Decision in Quaker Oats v. Main - Apportionment and Constitutionality of 85.34(7)
A recent decision addressing §85.34(7) of the Code has been issued. In Quaker Oats v. Main , No. 08-1507 (Iowa Ct. App. Jan 22, 2010), 2010 WL 200420, the Court of Appeals addressed two issues regarding the apportionment section of the workers’ compensation law. The court found that §85.34(7) applied to successive injuries with the same employer as long as one of the injuries occurred after September 7, 2004, the effective date of the legislation. The commissioner had earlier ruled in Main that both injuries had to take place after September 7, 2004 in order for the legislation to apply, but the district court reversed this finding, and this conclusion was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. The Main court also addressed the issue of the constitutionality of the provisions of House File 2581 that resulted in the legislation codified as §85.34(7). The legislation had been attacked as being violative of the single subject provisions of the Iowa Constitution, Art. ...