Industrial Commission requests IRIS maintenance, staff increases as vacancies and reversions persist

The Industrial Commission told the Joint Finance Preparation Committee on Thursday, Jan. 23, that it is seeking funding for ongoing maintenance of the IRIS case-management system, several personnel enhancements using vacant FTP, and replacement field vehicles as it works through vacancies and sizable reversions from FY2024.

The request matters because the Industrial Commission administers workers' compensation adjudication, vocational rehabilitation and the crime victims compensation program — programs that pay benefits to injured workers and victims and that rely on timely case processing and payments. Committee analysts and the director warned the panel that gaps in staffing and continuing contract needs for IRIS have lengthened processing times for hearings and payments.

Noah Peterson, budget and policy analyst for the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the Industrial Commission has 130.25 authorized FTP and had 12 vacant positions as of August. Peterson said between FY2021 and FY2025 the commission received about $12,874,000 in one-time appropriations for the IRIS modernization project and that the agency is now seeking ongoing and one-time amounts to support the completed development work. “This is essentially to support the IRIS contract ongoing even though it's a one-time request,” Peterson said, explaining the agency originally expected the Office of Information Technology Services to provide long-term support but that ITS is not able to do so at this time.

Director George Gutierrez, who accompanied commissioners and staff to the hearing, described where…