Essentials of Iowa Employment Law
Before discussing specific employment law issues, it is important to discuss the fundamental concepts of employment law. In doing so, what is most important is understanding the general justifications for employment law: The rights and responsibilities of employers are not limited to the written policies prepared by companies . Rather, they are a combination of those policies, common law principles developed over time, and statutes enacted by the Iowa Legislature and federal Congress. In most cases, there is a legal justification for the various rules governing relationships between employers and employees. This section will discuss each justification: statutory, common law, and policy.
Hiring and Anti-Discrimination
Iowa employment law handbook authorizes employers to hire, fire, and promote based on their own criteria, as long as they do not run afoul of various laws and regulations relating to targeted groups. Accordingly, employers generally have the right to set their own hiring criteria and choose whom to hire based on those criteria, even though those criteria may have a disparate impact on protected classes.
A number of federal civil rights laws prohibit an employer from discriminating against applicants or employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, and veteran status. Several state statutes and the Iowa Constitution provide additional protection to specific groups of applicants and employees. Employers should be aware, for example, that current and prospective employees are protected by the state constitution against political and religious discrimination. Under the Iowa Civil Rights Act, employers are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of an applicant’s or employee’s sexual orientation (a measure recently approved in this state by a large margin of voters). Likewise, Iowa law prohibits discrimination on the basis of an applicant or employee’s gender identity. The law also extends to applicants and employees who are veterans or members of the national guard or other reserve forces of the U.S. Armed Forces. State law further prohibits an employer from making hiring decisions based on the age of a worker who is at least 40 years of age.
State law also protects an applicant or employee from discrimination on the basis of a specific physical characteristic, such as height or weight, unless such a characteristic constitutes a valid occupational qualification. For example, an employer violates the law if it refuses to hire a 5′2″ man because it only hires models for its clothing line who are at least 5′5″ — it cannot require all employees to be at least 5′5″ tall. However, in hiring actors for movies or TV shows, employers can also lawfully consider height, weight, and other physical parameters if they are required to maintain the "look" of the show.
Employers should always ensure that their actions do not have an adverse effect on a member of a protected class. Avoiding potential discrimination claims requires careful hiring practices. To that end, employers should be guided by general principles, rather than specific rules: Evaluate candidates based on their ability to perform the specific job for which they are applying. While you cannot ask questions about an applicant’s disability, you can ask questions about his or her ability to perform the job. Don’t ask questions that assume the applicant has a disability (i.e., "How long has your asthma prevented you from working?"). If you ask a question that could call a disability into question (e.g., "There may be some long hours required for this job, do you have any problems working late?") you cannot avoid liability if the applicant has a disability by only asking it of those applicants who are more than 40 years old.
Wage and Hour Issues
Iowa Minimum Wage Laws
Wisely, Iowa law doesn’t require that an employer pay a minimum wage above the required federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. In addition, no local municipality or county is authorized to impose a minimum wage other than the state minimum wage (but they are free to impose other laws).
Important note: Preemption of local minimum wages does NOT mean that all counties and cities in Iowa are required to follow the federal minimum wage for all purposes (e.g., minimum wage, exempt status under FLSA).
Iowa Overtime Laws
Under the Iowa Wage Payment Collection Act, overtime generally must be paid at 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek…unless:
1. the employee is exempt from overtime pay under the Iowa Code.
2. the "alternative workweek." An alternative workweek allows an employer to establish an alternative workweek for its employees that converts the 40-hour week to 32- or 48-hour week within a defined time frame that also eliminates the requirement to overtime pay for the additional hours worked. An alternative workweek schedule can only be established if approved by and agreed to by a majority of employees in single work unit at the worksite. The majority vote must be obtained on or after July 1, 2016. To be approved, the alternative workweek schedule can only be modified or terminated with the majority vote of the employees.
Paid Meal and Rest Breaks
Iowa law is more generous than the federal wage and hour law with respect to meal and rest breaks. Notably, though, State law does not impose a stricter break standard than the FLSA.
The Iowa Division of Labor requires that employers provide a 20-minute rest period to employees for every shift lasting over 5 consecutive hours. These breaks should be paid, and no more than two will be required in a work day.
For "shifts" of more than 8 consecutive hours, employers may provide employees with an unpaid, uninterruptible 30-minute meal period between the third and fifth hour of the shift.
Note: City or county laws may establish different wage and hour requirements.
Leave and Benefits Entitlements
Iowa employees are entitled to a number of different forms of leave and benefits. For example, Iowa recognizes the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the state Family and Medical Leave Act, Iowa Code. Ann. § 216.6. Both laws provide for certain leave entitlements applicable to larger employers (50 employees or more for the FMLA, and 35 employees or more for the state act).
Both the federal and state family and medical leave acts provide for leaves of absence related to: birth and care of a child; adoption and foster care; serious health conditions; and for care of a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition. The two laws also provide for key employee exceptions for employees whose loss of employment would substantially disrupt operations of the employer.
