The Iowa Workers Compensation Act is quite explicit in listing the rights of workers who are injured on the job. It is part of the Iowa Code which covers on the job injury, occupational disease or occupational hearing loss which has occurred during their time of employment. Benefits are payable regardless as to who is at fault. There are certain provisions that are specifically addressed to the employer.

The employer must keep a record of all on the job injuries reported by an employee that resulted in incapacity for longer than one day. If the incapacity is longer than three days, he or his insurance carrier must file a form with the workers’ compensation commissioner. If the injury results in permanent disability, partial disability or death the worker’s compensation commissioner must also be informed. These reports cannot be used in any trial or court hearing.

The law is quite specific regarding failure to report a worker’s injury and can be fined one thousand dollars for each occurrence. All payments to an employee must also be reported to the commission. Payments to an employee cannot be terminated unless the employee has returned to work or a settlement has been reached.

The employer is also required to file an annual report on every claim that is open on June 30 each year. This report shows benefits paid to that date. A final report may be filed at any time indicating that the claim is closed. An employer’s books and records are open to inspection at all times by the commissioner to ascertain the accuracy of the wage expenditures.

The law is quite specific regarding settlements and they must be approved by the commissioner before going into effect. Only six types are provided by the law and they must be approved by the commissioner. The two basic types of settlement are called Agreement for Settlement and Compromise Settlement.

The Agreement for Settlement is an agreement on the amount and extent of the payment and preserves the employee’s future rights. The Compromise Settlement is when there is a dispute about the settlement. This settlement ends both parties’ rights to any future benefits. Each settlement has specific limitations and requirements. All information can be found on the internet regarding Iowa workers compensation.