Iowa Citizen Action Network

Civil Justice and Consumer Protection

Fact Sheet

Employee Choice of Doctor Bill Advancing in Iowa Senate

If you are injured at work, should you be able to see a doctor you know and trust? Or should employers be able to shuttle you off to distant company doctors who don't know you from Adam? It's an important question, and a key state legislative committee gave the right answer for Iowa workers last week.

Last week, the Iowa State Senate's Labor Committee approved legislation -- Senate File 424 -- that would allow employees to choose their own doctors when they are injured at work. The bill has a long way to go before it can become law, but this is definitely the start of something big for Iowa's working families.

Please contact your state senator and urge him/her to vote for Senate File 424 when it is brought up for debate in the full Senate. Tell her/him that allowing injured employees to choose their own doctors will help them get back on their feet sooner and save employers money in the long run.

If you're not sure who represents you in the Iowa Senate go to the Iowa Legislature's web site at www.legis.state.ia.us and click on "Legislators." Then click on "Find Your Legislator" and submit your street address or zip code. A list of your federal and state legislators will appear; you can email your state senator directly from this page.

Big Business and Industry groups are gearing up to kill this bill; they want to continue to call the shots when employees are injured at work. Let's show them who's really boss!”

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