Pursuant to the Iowa Family and Medical Leave Act of 1990 (IFMLA), employees are entitled up to eight hours of leave per year for "reason of emergency medical care" because of an accident, personal injury or illness that requires treatment or diagnosis by a licensed medical service provider. Iowa Code Ann. § 216.9. In order to take such leave, the employee must provide notice of the need for leave as soon as practicable, in the same fashion as required for FMLA leave. The leave is paid or unpaid, depending on the employer’s policy for such leave. However, IFMLA leave is not in addition to leave provided under the FMLA; rather, the FMLA governs whether such leave is available.
Iowa law requires employers with at least four employees to provide unpaid leave of absence from work in order to participate in school conference or activities or to visit with a health care provider. Iowa Code Ann. § 216.9A(1). Employees must notify employers of the need to attend a school conference no less than seven days prior to the date of the absence. Employers may limit absences to one day per month and no more than two times per calendar year. Leave under this law is unpaid.
An employee who is the subject of certain domestic abuse protection orders and who works in a business with four or more employees is entitled to receive up to eight hours of leave per incident or a total of 24 hours of leave per calendar year for purposes of seeking medical attention, counseling, psychiatric care or legal assistance. Iowa Code Ann. § 216.9B. Leave under this provision is paid or unpaid, depending on the employer’s policy.
Health and Safety
Employment law requires employers to provide a workplace that is free from recognized hazards for employees. Employers subject to Iowa’s Occupational Safety and Health Act (Acts): Industry, Sales & Service, or Construction Industries) must comply with OSHA standards, rules, and regulations. OSHA standards are designed to protect employees from unsafe and unhealthy work conditions. OSHA standards can be found in the following categories: poison and poisonous substances; flammable and combustible liquids; machines and machinery guarding; silica; the use of tools and machinery; administration regulations; airlines and compressed gas cylinders; carbon monoxide; noise; personal protective and life saving equipment; ramps and runways; ventilation; driving and operating road vehicles; protection from water; construction and demolition operations; boilers; steel erection; dredging and slurring operations; conveyers; powered platforms and scaffolding; cross and under passages; pile driving; trenching and excavation; personal flotation devices; fire extinguishers; air quality; radar; construction; temporary places of employment; and other equipment and performance standards. Since Iowa has adopted the Federal OSHA standards , amendments to these standards will be issued by Iowa’s Division of Labor Services Office of OSHA as they are published by the Federal OSHA.
Most employers are subject only to occasional inspections of the workplace. Only those employers who are either involved in specific high risk industries where accidents are more likely, or those employers who have a larger number of employees are subject to higher risk workplaces, or are cited for violations during inspections – are subject to repeated inspections for at least a five-year period from the date of the last citation.
Penalties can result from OSHA inspections. The majority of the citations issued are classified as serious or repeat serious. Issued citations can result in fines ranging from $50-$7000 for serious violations, $125-$7000 for repeat and failure to correct serious violations, and $7000 for willful violations. Employers can contest fines. However, employers should be aware that OSHA has substantial latitude in issuing citations, which must be followed. Regardless if an employer does contest the citation, OSHA will eventually impose a fine. Moreover, if the inspection results in substantial and/or repetitive violations, OSHA will return to inspect the employer to be sure that the employer is no longer committing the hazardous activity.
Resolving Employment Claims
Iowa public employees automatically have the right to bring their employment dispute to the Bureau of Labor in the event that mediation fails to resolve the matter. Such an arbitration hearing is held at the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board offices in Des Moines or at another agreed upon location. After the close of the hearing process, the arbitrators issue a decision. This decision is final and binding upon the parties unless it is reversed by the Public Employment Relations Board or a court.
Contested complaints filed with the Iowa Office of Consumer Advocate are also referred to a resolution alternative process. Once a hearing is held, a decision is reached and published in the OCA’s Administrative Code ruling section.
Disputes may also be resolved through private, confidential proceedings such as a grievance arbitration. The decision in a grievance arbitration must be followed according to the provisions of the applicable contract. Typically, the parties present relevant witnesses and exhibits at the hearing. The entire hearing generally takes one or two days. The arbitrator then has 30 days in which to render his or her decision.
Termination and Unemployment Insurance
Iowa is an "at will" employment state, which means that either the employer or employee has the right to terminate employment. Both employer and employee have rights regarding termination of employment.
Under Iowa law, if an employer terminates an employee for misconduct, that employee may be disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits. Iowa Code section 96.5(2) sets forth that a quit will not disqualify an employee from receiving unemployment benefits "due to a voluntary quit attributable to the following conditions":
The employer may seek an exclusion from unemployment insurance payments if the employer can show that the employee was terminated for "misconduct." Iowa Code section 96.5(2)a. defines "misconduct" as:
…proven acts or behavior of such a nature that they constitute a material breach of the contractual obligations of the individual to the employer or of the contractual obligations of the employer to the individual under the employee’s contract of hire in force at the time the individual was separated from employment…
Iowa law also provides that to constitute misconduct , the act or acts must be "deliberate and intentional" and "be done in disregard of the standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of employees . . . ."
In the above statute, the phrase "standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of employees" means the standards of behavior which the employer communicated to the employee on notice contained in the employee handbook or in a documented verbal warning to the employee. See Antelope v. Iowa Department of Employment Services, 360 N.W.2d 829, 831 (Iowa 1985).
In sum, to disqualify an employee from receiving unemployment benefits in the State of Iowa after the employer has made the decision to terminate employment, the employee must be terminated for misconduct as set forth above.