Part II - Iowa Workers' Compensation - Going and Coming Rule
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B. Dual Purpose Exception.
This exception is closely related to the special errand exception. Under this exception, the worker makes a trip which combines a non-compensable (personal) purpose with a special errand for the employer. See Folay v. Keister Lumber Co., 175 N.W. 2d 385 (Iowa 1970); Allen V. Allen (Arb. Descn., 941868) In McMullin v Department Of Revenue, 437 N.W. 2d 596 (Iowa App. 1989) the court relying on the dual purpose doctrine found the injury compensable. "Injury during a trip which serves both a business and a personal purpose is within the course of employment if the trip involves the performance of a service for the employer which would have caused the trip to be taken by someone even if it had not coincided with the personal injury." Id. at 598-599, citing Larson, 1 Workmen's Compensation Law, sec. 18.
The employees were tax examiners working on a permanent assignment in Cleveland, Ohio. Assignments were sent by mail from Des Moines. The auditors had a large amount of responsibility and discretion to determine the manner in which their assigned tasks were to be completed. It was established office practice to pick up and deliver state employees at the airport. Iowa supervisors had been chauffeured from the airport on prior occasions. The State of Iowa received benefit from this practice. There were no set hours of work. The auditors did often times work evenings and on the weekends. They were encouraged by the department to do so, and even though they were not paid overtime, they were compensated with vacation days. At times the office was left unattended because no staff had been assigned to the Cleveland office. It was a two man office. The injury occurred as a result of a car collision as the claimant drove to the airport to pick up his co-worker and also to perform personal items of business at the end of his day. The claimant had intended to pick up his co-worker at the airport, transport the co-worker to the office garage, pick up the mail, go to the branch office to do some work and then go to the airport for a personal trip back to Iowa by plane. On the way to the airport to pick up the co-worker he was involved in a serious car accident. Citing the dual purpose doctrine the court found the injury compensable.
If, however, the work has had no part in creating the necessity for travel, if the journey would have gone forward though the business errand had been dropped, and would have been canceled upon failure of the private purpose though the business errand was undone, the travel is then personal, and personal the risk. Pohler v. T.W. Snow Construction Co., 239 Iowa 1018, 33 N.W. 2d 416 (1948) Generally speaking "if the work of the employee creates the necessity for travel, he is in the course of this employment, though he is serving at the same time some purpose of his own..." as quoted in Rubendall v. Brogan Const. Co., 113 N.W. 2d 265 (Iowa 1962)