Iowa Workers' Compensation

Iowa Workers’ Compensation (Iowa Code Chapter 85)

Iowa workers’ compensation is mandatory for most Iowa employers. Unlike Texas, Iowa does not allow employers to opt out of workers’ compensation.

Definitions (Iowa Code 85.61)

Iowa Code 85.61 defines the key terms of Iowa workers’ compensation:

• Worker / employee. Includes any person under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, including minors regardless of age.
• Employer. The legal entity employing one or more workers.
• Independent contractor. Specifically excluded from the definition of “employee” (Iowa Code 85.61(12)(c)). However, a contract designating a person as an independent contractor does not create one if the person functions as an employee under Iowa Code 85.18.
• Injury. Includes death resulting from personal injury, but not a disease unless it results from the injury, and not an occupational disease as defined in Iowa Code 85A.8.

Covered Employment (Iowa Code 85.1) — Inapplicability and Exemptions

Iowa Code 85.1 defines covered employment by listing what is not covered. The exemptions include:

• Federal employment. Persons eligible for federal workers’ compensation programs are exempt from Iowa coverage.
• Casual employment. Casual employees not hired for purposes of the employer’s trade or business, earning less than $1,500 during the 12 months prior to an injury, are exempt.
• Domestic employment. Household domestic workers earning less than $1,500 from their employer during the prior 12 months are exempt.
• Agricultural employment. Persons engaged in agricultural pursuits are exempt unless the employer’s total cash payroll to non-exempt persons was $2,500 or more during the preceding calendar year (Iowa Code 85.1(3)(a)).
• Agricultural family exemption (Iowa Code 85.1(3)(b)). The spouse of the employer, parents, brothers, sisters, children, stepchildren, and their spouses are exempt regardless of payroll amounts when engaged in agricultural pursuits.
• Firefighters and police officers. Generally covered under a different statutory scheme.
• Railroad employees engaged in interstate commerce. Covered under FELA, not Iowa workers’ comp.
• Sole proprietors, partners, and LLC members. Automatically excluded from coverage but may elect to be included.
• Corporate officers. Initially included as employees, but up to four executive officers may file an exclusion form.

Covered Injuries (Iowa Code 85.3, .32, .60, .61, .71)

Iowa Code 85.3 establishes the general rule: every employer is required to provide workers’ compensation for every personal injury sustained by an employee arising out of and in the course of employment. Several related sections refine the rule:

• Iowa Code 85.32. Compensation begins on the fourth day of disability after injury. If disability lasts more than 14 days, benefits are paid retroactive to the first day.
• Iowa Code 85.60. Benefits for a person injured while in a work-based learning opportunity, employment training, or an employment evaluation.
• Iowa Code 85.71. Extraterritorial coverage rules — when Iowa workers’ comp applies to injuries occurring outside Iowa. Benefits extend to an injury outside Iowa only if one of the connections the section lists applies — for example, the employer has a place of business in Iowa and the employee regularly works at or from it, or the employee works under a contract of hire made in Iowa and regularly works in Iowa.

Benefits Provided (Iowa Code 85.27 through .29, 85.31 through .34)

Iowa workers’ compensation provides four major categories of benefits:

• Medical benefits (Iowa Code 85.27). All reasonable and necessary medical care for the compensable injury, paid by the workers’ comp carrier with no deductible or copayment. The employer has the right to choose the medical provider; the employee may request alternate care in defined circumstances.
• Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits (Iowa Code 85.33). Paid weekly until the employee returns to work or is medically capable of returning to substantially similar employment, whichever occurs first.
• Temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits (Iowa Code 85.33(4)). Two-thirds of the difference between pre-injury and post-injury weekly earnings.
• Permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits (Iowa Code 85.34). Compensation for permanent impairment that does not totally disable the employee.
• Permanent total disability (PTD) benefits (Iowa Code 85.34). Compensation for permanent injuries that totally and permanently disable the employee from gainful employment.
• Death benefits (Iowa Code 85.28, 85.31). Paid to surviving dependents when a compensable injury causes death, plus burial expenses.

Occupational Disease (Iowa Code Chapter 85A; 85A.8)

Occupational disease is compensable under Iowa Code chapter 85A when the disease is incidental to the character of the business and there is a direct causal connection with the employment. A disease from a hazard to which the employee was equally exposed outside the employment is not compensable. The Iowa Occupational Disease Law sits at Iowa Code Chapter 85A, with key provisions in 85A.8.

Exclusive Remedy

Iowa workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy for compensable injuries — the employee generally cannot sue the employer in tort. The narrow exception is a claim against a co-employee whose gross negligence amounts to wanton neglect for the safety of another (Iowa Code 85.20). Separately, no compensation is allowed for an injury caused by the employee’s willful intent to injure himself or herself or another, by the employee’s intoxication, or by the willful act of a third party directed against the employee for personal reasons (Iowa Code 85.16).