Labor & Employment

in committee · Iowa · House Mar 6, 2025

HF 818: A bill for an act relating to contribution rates to the Iowa public employees’ retirement system and the municipal fire and police retirement system.

HF 818 adjusts contribution rates for Iowa's public employees' retirement system (IPERS) and municipal fire/police retirement systems. It reduces employee contributions to 0% for members in protection occupations (fire/police) and sheriff/deputy sheriff roles starting July 1, 2025, shifting the full cost to employers (100% employer contribution). Previously, employees paid a portion (e.g., 9.4% through 2024), but this bill eliminates their required payments for these specific groups. The change applies to both the state IPERS system and municipal fire/police retirement systems.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentEliminates employee retirement contributions for fire/police workers, increasing net benefits without wage changes, aligning with expanded worker benefits.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Retirement Benefits

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Mar 10, 2025

HSB 241: A bill for an act relating to the establishment of the work without worry program under the medical assistance program for employed individuals with disabilities, and including effective date provisions.

This bill establishes Iowa's "Work Without Worry Program," providing Medicaid health coverage to employed individuals with disabilities aged 18-65 who meet income and disability criteria. It removes typical Medicaid income and resource limits by using federal Medicaid rules, allowing participants to keep jobs without losing health coverage - automatically enrolling Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients and excluding employment income from eligibility calculations. Participants pay a monthly premium of 6% of their verified "countable income" (excluding certain household income and federal benefits), with a six-month grace period for temporary job loss or health issues. The program coordinates with employer health coverage to avoid duplicate payments and ensures access to all traditional Medicaid services plus community-based long-term supports.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill expands Medicaid coverage for employed disabled individuals by removing income limits and automatically enrolling SSI recipients, directly increasing healthcare access under public health programs.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentRemoves Medicaid income barriers for employed disabled workers, enabling continued employment without loss of health coverage - directly advancing labor/employment rights for this group.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Medicaid

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Jan 30, 2025

HSB 24: A bill for an act relating to assaults, including assaults on persons engaged in certain occupations and inmate assaults on department of corrections employees, and providing penalties.

This bill increases penalties for assaults against specific public safety and healthcare workers, including peace officers, correctional staff, firefighters, healthcare providers, and Department of Corrections employees. It upgrades certain assaults to higher felony classifications (e.g., class C felony for assaults with intent to cause serious injury or involving weapons) and designates spitting or bodily fluid contact as an aggravated misdemeanor requiring a minimum 7-day jail term. The bill also creates a new class D felony for inmates who assault Corrections employees using bodily fluids like blood or saliva. These provisions directly affect individuals committing such assaults and the protected occupations listed in the law.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeIncreases penalties for assaults on correctional staff, expanding criminalization and mandatory sentences within correctional systems.95% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill explicitly protects healthcare providers from assault by increasing penalties, directly supporting healthcare worker safety within the topic's scope.90% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentProtects healthcare, public safety, and correctional workers from assault through enhanced penalties, directly improving workplace safety standards for these occupations.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Violent Crime

Track

introduced · Iowa · Legislature

1361DP: Continuing Health Insurance for Certain Surviving Spouses and Dependents (1361DP) - Administrative Services, Department of

This bill (1361DP) ensures that the surviving spouse and children of Iowa state employees who die from work-related traumatic injuries can continue their existing state health insurance coverage. It applies only to deaths directly caused by traumatic injuries incurred while performing job duties (excluding deaths from stress, chronic illness, misconduct, intoxication, or gross negligence). The state must allow coverage continuation but isn’t required to pay for it; if the state doesn’t cover costs, the family can choose to pay the uncovered portion to maintain coverage. Exclusions include cases where the survivor contributed to the employee’s death or becomes ineligible for other reasons (like remarriage).

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill ensures continued health insurance coverage for dependents of state employees killed in work-related injuries, protecting access to healthcare without defunding existing programs.90% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentEnsures continued health coverage for dependents of state employees killed in work-related injuries, strengthening family support and workplace safety protections.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Insurance

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Jan 16, 2025

SF 30: A bill for an act relating to employees of the department of corrections and including applicability provisions.

SF 30 designates nonsupervisory Iowa Department of Corrections employees with ongoing direct inmate contact as "public safety employees" for collective bargaining under state law. It requires the department to establish mandatory de-escalation training, uniform safety protocols at correctional facilities, and paid leave policies (5-30 days for trauma exposure, up to 90 days for hostages). The bill also changes health insurance rules so the state must cover continuation costs for surviving spouses and children of affected employees, rather than requiring them to pay. Additionally, it prohibits the department from offering contract employees better pay or benefits than comparable state employees performing similar work.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentDesignates correctional staff for collective bargaining, mandates safety protocols, and expands paid leave benefits for trauma/hostage exposure, directly advancing worker protections and benefits.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Collective Bargaining Paid Leave Public Employees

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Jan 22, 2025

SF 33: A bill for an act providing credit for accrued sick leave for certain law enforcement officers.

This bill allows eligible law enforcement officers retiring after July 1, 2025, to receive a cash payment for unused sick leave, capped at $2,000. The payment equals the value of accrued sick leave hours multiplied by the officer's hourly rate at retirement. Officers can also use remaining sick leave value to pay their share of group health insurance premiums, continuing until the balance is exhausted, they qualify for Medicare, or they die. It excludes officers covered by collective bargaining agreements that already address sick leave credit.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentProvides retirement benefit for unused sick leave, advancing worker compensation for law enforcement officers per bill's cash payment and health insurance provisions.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Collective Bargaining Paid Leave

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Jan 23, 2025

SF 109: A bill for an act relating to a family leave and medical leave insurance program that provides for paid, job-protected leave for certain family leave and medical leave reasons for eligible employees of specified employers.

SF 109 establishes Iowa's first state-run paid family and medical leave insurance program. It provides eligible employees at covered employers (private companies with 10+ workers, or all public employers) with up to 12 weeks of paid, job-protected leave annually for reasons like childbirth, caring for a seriously ill family member, or their own serious health condition. Employees qualify after working 1,250 hours over 12 consecutive months. The program covers up to 16 combined weeks of family and medical leave per year, with benefits calculated based on the employee's "spendable weekly earnings."

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill provides paid medical leave for serious health conditions, improving access to healthcare without income loss. Directly supports patient access via job-protected leave for medical reasons.92% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentEstablishes paid family/medical leave with job protection, expanding worker benefits and rights under labor/employment standards.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Paid Leave

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Jan 27, 2025

HF 135: A bill for an act providing for a waiver of tuition and mandatory fees at regents institutions and community colleges for certain sanitation workers and their children.

HF 135 provides tuition and mandatory fee waivers at Iowa's regents institutions and community colleges for sanitation workers and their children. To qualify, a sanitation worker must have been employed for at least one year within the past five years by a county, city, township, or their contractor, with primary duties involving residential or commercial waste collection or transport. The waiver also covers the child of such a worker, though institutions may require documentation of the worker's employment. This policy directly affects eligible sanitation workers and their dependents seeking higher education in Iowa.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationProvides tuition waivers for sanitation workers' children at public colleges, expanding higher education access through fee reduction.90% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentProvides tuition waivers for sanitation workers (a specific labor group) and their children, expanding educational benefits as workforce support.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Higher Education

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Jan 28, 2025

SF 78: A bill for an act relating to certain specified skilled trades, including modifying provisions related to department of workforce development internship programs, the Iowa summer youth corps program, college student aid commission programs, the senior year plus program, the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics collaborative initiative within the innovation division of the department of education, and curricula provided in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools to include the skilled trades, and including applicability provisions.

SF 78 integrates skilled trades into Iowa's education and workforce programs. It requires school districts, nonpublic schools, and charter schools to include specific trades - like welding, carpentry, electrical work, and HVAC - into curricula. The bill creates internship programs with 1:1 wage matching (up to $5,000 per intern) for students in skilled trades or STEM fields, funded by the Department of Workforce Development. It also establishes regional STEM/trades networks and collaborative initiatives to expand program access statewide. These changes directly affect students, schools, and employers in Iowa's skilled trades sectors.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationRequires skilled trades integration into K-12/college curricula, funds STEM/trades internships via workforce development, and establishes education department-led networks.90% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentCreates paid internships with wage matching for skilled trades, funding workforce development programs to advance worker training and employment pathways.92% confidence

Sub-Topics Career & Technical Education Workforce Development

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Jan 29, 2025

SF 38: A bill for an act relating to the operation of railroad trains by a crew of two or more persons, and providing penalties.

SF 38 requires large railroad carriers (class I and II, defined by federal revenue thresholds) operating passenger or freight trains in Iowa to use a minimum of two qualified crew members. Violations carry escalating fines: $500-$1,000 for a first offense, $500-$5,000 for a second, and $5,000-$10,000 for subsequent offenses within a three-year window. The bill directly affects major rail carriers meeting the federal revenue criteria (class I: over $1.05 billion annual revenue; class II: $47 million-$1.05 billion). It establishes specific penalties for operating trains with fewer than two crew members, focusing on safety compliance for passenger and freight rail operations.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentRequires minimum two-crew for rail safety, directly improving workplace safety standards for railroad workers per bill's core mandate.95% confidence ✓ TransportationSupports TransportationRequires two-crew minimum for rail operations, enhancing safety standards per transportation safety indicators.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Freight Rail

Track