was the predominant factor in causing the injury, making the injury not compensable. The provision also allows the employee to overcome that presumption by establishing that the employee was not intoxicated or that intoxication was not the predominant factor in causing the injury.
   Code section 85.18 is amended to provide that imposition of liability on any employer under Code chapter 85 does not create a private cause of action.
   Code section 85.23 requiring notice of injury and Code section 85.26(1) concerning limitations of actions, are amended to define “date of the occurrence of the injury” to mean the date the employee knew or should have known that the injury was work-related.
   Code section 85.33(3) concerning an employee who is temporarily, partially disabled, is amended to include requirements for offers of temporary work by employers to employees who are temporarily, partially disabled and requirements for refusal of such work as not suitable by an employee. An employee cannot raise suitability as a reason until such time as the refusal and reason are communicated to the employer in writing.
   Code section 85.34(2), concerning compensation for permanent partial disability, is amended to provide that such compensation begins when it is medically indicated that maximum medical improvement from the injury has been reached and that the extent of loss or percentage of permanent impairment can be determined by use of 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.
   Code section 85.34(2)(m) is amended to modify language providing compensation for a scheduled injury describing the whole rather than two-thirds of the upper arm. 
   Code section 85.34(2)(u) concerning compensation for permanent partial disability for injuries other than scheduled injuries under Code section 85.34(2), paragraphs “a” through “t”, is amended to provide 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. 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. If an employee is injured after age 67, compensation shall be paid based on the employee’s resulting loss of earning capacity not to exceed an amount equal to 150 weeks of compensation.
   New Code section 85.34(2)(w) provides that a determination of the extent of an employee’s loss or permanent impairment for a scheduled injury pursuant to Code section 85.34(2), paragraphs “a” through “t”, or paragraph “u” when determining functional disability and not loss of earning capacity, shall be determined solely by use of 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. Lay testimony or agency expertise cannot be utilized in making this determination.
   New Code section 85.34(2)(x) provides that compensation for permanent partial disability for an injury terminates on the date when compensation for permanent total disability for any injury begins. An employee shall not receive compensation for permanent partial disability if the employee is receiving compensation for permanent total disability.
   Code section 85.34(3)(a) is amended to provide that an employee can receive compensation for permanent total disability until the employee is no longer permanently and totally disabled or reaches the age of 67, whichever occurs first. If an employee is injured after reaching the age of 67, compensation shall be paid so long as the employee remains permanently and totally disabled not exceed an amount equal to 150 weeks of compensation.
   Code section 85.34(3)(b) is amended to provide that if compensation for an injury producing permanent disability has been paid to a person, the amounts so paid are deductible from the total amount of compensation payable to that person for permanent total disability. An employee cannot receive compensation for permanent partial disability if the employee is receiving compensation for permanent total disability.
   New Code section 85.34(3)(c) provides that an employee forfeits the employee’s weekly compensation for a permanent total disability 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 gross earnings from any employer or payment for services from any source.
   New Code section 85.34(3)(d) provides that an employee is not entitled to compensation for a permanent total disability while the employee is receiving unemployment compensation under Code chapter 96.
   Code section 85.34(4) is amended to provide that an employer can receive credit for excess payments of temporary total disability, healing period, or temporary partial disability to an employee against the liability of the employer for any future weekly benefits due for an injury to the employee.
   Code section 85.34(5) is amended to provide that an employer can receive credit for excess payments of any weekly benefits paid to an employee against the liability of the employer for any future weekly benefits for permanent partial disability that is due for any current or subsequent injury to the same employee. Provisions limiting the establishment of an overpayment and the availability of credit are stricken.
   Code section 85.34(7)(a) relating to compensation of an employee in the case of successive disabilities is amended to provide that an employer is only liable for that portion of an employee’s disability that relates to the injury that serves as the basis for the employee’s claim for workers’ compensation. An employer is not liable for compensating an employee’s preexisting disability that arose out of and in the course of employment with the employer to the extent that the preexisting disability has already been compensated. Code section 85.34(7)(b) and (c) relating to compensation of preexisting or combined disabilities and successor employers are stricken.
   Code section 85.39, relating to medical examinations of injured employees for evaluation of permanent disability, is amended to provide that refusal of an employee to submit to an examination requested by the employer forfeits the employee’s right to any compensation for the period of the refusal.
   Code section 85.39 is also amended to provide that an employer is only liable to reimburse an employee for a medical examination requested by the employee if the injury for which the employee is being examined is found to be compensable under workers’ compensation law. An employer is not liable for the cost of the examination if the injury for which the employee is being examined is determined not to be a compensable injury. An employer is liable to pay a reasonable fee for an examination requested by the employee with reasonableness to be determined based on the typical fee charged by a medical provider to perform an impairment rating in the local area where the examination is conducted.
   Code section 85.45(1), relating to commutations of future payments of compensation, is amended to require that future payments may be commuted only upon application of a party to the workers’ compensation commissioner and upon written consent of all parties to the proposed commutation or partial commutation.
   New Code section 85.45(3) provides that the parties to any commutation or partial commutation of future compensation payments agreed to and ordered pursuant to this Code section may also agree that the employee has the right to benefits pursuant to Code section 85.27 under such terms and conditions as agreed to by the parties, for a specified period of time after the commutation or partial commutation agreement has been ordered by the workers’ compensation commissioner. During that specified period of time, the commissioner has 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.
   Code section 85.61(7) is amended to provide that for purposes of the definition of “personal injury arising out of and in the course of business”, an employee’s injury must be found to be the predominant factor in causing the disability for which worker’s compensation is claimed. An injury is the predominant factor in causing a disability if more than 50 percent of the disability is attributable to the injury.
   Code section 85.71(1)(a), concerning compensation for injuries that occur outside of the state, is amended to provide that Iowa law is applicable if the employer has a place of business in this state and the employee regularly works at or from that place of business. The statute is no longer applicable when the employer has a place of business in this state and the employee is domiciled in this state.
   Code section 86.26, which allows judicial review of decisions or orders of the workers’ compensation commissioner in district court, is amended to provide that a timely petition for judicial review, that is accompanied by a bond securing any compensation awarded pursuant to the order or decision as fixed and approved by the court, shall stay execution and enforcement of the decision or order. Either party may object to the amount of the bond set by the court as being unreasonable or inadequate.
   Code section 86.39 is amended to provide that an attorney cannot recover fees for legal services based on the amount of workers’ compensation voluntarily paid or agreed to be paid to an employee for temporary or permanent disability. An attorney can only recover a fee based on the amount of compensation that the attorney demonstrates would not have been paid to the employee but for the efforts of the attorney. Disputes over the recovery of attorney fees shall be resolved by the workers’ compensation commissioner.
   Code section 86.42 is amended to refer to new Code section 86.26(2) which allows a stay of execution and enforcement of an order or decision by the workers’ compensation commissioner when a petition for judicial review is accompanied by the posting of a bond.
   Code section 535.3(1), concerning interest due on unpaid weekly workers’ compensation payments, is amended to provide that instead of a 10 percent per year interest rate, interest 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 prior to the date each compensation payment is due plus 2 percent. 
   The bill is effective upon enactment.
   The sections of the bill amending Code sections 85.16, 85.18, 85.23, 85.26, 85.33, 85.34, 85.39, 85.61, 85.71, 86.26, 86.39, and 86.42 apply to injuries occurring on or after the effective date of the bill.
   The sections of the bill amending Code section 85.45 apply to commutations for which applications are filed on or after the effective date of the bill.