Opinion ID: 1290227
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: standard of review

Text: The standard by which we review decisions of administrative agencies is well-settled. We review an agency's decision for errors of law and do not exercise a de novo review. Kostelac v. Feldman's, Inc., 497 N.W.2d 853, 856 (Iowa 1993). When we review findings of the industrial commissioner, those findings carry the effect of a jury verdict. Id. We will reverse an agency's findings only if, after reviewing the record as a whole, we determine that substantial evidence does not support them. Iowa Code § 17A.19(8)(f) (1993); Sierra v. Employment Appeal Bd., 508 N.W.2d 719, 720 (Iowa 1993). Evidence is substantial if a reasonable mind would accept it as adequate to reach the conclusion at issue. Suluki v. Employment Appeal Bd., 503 N.W.2d 402, 404 (Iowa 1993). The mere fact that we could draw inconsistent conclusions from the same evidence does not mean that substantial evidence does not support the commissioner's determinations. Kostelac, 497 N.W.2d at 856; Reed v. Iowa Dep't of Transp., 478 N.W.2d 844, 846 (Iowa 1991). The ultimate question is not whether the evidence supports a different finding but whether it supports the findings the commissioner actually made. Reed, 478 N.W.2d at 846.