Blog Posts - IAMU Informer

COVID-19 Update - IAMU Office to close

3/18/2020

In alignment with the Governors recent public health proclamation, and to protect the health and welfare of our employees, members and the public IAMU employees will be working remotely until further notice. The IAMU office building will be closed to the public. All in person training not currently started is postponed effective immediately. We are still working on some streaming and online options for our training offerings. In person visits by our utility specialists will be limited to those where the compliance or safety of the member requires their immediate presence.

If you need to reach an IAMU staff member the best way to reach them is via email. If needed, please call them directly at the number on the linked pdf of contact information below. Almost all staff have a direct dial phone line at their desk, which may be forwarded to their cell phone. Otherwise leave a message on their desk phone. Messages are automatically sent to their work email. They will contact you as soon as possible. If you cannot figure out who to call, can’t reach the right staff person, or otherwise have concerns or questions please feel free to email, text or call me directly at tdejoode@iamu.org or 515-201-2856. I will do my best to get you an answer or get your question to the correct staff member.

Staff email addresses can be found at https://members.iamu.org/page/IAMU_Staff

Staff cell phone and desk phone numbers can be found in the attached pdf.

Thank you for your patience and understanding in this unprecedented time.

Thanks
Troy

IAMU Webinars To Address Key Broadband Issues

3/18/2020

The COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the 2020 IAMU Broadband Conference, but IAMU is scheduling webinars for two of the topics that would have been discussed that are time sensitive and of great interest to IAMU members.

Regulatory Compliance Review
Thursday, April 2, 2020
2:00pm
Link to join webinar: https://zoom.us/j/644074462

During this session, Jim Baller of Baller Stokes & Lide will provide a review of the annual regulatory compliance measures that telecommunications companies need to be aware of. Baller's review will also address the new "Truth In Billing" rules that will be enacted later this year."

Retransmission Consent 2020
Thursday, April 16, 2020
2:00pm
Link to join webinar: https://zoom.us/j/442902618

The next round of retransmission consent negotiations at the end of 2020 could be the most painful yet. TV stations are expected to ask for big increases in the fees they charge cable operators while continuing to crowd their broadcast frequency with digital subchannels of questionable value.

During this webinar, Curtis Dean will discuss the upcoming round of negotiations with Jean Edhlund, Video Products Partner with Cooperative Network Services in Minnesota. Jean is a familar name for many of us, having served as the primary contact for Fox Sports Networks for many years.

Participation in these webinars is free, but limited to 100 participants each. Participants will be able to ask questions during the live webinars. The webinars will also be recorded and made available afterwards.

IEDA Request for COVID-19 Assistance

3/18/2020

The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) needs to assess the impact of the pandemic in Iowa. To assist in these efforts, please complete this survey, developed by University of Northern Iowa – Institute for Decision Making, to tell us what your business is experiencing and how your business is handling the current crisis.

Please forward this link to businesses/attractions/organizations within your membership or communities.

IEDA will use the information collected in this survey to inform its public policy in response to the crisis, as well as potential assistance to businesses. The deadline to complete this survey is Monday, March 23 at 5 p.m.

Again, thank you for mobilizing and providing this information on such short notice. We will remain connected with you in the coming weeks to provide additional guidance as warranted.

Our thoughts are with all of you and our business community, and we remain confident the efforts we are undertaking today will mitigate the long-term impact on our economy.

Iowa One Call - COVID-19 Update

3/18/2020

Message from Iowa One Call concerning COVID-19:

As we all know the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to times of uncertainty with the virus continuing to spread. A number of meetings and conventions have been postponed or cancelled across the nation and in Iowa. Today CGA cancelled their meetings in Palm Springs and the Missouri One Call also cancelled their contractor meetings.

We have seven (7) ESAP meetings scheduled for the remainder of March. Currently MidAmerican, NNG and Alliant have let us know they will not be attending and I expect to have several more that will be letting us know they will not be attending.

After internal discussions, and feedback from the executive committee it has been decided to cancel the remaining seven (7) ESAP meetings.

We will work with the hotels and other venues to cancel and try to mitigate the expenses. In place of the ESAP meetings we will work on setting up several webinars in the near future.

When Must Employee Illnesses Be Reported to OSHA?

3/16/2020

The vast majority of employee illnesses are not “work-related” and, therefore, not necessarily recordable, the requirement of recording illnesses, even when applicable, is often overlooked.

Caroline Melo Bob Nichols
Mar 10, 2020

Conscientious safety professionals typically devote a great deal of time over the course of their careers learning when particular instances of physical injury suffered by employees, such as back, knee or wrist pain, must be recorded on OSHA 300 and 301 forms.

Recent contingency planning for potential employee coronavirus cases, however, has reminded occupational safety specialists that work-related illnesses generally must also be recorded if the condition meets the applicable recording criteria of OSHA regulations. Understanding when an illness is OSHA recordable can often be even more daunting than the task of recognizing when a physical injury is properly recorded.

The Basics
With the exception of certain low safety-risk industries, employers with more than 10 employees are required to record on certain OSHA-required records, namely OSHA 300 and 301 forms, “work-related” injuries and illnesses meeting one or more specified criteria of seriousness outlined by OSHA regulations—such as medical treatment beyond first aid or days away from work.

As for the deadline to do so, generally an employer must record within seven calendar days after the business receives information that a recordable work-related injury or illness has occurred.

The regulatory nuances of the determination of what is commonly referred to as “recordability” are many and complex. Moreover, because the vast majority of recordable events are injuries, as opposed to illnesses, safety professionals spend much more time considering what is an injury that must be recorded as opposed to an illness.

Additionally, because the vast majority of employee illnesses are not “work-related” and, therefore, not necessarily recordable, the requirement of recording illnesses, even when applicable, is often overlooked. This inattention can be costly. Specifically, employers may be fined substantial dollar amounts by OSHA for failing to record work-related illnesses - just like injuries.

Moreover, as a practical matter, in some businesses there can be subtle, or not-so-subtle, pressure on supervisory and safety officials to minimize the number of recorded cases. This unfortunate reality exists in certain companies because low levels of recordable injuries and illnesses may be considered under bonus schemes or otherwise be used to judge the performance of managers or other employees. While these compensation incentives tied to achieving low recorded injury/illness levels are not per se unlawful, employers need to be careful to assure that these incentives do not lead to the failure to record. Specifically, to avoid potentially substantial OSHA fines, businesses must guard against under-recording and carefully consider every potentially work-related illness or injury to determine recordability.

Contagious Illness
Contagious illnesses that employees contract from a coworker, customer, contractor or other person while working are generally recordable if they meet one or more of the general recording criteria - such as medical treatment or days away from work.

To illustrate this point, the regulations indicate that specific examples of potentially recordable contagious illnesses, if contraction is work-related, include “tuberculosis, brucellosis, hepatitis A or plague.”

As an exception to the recording requirements, OSHA regulations specifically provide that employee cases of the “common cold or flu” do not need to be, and should not be, recorded. At the same time, OSHA has warned that this exception does not apply to other contagious viruses, even those that produce similar symptoms, that do not actually constitute the “common cold or flu” strain.

As a result in 2009, OSHA warned employers that employee cases of the H1N1 virus that are “work-related” must be recorded on OSHA 300 and 301 forms.

Importantly, this year, OSHA has reached the same conclusion about coronavirus cases that may occur may be work-related. Specifically, employee bouts with the coronavirus are recordable if, again, the particular case is work-related and other criteria meet the criteria test.

Work-Relatedness
Of course, with any illness, if it is not “work-related,” then it is not recordable. While that determination may seem simple, in reality it often is not.

OSHA guidance points out that, for example, if “an employee reports symptoms of a contagious disease that affects the public at large, such as a staphylococcus infection (‘staph’ infection) or Lyme disease, and the workplace is only one possible source of the infection,” the employer must engage in an analysis of potential work-relatedness.

OSHA instructs that “[i]n these situations, the employer must examine the employee’s work duties and environment to determine whether it is more likely than not that one or more events or exposures at work caused or contributed to the condition.” In engaging in that inquiry, if the employer determines that it is unlikely that the precipitating event or exposure occurred in the work environment, the employer would not record the case.

Mental Illnesses
Employers must bear in mind that OSHA takes a fundamentally different approach to determining when mental illnesses should be recorded - as opposed to physical illnesses. Specifically, OSHA regulations broadly direct that mental illnesses are not to be recorded unless “the employee voluntarily provides the employer with an opinion from a physician or other licensed health care professional with appropriate training and experience (psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, etc.) stating that the employee has a mental illness that is work-related.”

Notably, this general rule applies to when work-related stress disorders must be recorded. Specifically in 2004 guidance, OSHA explained that “[m]ental illnesses, such as depression or anxiety disorder, that have work-related stress as a contributing factor, are recordable if the employee voluntarily provides the employer with an opinion from a physician or other licensed health care professional with appropriate training and experience (psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, etc.) stating that the employee has a mental illness that is work-related, and the case meets one or more of the general recording criteria.”

Diseases Tied to Workplace Exposure
Diseases such as silicosis, byssinosis, or asbestosis for which workplace exposure to substances may have been a contributing factor, are subject to the recording requirement just like other illnesses that are work-related. Determining work-relatedness in the context of these illnesses can be especially difficult, but that does not excuse employers from engaging in the required analysis as to whether such a case should be recorded on the employer’s OSHA recordkeeping forms.

In fact, under OSHA regulations these types of “significant progressive diseases” once diagnosed may be subject to the recording requirement even before the illness requires medical treatment, work restrictions, or days away from work.

Guidance for Employers

1. Determining the work-relatedness of illnesses is often a difficult task, but engaging in the analysis is important – particularly when an employee or a healthcare provider reports that a disease or other illness stems, or may stem, in whole or part, from work-related conditions. When this issue arises, the employer should engage in a careful assessment as to whether that condition should be recorded through the OSHA 300 and 301 forms.

