Key Aspects of Iowa Maternity Leave Law
Iowa does not have specific state-maternity leave laws to supplement the federal laws. Although there is no Iowa law requiring employers to provide maternity or parental leave, employers are required to follow state and federal anti-discrimination laws, including the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. At the same time, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") is followed in the state.
Under the FMLA, which only applies to companies with 50 or more employees , employees are entitled to 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period for the birth or care of a newborn child, or the placement with the employee of a child with a serious health condition. The 12 weeks of leave under the FMLA is job protected, meaning the employee is entitled to a similar job or the same position once their family leave is over. In addition, employees can choose to use earned and unused PTO or sick time concurrent with FMLA leave.
Who is Eligible for Maternity Leave in Iowa
Maternity leave in Iowa is a protected leave afforded to moms and sometimes dads with the birth of a newborn child. Protected maternity leave in Iowa is found in both federal and state law, and which law applies to you will depend on your individual situation.
In order to qualify for any maternity leave under federal law (the Family and Medical Leave Act, or "FMLA"), you must meet three requirements. The first two requirements are that your employer must have at least 50 employees who reside within a 75-mile radius of your worksite, and you must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months prior to the leave date. This 12-month period need not be consecutive; if you’ve taken other leave under FMLA during the past 12 months, that time can count towards the 12-month period. The final requirement, and the one that usually gets employers in trouble, is that you must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12-month period leading up to the date for which you are taking leave.
In other words, a new parent who has taken extended time off for family illness in the past year very often fails to qualify for FMLA leave because the prior time off counts towards the threshold hours. This is an additional trap for employees who have used intermittent leave for illness. Even if they didn’t consume huge amounts of paid time off, the unpaid time off counts against the FMLA amount, so these employees can spend years of service working their tails off and still not qualify for maternity leave.
Iowa’s own law, the Iowa Pregnancy Accommodations Law, provides for a right to leave in limited circumstances even if the employee does not qualify for FMLA leave. The Iowa law applies only to childbirth, and not to other equally hard situations such as adoption, surrogate birth, or a health condition that restricts pregnancy activity. Under the Iowa law, leave is a reasonable accommodation for conditions that restrict pregnancy activities, including restrictions on lifting weight, standing for long periods, etc. That means that an employer must allow unpaid leave where necessary. There is no minimum size employer requirement for this leave. There is also no paid leave requirement, nor is there any requirement that employees have worked at least 12 months, or at least 1,250 hours, consecutively or in a rolling fashion.
However, employees do need to meet the general requirements of being able to return to work and to do the job properly with or without reasonable accommodation. In this way the Iowa law is like the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires the employer to accommodate a disability but not to provide leave or to pay for medical bills. There is no explicit duty to replace the employee’s pay must be replaced during the leave. Fortunately during pregnancy the employee will still receive health insurance benefits.
This law is new, and unfortunately the interpretation in Iowa has been far from settled or clear. The Department of Labor gives no guidance to employers. We must treat each leave request on a case-by-case basis, and we must evaluate three legal standards: FMLA, ADA and Iowa law, because leaves are often intermittent.
If you have another type of leave, such as vacation, paternal leave under a collective bargaining agreement, or simply a business need to provide for continuity of service, you should take appropriate steps to ensure that both management and coworkers are prepared for the leave before that leave begins. Taking care of the logistics is a smart idea for everyone!
Rights and Protections During Maternity Leave
Under federal law, maternity leave is protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA grants employees of covered employers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period to care for a new child. While FMLA maternity leave is unpaid, employees are generally allowed to use accrued paid leave so long as the employer’s policy allows this to occur.
This 12-week maternity leave can be taken all at once or spread out over a longer period depending on the mother and child’s needs. The FMLA also protects parents who deliver a child as well as parents who adopt a child or who receive a foster child into their home. Basically, the FMLA requires all covered employers to provide eligible employees with maternity leave upon request, but there are certain requirements that must be met: (1) the employee must work for a covered employer; (2) the employee must have worked for that employer for at least 12 months; (3) the employee must have worked 1,250 hours during the past 12 months; and (4) the employee must work at a location in which 50 or more employees are employed within 75 miles.
Many public and private employers in the U.S. have more generous maternity leave policies than compared to the FMLA’s minimum requirements. If an employer has a policy that is more generous than the FMLA, then the employer must follow their policy. For example, if an employer provides 16 weeks of maternity leave in their policy, the employer-employee relationship will be governed by the policy and not the maximum 12 weeks of unpaid leave provided by the FMLA.
For employers who provide less maternity leave than what is provided for by the FMLA, the employer must provide the employee with at least the 12 weeks of unpaid leave. In general, however, employers cannot provide greater benefits for one employee than they do other employees. Such is the case when it comes to maternity leave under the FMLA. Employers are prohibited from providing paid maternity leave for one employee while denying paid maternity leave to others based on gender. This may be a violation of the Equal Pay Act and may expose the employer to legal liability. In addition, while employers may not charge an employee on maternity leave during the 12-week leave, they may have the ability to require the employee to pay their share of their insurance premiums during their leave.
Paid Maternity Leave in Iowa
Paid Time Off Options for Iowa Families
Iowa maternity leave laws do not guarantee paid time off. Fortunately, certain options may be available to help Iowa moms and dads get through those first sleepless weeks following the birth or adoption of a child.
Employer Sponsored Paid Maternity Leave
Whether an Iowa employer provides paid maternity leave depends on the company. There are no laws requiring companies to provide paid leave in Iowa. Some employers offer paid time off (PTO) or sick leave. PTO is time that can be used in any way the employee chooses, such as vacation days, sick leave, personal days or holidays. Some employers may have policies to allow PTO specifically for maternity leave. Other employers offer short-term disability insurance, which may cover a portion of your salary for a defined period after you have your baby. Benefits are generally 60% to 80% of your regular compensation. Parents should check with their human resource departments and/or employee handbooks to determine what type of leave is available.
Family Medical Leave
Although federal family medical leave laws do not require paid leave, some Iowa employers offer paid time off to new mothers and fathers. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to private employers with more than 50 employees within a 75-mile radius. If eligible, you can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for birth and caring for a newborn (within the first year of birth). Paid leave requires a policy or an agreement from your employer, such as a short-term disability plan, PTO or a maternity leave benefit. If not, parents can use vacation or accrued paid sick leave. FMLA does not apply to smaller employers, which means moms and dads at those companies may not be entitled to unpaid leave. Iowa does not have a state family and medical leave law, however, many Iowa employers voluntarily provide job protected leave to their employees.
Short-Term Disability Insurance
Short-term disability is a form of insurance designed to cover between one and six months of a disability, such as maternity leave. Payroll deductions create insurance coverage that allows employees to get back a portion of their pay for a set period of time. This coverage is subject to a waiting period, ranging from a few days to a couple of weeks. The benefit amount and length of time it covers varies by insurer and policy. Short-term disability insurance is available through private insurers. Employers may also offer this benefit free of charge. Employees should check with their human resource departments or company handbooks to see if this option is available to them.
Unemployment Insurance
Unemployment insurance provides temporary wage replacement for individuals who are unemployed and meet certain eligibility requirements. It is not available to employees because they are having a baby. However, if you are laid off due to a decrease in business, you may qualify. Iowa is not required to pay disability benefits. However, it provides temporary total disability benefits to qualifying workers who are unable to work as the result of a non-work-related injury or disabling condition. Certain restrictions and limitations apply and vary by circumstance.
Coming Back After Maternity Leave
Returning to Work After Maternity Leave in Iowa
Even if you have your leave and time off approach planned out, as all of us lawyers love to do, sometimes things change. Your maternity leave can go longer than expected. You can face a number of obstacles in returning and doing the job the way it will need to be done long-term.
Coincidentally, I am typing this out for a client I care about today. She has a newborn and I will happily work with her to make that transition easier for her and the employer.
Like the return from vacation or leave, communication is key. An employee should always communicate with their employer and the employer should keep everyone on the same page, so that each knows what is going on.
If a company does not have written return to work procedures, the employee should initiate the conversation so that the employer and the employee can develop a plan together. If you as the employer do not have a written procedure, ask your employment law attorney about one, before it’s too late.
A smooth transition involves the consideration of many factors. First, you need to consider how long the employee’s maternity leave lasted, whether part of it was paid, and whether it was taken before or after delivery. Also, between the employee and employer, they need to consider whether the employee may have had some medical complications. Employers often think it is "just a birth and the time off becomes much like a vacation." Yet, a C-Section can add weeks or months to a maternity leave and can impact the ability to lift and tension in the rest of the body for the next year (at least). My sister was not released by her doctor to do anything physical until my niece was nearly a year old.
An additional point: the new child’s need for your time does not end when you return to work the first day. My sister spent four days a week with her daughter when she was home and spent the other three days with her daughter by video . Yet, the video did not get the same attention that being with her did.
Many new parents require a bit of flexibility in order to feel comfortable enough to rejoin the work force with a newborn at home. If the environment is not conducive, they often feel guilty about not giving their all.
Returning to work for an employee with a newborn is sometimes awkward. Sometimes, the new employee "looks tired" when he/she returns. Another mother I know — an ER doctor — said that she cried every day for lunch as she left her baby behind when she went to work. She now has a successful solo practice and works when her kids are in school or with their father. Not everyone can have that kind of arrangement. If they can, they add another layer to their schedule. Not everyone has the flexibility of an attorney either, like this lawyer client who makes sure that she works when her kids are in school. Many jobs are more structured.
This is also not a one-size fits all situation. Many times the outside time is great for a new parent. Other times, the child requires more. It is important to have communication and planning.
