One of the first employment lawsuits related to COVID-19 was filed in Iowa last week.  A former Dallas County Jail employee alleges he was fired because he called a Department of Corrections “hotline” to report concerns about working with a colleague infected with the virus.   Jail employees were informed one of their co-employees tested positive

Iowa employers should pay attention to a recent ruling from a New Jersey Appellate Court , Wild v. Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc. 3/27/2019.   The Wild opinion is the most recent case addressing the rights of employees who use medical marijuana.  Although the Court was addressing the question under New Jersey law, an Iowa court

In the last two sessions, the Iowa legislature has amended Iowa’s private sector drug testing law to give employers additional tools to combat employee substance abuse.   In last year’s session, the legislature amended the law to allow employers to use hair follicle testing for pre-employment drug screens.  Prior to the amendment, the law allowed only testing using urine, blood, or oral fluid.

In the 2018 session, the legislature again amended the law to lower the threshold at which an employer may take action based upon an employee’s positive alcohol test.    Effective July 1, an employer may take action if the employee has a blood alcohol concentration of at least .02% .  The existing standard is .04%.Continue Reading Iowa Legislature Toughens Drug Testing Law, But Legal Risks for Employers Remain

Last week, the co-founder of a Minnesota based organization called “Gender Justice” accused the Iowa football team of “pink shaming” its opponents and engaging in what she calls “cognitive bias.”    Jill Gaulder, who also happens to be a former UI professor, claims the infamous pink visitor’s locker room at Kinnick Stadium is “sexist”, “homophobic”,

Earlier this week Iowa District Court Judge Robert Blink granted judgment for the State of Iowa in a high profile class action race discrimination lawsuit.   (Pippen v. State of Iowa, link here). The plaintiffs alleged that 37 departments in the State’s executive branch maintained hiring and promotion practices that had an adverse

Wal-Mart v. Dukes, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, could derail a class action race discrimination case against the State of Iowa that has been pending since 2007 (See our posts here and here on the Wal-Mart case).    The Iowa case involves 32 named plaintiffs who claim the State maintained hiring

On January 27, the Iowa House passed HF 681, known as the "Iowa Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act".   

There is already a Federal WARN Act, which requires most employers with 100 or more employees to provide at least 60 days notice to their employees of a mass layoff or plant shutdown.  Failure to file