2. As employers continue to worry about the spread of the coronavirus and the potential for future pandemics involving other viruses or other illnesses (other than the common cold or flu), they must not lose sight of the fact that if the employee contracts the illness at work, through a coworker or other individual, and the condition otherwise meets OSHA recording criteria, it must be properly and timely recorded.

3. Employers should recognize that they can and should utilize the expertise of medical professionals when trying to ascertain whether a particular illness should be recorded.

4. In engaging in these determinations, employers should also make full use of OSHA’s extensive online resources, including the OSHA Recordkeeping Handbook maintained on OSHA’s website.

Bob Nichols is a partner in Bracewell LLP’s Houston office. Bob has over 30 years of experience in employment law, having represented employers in litigation, administrative investigations, and other actions related to employment including the defense of claims of alleged discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wrongful discharge, and occupational safety and health violations. Caroline Melo is an associate at Bracewell, providing advice and counsel to employers regarding a variety of workplace matters.

IUB emergency order extends utility winter moratorium period, halts disconnection for LIHEAP-qualified Iowans

3/16/2020

The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) today issued an emergency order directing all electric and natural gas utilities in the state to cease disconnection of residential service due to nonpayment. The emergency order, issued in Docket No. SPU-2020-0003, comes in response to a statewide disaster proclamation of public health emergency issued on March 9, 2020, by Gov. Kim Reynolds to enhance the state’s response to novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The extended moratorium period will continue until May 1, 2020. Income-eligible Iowans have until April 30 each year to apply for limited financial heating assistance through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The application deadline was not extended with today’s order.

The LIHEAP program is designed to help low-income families meet the partial cost of home heating through a one-time payment made directly to the utility or heating fuel vendor. Iowa law also protects qualified applicants who are the head of a household from being disconnected from natural gas or electric service during the annual winter moratorium, normally November 1 through April 1.

Iowa customers seeking LIHEAP financial assistance for utility bills should contact their local community action agency before April 30 to discuss eligibility guidelines. Although qualified applicants cannot be disconnected during the moratorium, the IUB urges all LIHEAP-certified customers to continue paying toward their energy bills to avoid accumulating high debt and facing potential utility service disconnection once the moratorium period ends.

The statewide extension period issued by IUB order today applies to all investor-owned, municipal and cooperative utilities in Iowa.

For the latest guidelines about preventing the spread of COVID-19, see the Iowa Department of Public Health’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) webpage. Read Gov. Kim Reynolds’ March 9, 2020, proclamation here.

eLation Billing and Financials Spring User Meeting Cancelled

3/16/2020

With the health and safety of our employees, customers and community in mind, Innovative Systems has decided to cancel our eLation Billing and Financials Spring User Meeting that was scheduled for April 14-15 in Mitchell, SD. In lieu of a user meeting, we will be hosting individual webinars using the content that we were prepared to share with you at the event. Please be on the lookout for those webinar invitations beginning in April. As always, those webinars will be recorded and available for viewing on demand. Thank you for your continued support!

IAMU Hands-On Pumps & Mechanical Maintenance Workshops – March 25 & April 8

3/11/2020

Mark your calendars for the Hands-On Pumps & Maintenance Workshops presented by Larry Trout. Two dates/locations will be offered.

Location 1 (Spencer) – March 25, 2020
Location 2 (Marquette) – April 8, 2020

*Space is limited to the first 20 registrations at each location.*

Registration
Registration is open. You may register and find additional information at the links below.

Registration fee is $115 per person for IAMU Members; $160 per person for Non-Members. Lunch will be provided.

For more information, contact Steve Marsh (smarsh@iamu.org) at 800-810-4268.

Invite Your Legislators to Municipal Utility Day on the Hill & Legislative Reception

3/10/2020

IAMU is organizing a Municipal Utility Day on the Hill (state capitol) for Tuesday, March 17 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

If your utility or agency would like to have a display table for the event, please contact Jill Soenen at jsoenen@iamu.org.

The IAMU Legislative Reception will follow from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Iowa Hall of Pride in the Iowa Events Center (330 Park St, Des Moines, IA 50309).

We look forward to seeing as many members as possible at these events. This is your opportunity to meet with legislators and let them know your views on important matters concerning municipal utilities.

If you plan to attend either event, please RSVP to Shanna Bollwinkel - sbollwinkel@iamu.org or 800-810-4268.

We encourage you to send the following invitation to your legislators with a message personally inviting them. Please have your legislator RSVP to Kathy Hoffman - khoffman@iamu.org or 800-810-4268.

Click here for the invitation.

TRANSCAER Rail Safety & Hazmat Emergency Response Training

3/10/2020

On April 14, 15, & 16, Des Moines Wastewater Reclamation Authority is hosting a free class about chlorine safety and the use of repair kits A, B and C. This 8-hour class will be conducted by the Chlorine institute and will be held at the WRA’s facility at 3000 Vandalia Rd, Des Moines, IA 50317.

To learn more about the event and to register to attend, click HERE.

The Chlorine Institute will provide certificates to each participant.