- In addition to the protections available through federal employment laws, Iowa residents who are employed within the state are afforded certain rights that employers cannot impede. Employers who violate state employment laws may be liable for the damages they cause to their employees, and may be served civil sanctions and even criminal punishments if the state determines the employer's actions were willful and intentional. If an employee believes her employer violated her rights, she can report her suspicions to the Iowa Workforce Development agency for further investigation.
- Federal law does not require employers to hire the most qualified applicant for the job--they can choose whomever they so desire based on their own criteria. However, Iowa prohibits employers from hiring or not hiring employees for discriminatory reasons. Employers cannot choose or refuse applicants based on race, color, gender, religion, age, creed, sexual orientation, nationality or disability. Your employer also cannot ask you if you are married, if you have children or inquire as to your sexual preference.
- Iowa law sets a statewide minimum wage to which employers must adhere. As of 2010, the state minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. The exception to this is if the federal minimum wage exceeds Iowa's statewide minimum wage, at which point the federal minimum wage automatically prevails. This means your employer must pay you whichever minimum wage is higher at the time you perform the work. Employers cannot contract you for less than minimum wage, and any agreement into which you enter is automatically void. If your employer does pay you less than the prevailing minimum wage, your employer is liable to you for the difference between what he paid you and what you should have earned.
Note that Iowa law exempts tipped employees, such as restaurant servers and bartenders, from minimum wage. In these arrangements, you are entitled to the tipped minimum wage--$2.13 as of 2010--unless your total tips for the day do not average out to at least minimum wage for the hours you work. If this happens, your employer must make up the difference that day. (Ref #7) - Iowa law requires your employer to pay you no more than every 12 days for the work you perform, excluding Sundays and holidays. This means your employer must give you a paycheck once every two weeks for wages earned in the period directly preceding your payday. Exceptions include farm labor contractors, who must be paid at least monthly, bi-monthly or bi-weekly, depending on the specific nature of the work they perform.
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -