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Getting Clear on Compiling Random Drug Testing Pools in Iowa

Jackson Lewis — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 00:37:15 +0000

The Iowa Supreme Court recently clarified that a compliant random drug testing program under Iowa law requires excluding those who are not scheduled to

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Iowa Erases ‘Gender Identity’ from Its Civil Rights Law: Employers Still Obligated Under Federal Title VII

Jackson Lewis — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 21:58:38 +0000

Iowa Governor Signs Law Making State the First to Remove Gender Identity Protections From Civil Rights Code

Ogletree Deakins — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 17:01:27 +0000

On February 28, 2025, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed legislation making the state the first to remove antidiscrimination protections for gender identity from its civil rights code.

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Des Moines Passes ‘Ban the Box’ Law Prohibiting Criminal Inquiries on Job Applications

Ogletree Deakins — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 16:15:00 +0000

On November 15, 2021, the city of Des Moines, Iowa, passed a “ban-the-box” law that will limit employer inquiries and background checks into an applicant’s criminal history until after a conditional offer of employment. Though the law was passed and has already taken effect, it has received little fanfare and

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Iowa Strengthens Medical and Religious Exemptions From Vaccine Policies, Permits Individuals Discharged for Refusing Vaccines to Qualify for Unemployment Benefits

Ogletree Deakins — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 08:04:00 +0000

On October 29, 2021, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed House File 902 into law, a measure that requires Iowa employers with mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policies to waive their requirements for employees who seek vaccination exemptions for medical or religious reasons. The law also permits individuals to qualify for unemployment insurance

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Iowa Supreme Court Examines Private Sector Drug-Free Workplaces Statute

Ogletree Deakins — Sat, 18 Sep 2021 01:10:00 +0000

Since it was passed in 1998, Iowa’s Drug-Free Workplaces Act has been one of the most comprehensive and complex drug-testing statutes in the United States. On June 25, 2021, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a pair of decisions—Dix v. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. and Woods v. Charles Gabus Ford, Inc.—that

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Iowa Supreme Court: City’s “Ban the Box” Ordinance Is Preempted by State Law, But Not Entirely

Jackson Lewis — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 20:20:00 +0000

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that Iowa state law preempts the City of Waterloo’s restriction on employers’ use of applicants’ criminal record history when making hiring decisions. Other aspects of the ordinance, however, remain legal and enforceable. The case is Iowa Ass’n of Bus. & Indus. v. City

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Iowa Supreme Court Clarifies Requirements for Employee Drug Testing

Littler — Fri, 16 Jul 2021 19:00:00 +0000

In two opinions filed on June 25, 2021, the Iowa Supreme Court clarified the state’s complex employee drug-testing requirements. The opinions shed light on key issues, such as safety-sensitive designations, notice requirements, and compliance standards under Iowa Code section 730.5. Employers with Iowa-specific drug-testing policies should take time to

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Iowa Supreme Court Reverses $1.5 Million Verdict Against Former Governor in Sexual Orientation Discrimination Suit

Jackson Lewis — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 20:25:38 +0000

After nearly a decade of litigation, in Godrey v. State of Iowa et al, Case No. 19-1954 (June 30, 2021), the Iowa Supreme Court reversed a jury verdict granting $1.5 million in damages and $3.1 million in attorneys’ fees to the former Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner, based on his

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Seasonal Employee May Pursue Disability-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim, Court Rules

Jackson Lewis — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 18:01:00 +0000

Reversing a district court’s grant of summary judgment, the Iowa Court of Appeals held an employee presented sufficient evidence for her disability-based hostile work environment claim to proceed to trial, despite the relatively short period of her employment. Munoz v. Adventure Lands of America, Inc., 2021 BL 37057 (Iowa Ct.

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Iowa Governor Issues Proclamation With Updated COVID-19 Measures

Ogletree Deakins — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 21:50:25 +0000

On November 16, 2020, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds issued a public health proclamation imposing public health measures on a variety of employers to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. The Iowa Department of Public Health also issued a brief summary of the proclamation. The proclamation went into effect on 12:01

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Iowa Drug Testing Statute Provides Exclusive Remedy For Violations; Separate Wrongful Discharge Claim Is Barred

Jackson Lewis — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 05:00:00 +0000

Addressing a matter of first impression, the Iowa Supreme Court determined that “when a civil cause of action is provided by the legislature in the same statute that creates the public policy to be enforced, the civil cause of action is the exclusive remedy for violation of that statute.” Ferguson v. Exide Technologies, Inc., et […]

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Iowa Amends Tough Drug Testing Law to Lower Standard for Positive Alcohol Tests

Jackson Lewis — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Beginning July 1, 2018, private employers in Iowa may take action based on an employee’s alcohol test result of .02 grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath. The lower standard was enacted under a 2018 amendment to the Iowa drug testing law (Iowa Code Section 730.5). Prior to the amendment, employers could […]

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Iowa Drug Testing Law Amended; Lawsuits on the Rise

Jackson Lewis — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Although Iowa’s drug testing statute was enacted more than 30 years ago, it is still considered one of the most difficult laws in the country for purposes of employer compliance.

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Sexual Harassment Case Costs Iowa Taxpayers $2.2 Million

Jackson Lewis — Fri, 25 Aug 2017 05:00:00 +0000

A former staffer for the Iowa Senate Republican Caucus in Iowa has been awarded $2.2 million in damages for retaliation that will be paid from Iowa’s already-floundering general fund. Kirsten Anderson was terminated from her position as communications director for the caucus in 2012. She alleged the termination was in retaliation for her complaints about […]

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