labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The Iowa FMLA is there for the times when family lives are under stress – either good stress or bad – and need full attention. It provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for circumstances like these:

• The birth or adoption of a child.
• Bringing a foster child into your home.
• When a member of your immediate family has a serious health problem.

When the stresses of family life become overwhelming, you may need to take some time off to focus on the situation at home. Whether it’s the good news of a newborn, or the difficult news of a serious illness in the family, it may require some extended time off. There is a program available to protect your job if that happens.

All private employers with 50 or more workers must abide by the Iowa FMLA law. Public employees and schoolteachers are covered despite staff size.

There is also the all-important issue of medical coverage through payroll deductions. Because the employee is on unpaid leave, the deduction must come from somewhere. The employer will pay the premiums and they will become an advance against future pay. When the employee returns to work, the deductions made during leave time will be taken out of those paychecks. It is an important matter with legal implications, and both workers and employers are both urged to sign a written document.

There are some responsibilities that must be fulfilled by you or your employer if you’re using, or plan to make use of, the FMLA. For example, your employer should provide immediate notice in writing to you explaining the status of your leave and letting you know how and when to keep in touch with your place of business in so you can be certain of maintaining your position. In turn, you’re obliged to respond to those written instructions to stay in good stead with your employer.

The Iowa FMLA poster needs to be displayed at all jobsites throughout the state. 

Iowa employee benefit plans will continue to include mental health treatment coverage on a par with medical and surgical coverage thanks to the extension of the bill known as MHPA.

The bill is the Mental Health Parity Act. It has been extended to December 31 of 2007 after being signed into law by the President.

As the name suggests, it assures that all group health plans include a mental health component that is equal in coverage limits to their limits on corresponding medical/surgical treatment coverage.

The MHPA has been given new life five times through amendments, since its original expiration date of September 31, 2001. That was because the original bill, signed into law in 1996, included what is called a “sunset clause,” effectively causing it to expire unless extended.

The bill impacts the roughly 150 million workers who are covered by group health insurance plans. Before the MHPA, health plans could have ceilings on mental health treatment coverage that were much lower than those on medical and surgical treatment. For example, a plan might have a $100,000 yearly limit on medical and surgical procedures, but just $5,000 or $10,000 for mental health treatment. Under MHPA, that is against the law.

Some of what is included in mental health treatment coverage is:

• Stays in rehabilitation facilities for drug and alcohol abuse problems.
• Stays in psychiatric centers, or mental hospitals, for treatment of a wide variety of illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Visits to mental health professionals. These include licensed therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists.

The Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) is the enforcing federal agency. It was originally created in 1974 to oversee enforcement of the Employee retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974. Since then it has gained sub-cabinet level status and its mandate includes health care as well as pension oversight. The upgrade came in 2003. It is now under the auspices of an Assistant secretary of Labor.

The Siouxland Employers’ Council and Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) periodically host meetings for employers to learn about updates regarding Iowa unemployment insurance. The workshops cover a variety of changes in unemployment laws and practices.

Speakers at a recent workshop included Todd McGee, a Marketing Specialist with Iowa Workforce Development. McGee is assigned to the Tax Redesign Project. Sessions were also conducted by Dan Anderson, Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Iowa Workforce Development.

These Iowa unemployment insurance workshops are ideal for new employers, small business owners and newly hired or recently promoted managers. However, since they cover the latest updates to law, they are also ideal for seasoned employers. All employers, human resource professionals, accounting personnel and payroll staff are urged to attend.

Many new employers report that administrative issues such as Iowa unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, payroll and taxes are more confusing and time-consuming than any other part of their job.

At a recent meeting, McGee discussed the new process for filing quarterly and annual unemployment reports and payments online. Topics covered included:

• Electronically file your unemployment quarterly reports
• Automatic computation of taxable wages and contributions
• Interactive screens and help features of the new system

During Anderson’s part of the program, he discussed recent changes to Iowa employment laws and practices including:

• Discharges, quits, refusal of work or refusal of recall
• Issues involving part time employees
• Health related issues, drug testing
• Pensions, vacation, severance and holiday pay
• Special challenges in handling unemployment insurance cases

There is a $25 registration fee to attend these informative workshops. If you’re interested in the next workshop, contact Iowa Workforce Development in your area. The Siouxland Employers’ Council is an employer group in Region 12, supported locally by Iowa Workforce Development, and is part of the statewide Employers’ Council of Iowa system. This employers group addresses workforce issues, and provides both educational and networking opportunities for employers.

In the state of Iowa, part of the unemployment system works by the state charging each employer a so called Benefit Charge. This Benefit Charge is a charge to the employer’s account with the unemployment insurance system, and is based on a tax rate that is relative to how much the state has paid benefits to your former employers. In other words, the more former employees you have taking in unemployment insurance, the higher your Benefit Charge will be.

You should know how many former employees are out there collecting benefits under your name. The state contacts you each and every time one of your former employees, or a supposed former employee, claims unemployment benefits. And if that employee fits into that “supposed” category, it is up to you the employer to stop the state from charging your account for them. You have to protect that charge.

About 40 days after the close of every calendar quarter, the state of Iowa sends to every employer a list of benefits that have been charged under your account. This is called a Statement of Charges, and basically tallies all of your former employees and how much the Iowa Workforce Development department is paying them in unemployment benefits.

After you receive this Statement of Charges, you have another 30 days from the date that the Statement of Charges was mailed to you to protest and appeal any of the itemized charges on the statement. In order to appeal, you must send back the Statement of Charges with your name and business name on it accurately, as well as your Iowa Unemployment Tax account number. You must also include the name and social security number of the particular former employee that you are protesting.

Also provide the separation date that the employee left your company (or didn’t leave the company for that matter), along with the reason for them leaving. Remember—if an employee quits, resigns, or is fired because of disciplinary action, they do not warrant unemployment benefits.

The Iowa Workers’ Compensation law requires most employers to provide wage loss and medical benefits to employees who are injured while working.

In Iowa, an injury may include any health condition caused by work activities other than the normal building up and tearing down of body tissues. Diseases and hearing losses caused by work activities or exposures are also injuries. Preexisting health conditions are not considered injuries unless work aggravates or worsens them.

The employer has the right to choose the medical care and must provide medical care reasonably suited to treat an injury. If a worker is dissatisfied with that care, they should discuss the problem with their employer (or its insurance carrier). The employee can request alternate care, and if an employer (or its carrier) does not allow that care, they may file a petition for alternate medical care before the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner.

An employer must pay for all reasonable and necessary medical care required to treat an injury. This includes reasonable and necessary travel expenses for treatment. An employer may also pay temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, permanent partial disability benefits, or permanent total disability benefits.  If an employee dies from a work-related injury, their dependents may receive benefits as well.

Unless an employer has notice or knowledge of a worker’s asserted injury within 90 days of its occurrence, the employee may be denied benefits. When an employee reports a work related injury, the employer must file a first report of injury if the employee loses more than three days of work, or sustains permanent injury or death on account of the injury. The employer (or its carrier) must file the first report within four days of notice or knowledge of the alleged injury with the Workers’ Compensation Commissioner.

A worker must receive Iowa weekly workers’ compensation benefits or file an application for arbitration within two years of an alleged injury or benefits may be denied.

The employer must post the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Benefits notice in a prominent place in their business.