In the recent case of Jahnke v. Deere & Co. (May 18, 2018), the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that a Deere employee who was repatriated to the United States as discipline for engaging in sexual misconduct while on assignment at a Deere factory in China did not state a claim for discrimination under the Iowa Civil Rights Act (ICRA)

Jahnke sued Deere in Iowa State Court, alleging the decision to repatriate him from China to a lower paying job in Waterloo, Iowa was based on his age, sex, and national origin.    While on assignment as the manager of a Deere factory in China, Jahnke engaged in sexual relationships with two younger, Chinese women who were in his “span of control”, which violated Deere’s policies.   Jahnke claimed Deere violated the Iowa Civil Rights Act because his discipline was harsher than that imposed on the female employees with whom he had the relationships.Continue Reading Iowa Civil Rights Act Protections Do Not Apply to Ex-Pat Employee

A divided panel of the Iowa Court of Appeals recently ruled that the rules of construction in the ADA as amended in 2008 apply to the Iowa Civil RIghts Act when determining what constitutes a disability (Knudsen v. Tiger Tots Community Child Care Center, No. 2-1011, 1/9/13). Although Knudsen is a public accommodation and not an employment case

Never has a Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling in an employment dispute generated such strong reaction, not only locally, but internationally.   The case, of course, is Nelson v. Knight, the December 21, 2012 ruling involving the Fort Dodge dentist who was irresistibly attracted to one of his dental assistants. Dr. Knight’s wife, who also worked in

Age discrimination cases tried in the Southern District of Iowa continue to generate controversy over how juries should be instructed about the plaintiff’s burden of proof.   First it was Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., tried in the Southern District and ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2009.  Then it was

Last week the Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling in a pregnancy discrimination case that decided three issues significant to employers and employment litigators.  

The first issue in DeBoom v. Raining Rose, Inc. involved whether an employee must actually be pregnant at the time of a termination to be protected by the Iowa Civil Rights Act’s