Bill Text: IA SF485 | 2021-2022 | 89th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees based on pregnancy or childbirth and providing civil penalties.(Formerly SSB 1029.)

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-25 - Subcommittee recommends amendment and passage. [SF485 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2021-SF485-Introduced.html

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Senate File 485 - Introduced
SENATE FILE 485
BY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND
BUSINESS RELATIONS
(SUCCESSOR TO SSB 1029)
A BILL FOR
An Act requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations
to employees based on pregnancy or childbirth and providing
civil penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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S.F. 485
Section 1. Section 84A.5, subsection 4, Code 2021, is
amended to read as follows:
4. The division of labor services is responsible for the
administration of the laws of this state under chapters 88 ,
88A , 88B , 89 , 89A , 89B , 90A , 91 , 91A , 91C , 91D , 91E , 91F, 92 ,
and 94A , and sections 73A.21 and 85.68 . The executive head of
the division is the labor commissioner, appointed pursuant to
section 91.2 .
Sec. 2. Section 91.4, subsection 2, Code 2021, is amended
to read as follows:
2. The director of the department of workforce development,
in consultation with the labor commissioner, shall, at the
time provided by law, make an annual report to the governor
setting forth in appropriate form the business and expense of
the division of labor services for the preceding year, the
number of remedial actions taken under chapter 89A , the number
of disputes or violations processed by the division and the
disposition of the disputes or violations, and other matters
pertaining to the division which are of public interest,
together with recommendations for change or amendment of the
laws in this chapter and chapters 88 , 88A , 88B , 89 , 89A , 89B ,
90A , 91A , 91C , 91D , 91E , 91F, 92 , and 94A , and section 85.68 ,
and the recommendations, if any, shall be transmitted by the
governor to the first general assembly in session after the
report is filed.
Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 91F.1 Reasonable accommodations to
employees —— pregnancy or childbirth.
1. An employer shall provide reasonable accommodations
to an employee based on medical conditions related to the
employee’s pregnancy or childbirth if the employee so requests
with the advice of the employee’s health care provider.
2. For purposes of this section, “reasonable accommodations”
means actions which would permit an employee with a medical
condition relating to the employee’s pregnancy or childbirth to
perform in a reasonable manner the activities involved in the
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S.F. 485
employee’s specific occupation and include but are not limited
to the provision of an accessible worksite, acquisition or
modification of equipment, job restructuring, and a modified
work schedule. “Reasonable accommodations” does not mean any
action that would impose an undue hardship on the business of
the employer from whom the action is requested.
Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 91F.2 Penalties.
1. An employer who violates section 91F.1 is subject to a
civil penalty of up to seven hundred fifty dollars.
Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 91F.3 Duties and authority of the
commissioner.
1. The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement and
enforce this chapter and shall provide exemptions from the
provisions of this chapter where reasonable.
2. In order to carry out the purposes of this chapter,
the commissioner or the commissioner’s representative, upon
presenting appropriate credentials to the owner, operator, or
agent in charge, may:
a. Inspect employment records relating to the total number
of employees and pregnant employees or employees recovering
from childbirth, and the services provided to pregnant
employees or employees recovering from childbirth.
b. Interview an employer, owner, operator, agent, or
employee, during working hours or at other reasonable times.
Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 91F.4 Collective bargaining
agreements.
Compliance with the minimum standards required in this
chapter shall not be subject to or considered in collective
bargaining.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
This bill requires employers to provide reasonable
accommodations to employees based on pregnancy or childbirth.
The bill requires an employer to provide reasonable
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S.F. 485
accommodations to an employee based on medical conditions
related to the employee’s pregnancy or childbirth if the
employee requests reasonable accommodations with the advice of
the employee’s health care provider.
The bill defines “reasonable accommodations” as actions
which would permit an employee with a medical condition
relating to the employee’s pregnancy or childbirth to
perform in a reasonable manner the activities involved in
the employee’s specific occupation and include but are not
limited to the provision of an accessible worksite, acquisition
or modification of equipment, job restructuring, and a
modified work schedule. The bill provides that “reasonable
accommodations” does not mean any action that would impose an
undue hardship on the business of the employer from whom the
action is requested.
The bill provides that an employer who violates the bill is
subject to a civil penalty of up to $750. The commissioner
shall adopt rules to enforce the bill and provide exemptions
where reasonable. The commissioner or commissioner’s
representative upon presenting appropriate credentials to
the person in charge may inspect employment records relating
to the total number of employees and pregnant employees or
employees recovering from childbirth and the services provided
to pregnant employees or employees recovering from childbirth,
as well as interview an employer, operator, owner, agent, or
employee during working hours or at other reasonable times.
The bill provides that compliance with minimum standards
required by the bill shall not be subject to or considered in
collective bargaining.
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