Legally, there is no requirement for modified work schedules. Yet, sometimes this is all the employee needs. Just being able to leave fifteen minutes early or stay late fifteen minutes past quitting time every day during the first week back can make all the difference. Remember, the new parent is used to these realities while on parent leave.
Another significant factor to consider is whether the employee has nursing responsibilities, both with breast feeding and pumping. In most situations, you cannot send someone home from work who has recently given birth to breast feed. My attorney client took texted pictures to her office of her breastfeeding while working from home last year. She still found time to spend with me.
My recommendation is to reach out to the employee right away so you can develop a plan with your employee.
Recent Developments and Proposed Laws
Several recent initiatives at the federal level have directly impacted Iowa’s maternity leave laws. In 2020, Congress passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (FCAA), which expanded FMLA to cover businesses with 1 to 50 employees (down from 50). Although the law itself did not take effect until 2021, its passage caused confusion among employers who mistook the lower threshold for immediate implementation on the ground.
In 2020, the FCAA was passed as part of a year-end spending bill. It amended FMLA to reduce the number of employees that businesses needed to employ to qualify for the leave from 50 to 1. While the law was originally to take effect in 2021, on December 31 the Senate reversed course and voted 81-18 to repeal the FCAA. However, then-President Trump vetoed the law, stating that the FCAA would "prohibit employers with 1 to 49 employees from remaining exempt from the requirements of FMLA."
With the reduced FMLA threshold in place for just several short months, on April 12, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which relaxed FMLA eligibility again by reducing the number of employees required for leave eligibility to only 11. Employers with 11 or fewer employees are now exempt from the FMLA entirely.
Although Iowa does not have any statewide maternity leave laws in place, it is possible that these new federal laws will spark state-specific legislature. Lawmakers are considering a state-level bill that would require employers with 4 or more employees to offer paid family leave, and although it is unclear whether a similar law would ultimately be passed, it is evident that paid family leave is at the forefront of state and national politics.
How Iowa Employers Should Deal with Maternity Leave
As an Iowa employer, compliance with the above-mentioned acts is imperative. Even if your business does not fall under these acts, you still may be required to provide a reasonable period of unpaid leave for your employees when they are pregnant or experiencing pregnancy-related health conditions. This reasonable period can be no less than 4 weeks. Some Iowa employers may be surprised to learn that even if they have 4 total employees, they are still subject to Iowa’s Pregnancy Leave Act.
As an employer, you are required to notify your employees of their rights under the Pregnancy Leave Act in writing and once every year. There is no form provided by the State to be used for the notice requirement. Employers are free to craft their own form of notice so long as it is promulgated to all employees at least once a year. Posting the notice in a conspicuous area of business also satisfies the rule.
Still, the best option is to inform your employees of their rights under both state and federal law. Many employers do not realize they are required to do so. The first step in ensuring compliance with Iowa maternity leave law is to update your employee handbooks to ensure they are in compliance with the law. At the time of hire, the employee should be provided a copy of the handbook.
Along with this, employers should consider providing an employee with a personal copy of the FMLA Rights Fact Sheet, as well as a copy of the Pregnancy Discrimination Guidelines. These should be provided to the employee in a timely manner. The EEOC recommends within 1-2 days of an employee requesting leave (even verbally), or 6-10 days after the employer learns that an employee is absent for a reason covered by the FMLA.
Just because an employee requests time off, or notifies you of an absence due to a pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition does not mean the employee is eligible for leave. It only means that the absence or request for leave is based on a reason that may be covered under the leave acts. Employers should not assume that such absence is protected , especially under the Iowa Pregnancy Leave Act.
An employee does not need to provide a particular reason for the requested leave. After the employee has provided enough notice for you to determine whether the leave qualifies for protection under the FMLA and your handbook, you must notify the employee of their eligibility for leave within 5 business days. If the employee is not eligible for FMLA leave, they are still protected under the Pregnancy Leave Act to the extent that they must be provided reasonable unpaid leave for the period necessary to resolve any pregnancy-related condition.
Pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions can include nausea, exhaustion, swelling, and high blood pressure; disorders related to pregnancy termination; postpartum depression; and recovery from childbirth. They also extend to any period of incapacitation due to pregnancy or childbirth, plus a reasonable period of time following childbirth.
IPLA protects fathers or partners of mothers who require a reasonable period of unpaid leave due to the birth of a child or related medical condition. This leave may be taken separate from the mother’s leave and that leave should be used in a way that is mutually agreeable. This may be in the form of short intermittent leave, a longer period of leave, or reduced work schedules.
Your employee may be entitled to light duty assignment when needed. When your employee returns to work after the birth of the child, they may be entitled to modification of job responsibilities to allow for breastfeeding or pumping. This may require that hours be adjusted and may require breaks at regular intervals during work hours.
Even though neither federal nor Iowa law require paid leave for family leave, this does not mean that you should not give other considerations to your employee. Consider the following points when your employee returns from maternity leave: