AttorneyConnect is a proactive program designed especially for IAMU Safety Group Insurance Group Program members who want to make the right decisions regarding legal topics.

EMC Insurance Companies and the AttorneyConnect program answer your legal questions to resolve issues before they end up in court.

Through the AttorneyConnect program, each municipality or municipal utility policyholder within the IAMU Safety Group is eligible to receive up to 90 minutes of consultation per calendar quarter with a Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave, P.C. attorney at no additional cost.

Here are some of the issues for which assistance is available:

• Proper hiring procedures
• Job reassignment issues
• Termination questions
• Employee handbook dos and don'ts
• Employment practices and compliance with state and federal laws
• Workers' compensation matters
• Injured worker return-to-work concerns
• Contract review and recommendations
• Governmental immunity
• Law enforcement civil liability issues
• Open records and meeting laws
• Public works civil liability issues
• Zoning and land use matters

Up to 90 minutes of no cost legal consultation on the above subjects is a tremendous benefit to participating Safety Group members.  For more information, click here.

You can also contact Dave Eaton, IAMU Risk Reduction Representative or your local EMC Insurance Agent for more information.

Dave Eaton
319-850-9000
deaton@iamu.org

 

by Patrick D. Smith, Attorney with the law firm of Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave, P.C.

How to best accommodate pregnant employees is a frequent challenge Iowa employers face. Pregnant employees may be entitled to protection under the laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, as well as those laws requiring equal treatment based upon gender and disability. Many employers, including municipal employers, have tried to walk this fine line with policies that allow for accommodation of a temporary disability only if it is the result of an on‐the‐job injury. For non‐work related temporary disabilities (which presumably includes pregnancy almost all the time), no accommodation is offered.

The theory behind such policies is to treat similarly situated employees equally, regardless of gender or the nature of the temporary disability. The distinction is drawn between work and non‐work causes of the temporary disability. The rationale for treating on‐the‐job injuries differently is that the workers’ compensation law provides an incentive to return injured workers to work as soon as possible, so as to avoid paying benefits for temporary total disability.

Until about the last year or so, this was a workable policy for an employer to have. But, two cases decided last year, one by the U.S. Supreme Court (Young v. UPS) and one by the Iowa Supreme Court (McQuistion v. City of Clinton) should cause employers to re‐visit and possibly change their policies governing temporary disabilities and pregnancy accommodations. The McQuistion case is particularly important for municipal employers, as it involved potential accommodations to which a pregnant firefighter claimed entitlement.

Both cases dealt with employer policies of the type described here. That is, accommodation was provided for some temporary disabilities, but not others, with pregnancy being within those that were not subject to accommodation. Although the U.S. Supreme Court addressed federal law and the Iowa Supreme Court addressed state law, the practical result from both opinions is the same: This type of policy is presumed to violate the law against pregnancy discrimination. The employer can overcome this presumption if it can show the legitimate reason underlying the policy is sufficiently strong to justify the burden it places on pregnant employees. But, if the practical effect of the employer’s policy is to accommodate a large percentage of non‐pregnant employees while a large percentage of pregnant employees are not accommodated, it will be difficult for the employer to carry its burden.

In the end, a jury will get to decide whether your policy is justified or creates an unreasonable burden. The best way to avoid litigation is to change the policy that automatically results in pregnancy not being accommodated. Each and every condition that results in a disability should be evaluated on its own merits to determine whether it can be accommodated. While this may create more burdens for you each time you have to address a pregnancy‐related request for accommodation, it is more likely to keep you from being sued.

Questions or comments, contact AttorneyConnect at 800‐820‐6490, or email attorneyconnet@bradshawlaw.com.

 

When was the last time you were plagued by too much free legal advice?  Never would probably be a fairly universal response.  Of course, nothing ever should or will replace ongoing consultation with your own city attorney or utility counsel. Truly, your local counsel is your best friend and ally in any legal controversy.  He or she knows your city and your utility better than any lawyer in the state, and no important decision should be made without his or her input.  Still, you may often confront legal issues that are beyond your attorneys comfort level as a general practitioner. 

 

IAMU members whom are part of the IAMU / EMC Insurance Program are encouraged to use the AttorneyConnect Program.   EMC Insurance Companies has retained Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave, P.C. to answer employment law questions under the AttorneyConnect program.  Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave, P.C. is a full-service law firm located in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm’s attorneys have been providing legal services for over 70 years.

 

Termination. Sexual harassment. Due process. Employee handbooks. Workers’ compensation. Too often these employment-related issues end up in court cases.  The AttorneyConnect program can help answer your employment law questions and resolve issues before they end up in court.  AttorneyConnect is a proactive program designed especially for the IAMU Safety Group Insurance members who want to make the right employment decisions.  Under the AttorneyConnect program, IAMU Safety Group Insurance members may receive free legal consultation on the issues faced by employers every day. Not only does AttorneyConnect help cities and utilities solve employment problems, but it helps avoid them in the first place.

 

What Is AttorneyConnect?

AttorneyConnect is an innovative approach to loss prevention and risk management for employers concerned with the ever-expanding area of employment law.  AttorneyConnect was designed by EMC Insurance Companies, the leading insurer of Iowa cities and utilities, as part of its strong commitment to loss control.  An essential element of an effective loss control program is early identification and proper resolution of employer-employee situations that could develop into a claim or lawsuit.  AttorneyConnect is the answer.  Through the AttorneyConnect program, any city or utility insured within the IAMU Safety Group Insurance is eligible to receive up to 90 minutes of free consultation per calendar quarter with a Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave, P.C. attorney on employment law questions. Employment law questions often deal with the following areas:

• Proper hiring procedures

• Job reassignment issues

• Termination questions

• Employee handbook dos and don’ts

• Employment practices and compliance with state and federal law

• Workers’ compensation matters

• Injured worker returning to work concerns

 

How The Program Works

Authorized persons such as city clerks, utility managers or city attorneys can contact AttorneyConnect any time, day or night, with questions regarding employment law by calling 800-820-6490 (toll-free) or 515-246-5891 (direct), emailing attorneyconnect@bradshawlaw.com or smith.patrick@bradshawlaw.com or faxing 515-246-5808. A Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave, P.C. attorney will respond within 24 hours, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.  All communication through AttorneyConnect is confidential and secure.  If you so request, within 24 hours after each consultation, a summary of the question asked and the advice given will be sent to the person who contacted AttorneyConnect.

 

Finally, it bears repeating that the AttorneyConnect program is NOT intended to supplant advice from your regular city or utility attorney, nor should it disrupt longstanding relationships with local or out-of-town law firms that have earned your trust in the past and from whom you have traditionally received good, sound, cost-effective legal advice over the years. Rather, it is one more valuable resource to augment the tools already available to you in your continuing effort to effectively address legal molehills before they erupt into litigation mountains.