Labor & Employment

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 26, 2025

HF 538: A bill for an act relating to employment of persons with disabilities.

HF 538 requires Iowa employers to pay workers with disabilities at least the state minimum wage starting July 1, 2026, ending a federal exception that previously allowed lower wages for some disabled employees. It declares competitive and integrated employment (working alongside non-disabled peers in typical workplaces at or above minimum wage) as the preferred option for state programs helping people with disabilities find jobs. State agencies must implement this policy in their employment services, and the state will conduct outreach to help employers understand the new wage rule. Nonprofits operating sheltered workshops are temporarily exempt until July 1, 2027, after which the exemption ends.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentMandates state minimum wage for disabled workers, ending federal exception allowing lower pay, strengthening wage protections for vulnerable employees.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Minimum Wage Tags People with Disabilities

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 28, 2025

HSB 169: A bill for an act prohibiting the consideration of the deployment, implementation, or use of a motor carrier safety improvement when determining a person’s employment status.

This bill prohibits Iowa employers (specifically motor carriers like trucking companies) from using the deployment, implementation, or use of safety-related tools or practices as a factor when determining whether a worker is an employee, independent contractor, or jointly employed. It defines "motor carrier safety improvement" broadly to include devices, software, training, policies, or procedures designed to improve traffic safety compliance. The law explicitly blocks state agencies and courts from considering these safety measures in employment classification decisions under Iowa state law. This change directly affects how motor carriers classify their drivers and support staff for labor and tax purposes.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentPrevents motor carriers from misclassifying workers as independent contractors using safety tools, protecting employee rights and benefits under labor/employment law.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Gig Economy

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 28, 2025

HF 674: A bill for an act providing paid leave to state employees for volunteer activities.

HF 674 would allow Iowa state employees to take up to 16 hours of paid leave each year for volunteer activities without losing seniority, regular pay, benefits like health coverage, or accrued leave time. Employees would be paid at their regular hourly rate for the time taken off, and the leave would not count as state employment for workers' compensation or tort claims purposes. The bill directly affects all state employees in Iowa who wish to volunteer during work hours. It creates a specific policy change to support employee community involvement through structured paid leave. The bill was introduced on February 28, 2025, and referred to the Labor and Workforce committee.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentExpands paid leave benefits for state employees, enhancing workplace flexibility and worker welfare without reducing existing protections.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Paid Leave Public Employees

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 28, 2025

HF 661: A bill for an act relating to child care, including the child and dependent care tax credit, a child care workforce matching grant program, a small business child care tax credit, and state child care assistance, and including applicability provisions.

HF 661 creates a comprehensive child care package in Iowa. It expands the state's child and dependent care tax credit to match the federal credit amount (retroactive to 2025), establishes a state grant program to raise wages and provide health insurance/benefits for child care workers, and introduces a new small business tax credit for employers offering on-site or nearby child care (capping at $3,000 per employee annually, with a total $2 million annual limit). The bill also adjusts state child care assistance eligibility, raising required work hours for parents and increasing income thresholds to 265% (basic care) and 290% (special needs) of the federal poverty level, while requiring state reimbursement rates to match private-pay rates. These changes directly affect child care workers, small employers providing child care benefits, and low-income families seeking state assistance.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesExpands tax credits for families (matching federal) and small businesses, funds child care workforce through grants, aligning with tax relief and public service funding indicators.95% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill explicitly provides health insurance benefits for child care workers via state grant program, expanding coverage for a workforce segment.90% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentEstablishes state grant program to raise wages and provide health benefits for child care workers, directly advancing worker compensation and benefits.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Business Taxes Tax Credits

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 28, 2025

HF 673: A bill for an act requiring certain weekly workers’ compensation benefits to be calculated by including an employee’s overtime and premium pay, and to include an annual cost-of-living adjustment.

This bill changes how Iowa calculates weekly workers' compensation benefits for injured workers. It requires benefits to include overtime and premium pay in the calculation (previously excluded), and adds an annual cost-of-living adjustment based on Social Security's adjustment. These changes apply specifically to injured workers who earned overtime or premium pay before their injury. The law modifies existing calculation methods in Iowa Code §85.36 to ensure benefits reflect their actual pre-injury earnings and adjust for inflation.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentIncludes overtime/premium pay in compensation calculations (previously excluded) and adds annual COLA, expanding benefits for injured workers.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Labor Standards Workers' Compensation

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 28, 2025

HF 676: A bill for an act requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees based on pregnancy or childbirth and making penalties applicable.

