Industrial Commission seeks staff, IRIS maintenance after caseload and tech changes

Noah Peterson, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the Joint Finance Preparation Committee on Jan. 23 that the Industrial Commission is requesting a mix of ongoing and one‑time appropriations to address staffing gaps and ongoing costs tied to its IRIS modernization project.

The Commission’s director, George Gutierrez, and agency staff told lawmakers the automation work completed under the IRIS project has increased the Commission’s ability to identify cases and compliance issues, but also shifted the type and volume of work that remains to be done.

Peterson said the Industrial Commission has 130.25 FTP budgeted across three programs — compensation (70.5 FTP), rehabilitation (47.25 FTP) and crime victims compensation (12.5 FTP) — and that 12 positions were vacant as of August. He told the committee the agency had reverted $4,555,000 last year, including about $2,400,000 from the Crime Victims Compensation program and $1,800,000 from the Industrial Administration Fund.

Gutierrez said the agency was allocated $12,874,000 one‑time across fiscal 2021–25 for the IRIS project to digitize previously paper‑dependent workflows. He described IRIS as having “increased the volume and number of sources of data” for employer compliance, which has revealed many more noncompliant employers and pushed…