85.62 Inmates of county jail.

The county board of supervisors of any county may elect to include as an employee for purposes of this chapter any person confined as an inmate in a county jail or confined in any other facility in lieu of confinement in a county jail. If such election is made, the provisions of section 85.1, subsection 6, shall apply to such county. If an inmate in the performance of the inmate’s work in connection with the maintenance of a county jail or other local facility, or in connection with any industry maintained therein, or with any highway or public works activity outside a county jail or other local facility sustains an injury arising out of and in the course thereof, the inmate shall be awarded and paid compensation at the minimum rate as provided in this chapter. If death results from such injury, death benefits shall be awarded and paid to the dependents of the inmate. If any such person is awarded weekly compensation under the provisions of this section and is still committed to the county jail or other facility, the inmate’s compensation benefits under section 85.33 or section 85.34, subsection 1, shall be paid to the county for so long as the inmate shall remain so committed. Weekly compensation benefits awarded pursuant to section 85.34, subsection 2, shall be held in trust and paid to such person as provided in this chapter upon final discharge or parole, whichever occurs first. In the event such person is recommitted to the county jail or other facility prior to receiving in full, the inmate’s weekly benefits pursuant to section 85.33 or section 85.34, subsection 1, such benefits shall again be paid to the county for so long as the inmate shall remain so recommitted. Also, weekly benefits under section 85.34, subsection 2, shall be suspended and again held in trust until such person is again released by final discharge or parole, whichever first occurs. However, the workers’ compensation commissioner may, if the commissioner finds that dependents of the person awarded weekly compensation pursuant to section 85.33 or section 85.34, subsections 1 and 2, would require welfare aid as a result of terminating the compensation, order such weekly compensation to be paid to a responsible person for the use of the inmate’s dependents.

[C73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §85.62]

98 Acts, ch 1061, §11