Opinion ID: 1255163
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Heading: Claim under Iowa Code Section 85.51.

Text: Yolanda and her five children claim Iowa Code section 85.31(5), which mandates that an employer pay fifty percent of a nonresident alien dependents' awarded benefits to the Second Injury Fund, conflicts with Iowa Code section 85.51. Section 85.51 reads: In case a deceased employee for whose injury or death compensation is payable leaves surviving an alien dependent or dependents residing outside the United States, the consul general, consul, vice consul, or consular agent of the nation of which the said dependent or dependents are citizens, or the duly appointed representative of such consular official resident in the state of Iowa, shall be regarded as the exclusive representative of such dependent or dependents, and said consular officials or their representatives shall have the same rights and powers in all matters of compensation which said nonresident aliens would have if resident in the state of Iowa. Iowa Code § 85.51. Yolanda claims the last phrase in section 85.51 gives nonresident aliens the same rights as residents and is contradictory to the fifty percent reduction in benefits mandated by section 85.31(5). It is well-settled law that the legislature did not clearly vest the workers' compensation commissioner with the power to interpret the workers' compensation statutes. Schadendorf v. Snap-On Tools Corp., 757 N.W.2d 330, 334 (Iowa 2008). Thus, we do not give the commissioner's interpretation of law deference and can substitute our own judgment as to the interpretation of a statute. Id. Our primary goal in statutory construction is to determine legislative intent. In re Estate of Thomann, 649 N.W.2d 1, 4 (Iowa 2002). When interpreting a statute, we assess the entire statute, not just isolated words or phrases. State v. Young, 686 N.W.2d 182, 184-85 (Iowa 2004). We also presume the legislature included all parts of the statute for a purpose, so we will avoid reading the statute in a way that would make any portion of it redundant or irrelevant. In re Estate of Thomann, 649 N.W.2d at 4. Where a general statute and a special statute are relevant, we will attempt to construe the statutes to give effect to both. Id. If we are unable to give effect to both, the provisions of the more specific statute control. Id. We disagree with Yolanda and her five children's claim that the statutes conflict. First, section 85.31(5) is more specific than section 85.51 as to the benefits payable to nonresident alien dependents. Second, section 85.51 appears to relate to administrative problems that could arise in the course of a proceeding, not the actual amount of compensation due to nonresident alien dependents. If we hold the statutes conflict, the general language of section 85.51 cannot trump the specific language contained in section 85.31(5) because it would render section 85.31(5) mere surplusage. We can avoid construing these statutes as conflicting by determining section 85.51 applies to the administrative process of the workers' compensation statutes and not to the substantive provisions regarding benefits and compensation. That way, we give effect to both statutes. Consequently, we do not see a conflict between sections 85.31(5) and 85.51 and hold section 85.31(5) controls the amount of the benefits payable to nonresident alien dependents.