Governor Unilaterally Reduces Commissioner's Salary
In an action that has been roundly criticized by workers and workers' compensation practitioners, Governor Branstad on July 11 reduced the salary of Chris Godfrey, the workers' compensation commissioner, by over $30,000. This action followed the governor's request that Commissioner Godfrey resign from his office, a request that the commissioner refused. Unlike department heads in state government, the workers' compensation commissioner does not serve at the pleasure of the governor. In fact, the workers' compensation commissioner was specifically protected from partisan pressure by being provided a six year term of office, independent of that of the governor. The governor's attempt to attempt to force the commissioner to resign by drastically reducing his salary violates both the letter and spirit of the law, and represents a blatant abuse of power. In the wake of the salary reduction, the governor attempted to argue that Commissioner Godfrey had perform...