HF 676 requires Iowa employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with pregnancy- or childbirth-related medical conditions upon the employee's request, supported by their healthcare provider's advice. It defines "reasonable accommodations" to include accessible workspaces, modified equipment, job restructuring, or adjusted schedules, but explicitly states these actions must not impose an undue hardship on the employer. The bill applies directly to employees experiencing pregnancy-related medical conditions and their employers in Iowa. Failure to provide these accommodations would trigger penalties under existing discrimination laws. The bill does not mandate specific accommodations but sets clear parameters for what qualifies as reasonable.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareRequires employer accommodations for pregnancy/childbirth health conditions with healthcare provider support, protecting employee health access and employment-based coverage.90% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentRequires employers to provide pregnancy-related accommodations, directly protecting workers' rights under labor and employment standards without undue hardship.95% confidence

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 28, 2025

HF 672: A bill for an act relating to mandatory subjects of negotiation for public employee collective bargaining and including applicability provisions.

HF 672 modifies Iowa's public employee collective bargaining rules by specifying mandatory negotiation topics. For bargaining units with at least 30% public safety employees (like police or firefighters), employers and unions must negotiate in good faith over wages, hours, health/safety, grievance procedures, and other agreed topics. For all other units, only base wages and mutually agreed topics require negotiation. The bill clarifies that negotiation does not compel agreement and removes prior language requiring narrow interpretation of mandatory subjects. It applies to bargaining under Iowa Code Chapter 20 starting from its effective date.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentMandates negotiation on wages, health/safety, and grievance procedures for public safety units, strengthening collective bargaining rights for workers in key employment areas.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Collective Bargaining Labor Standards Public Employees

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 28, 2025

HF 675: A bill for an act requiring employers to provide employees with meal periods and rest periods and providing penalties.

HF 675 requires Iowa employers to provide employees with specific meal and rest periods: a 30-minute meal break after 7 hours of work (taken between the 2nd-5th hours for 7+ hour shifts), and a 10-minute paid rest break every 4 hours. It exempts agricultural workers (excluding certain seed production tasks), employees covered by collective bargaining agreements, and situations where safety, emergencies, or workflow prevent breaks. Employers violating the law face civil penalties of up to $100 per violation, recoverable by the labor department. The bill directly affects most hourly and salaried workers in Iowa workplaces, excluding independent contractors and specific agricultural roles.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentMandates meal/rest breaks for workers, enhancing workplace safety and rights with civil penalties for violations. Exemptions don't override core protective intent.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Collective Bargaining Labor Standards Paid Leave

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 28, 2025

HF 686: A bill for an act providing for paid medical leave and providing penalties and remedies.

HF 686 requires Iowa employers to provide employees with at least 10 days of paid medical leave each year for health conditions affecting the employee, their child, parent, or spouse. Leave pay must equal the employee's regular earnings, calculated based on their typical pay period, with specific rules for variable income. Employers may request advance notice for foreseeable leave and written documentation from a healthcare provider within one week of returning from leave, consistent with privacy laws. The bill is enforced by Iowa's Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing under existing labor laws.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareRequires paid medical leave for health conditions, improving access to healthcare services and protecting employee health needs without income loss.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentMandates 10 days paid medical leave with full pay for employees, directly expanding worker benefits and protections under employment standards.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Paid Leave

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Mar 3, 2025

SSB 1189: A bill for an act relating to unemployment insurance taxes on employers.

This bill changes how Iowa employers pay unemployment insurance taxes. It simplifies the contribution rate system by reducing the number of rate tiers from eight to four, based on an employer's historical claims history ("benefit ratio rank"). The bill also modifies how the "current reserve fund ratio" is calculated, removing a $150 million addition to fund reserves and changing the calculation period. Employers who save money due to these changes must use those savings for employee salaries, benefits, or seasonal unemployment alternatives. The bill directly affects all Iowa employers contributing to the state's unemployment fund.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill simplifies unemployment tax structure (reducing tiers) and modifies fund calculations, promoting fiscal efficiency per Budget & Taxes topic indicators.85% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentMandates employers use unemployment tax savings for employee salaries, directly advancing wage-related labor interests.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Unemployment

Track