Longtime Deputy Commissioner Says Comp Judges Should Be Shielded From Politics

A former workers' compensation judge in Iowa is calling for more safeguards to insulate comp rulings from political influence after the state's previous governor acknowledged that he tried to oust the workers' compensation commissioner as a response to political donors. “The problem is still there. It could happen again unless the legislature takes action,” said Jon Heitland, who was a deputy workers' compensation commissioner for 28 years until his retirement in 2015. Heitland made his comments in a guest column he penned for the Des Moines Register newspaper...