House File 823 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 823 BY SORENSEN A BILL FOR An Act relating to unpaid leave for appointments with a county 1 commission of veteran affairs. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 1169YH (3) 91 sc/js
H.F. 823 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 35.4 Appointments with county 1 commission of veteran affairs —— employee leave. 2 1. An employee who is a veteran shall be entitled to unpaid 3 leave for an appointment with a county commission of veteran 4 affairs. 5 2. Before attending an appointment with a county commission 6 of veteran affairs, the employee shall provide the employer 7 with a written request for leave at least five calendar days in 8 advance of the time the employee is requesting to take leave 9 as provided in this section. In emergency situations, no more 10 than twenty-four hours’ notice shall be required. 11 3. A veteran may file a complaint with the Iowa office 12 of civil rights pursuant to section 216.15 if the veteran’s 13 employer denies a timely request, without a good-faith reason, 14 for using unpaid leave to attend an appointment with a county 15 commission of veteran affairs or retaliates against the veteran 16 for using unpaid leave to attend an appointment with a county 17 commission of veteran affairs when the employee gave the 18 employer proper notice and such leave was not denied for a 19 good-faith reason. 20 Sec. 2. Section 216.6, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended 21 by adding the following new paragraph: 22 NEW PARAGRAPH . e. Employer to deny unpaid leave, without a 23 good-faith reason, to an employee who is a veteran as defined 24 in section 35.1 for the purpose of attending an appointment 25 with a county commission of veteran affairs, or to retaliate 26 against an employee who is a veteran for taking unpaid leave 27 for such purpose when the employee gave the employer proper 28 notice and such leave was not denied for a good-faith reason. 29 EXPLANATION 30 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 31 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 32 This bill provides that an employee who is a veteran is 33 entitled to unpaid leave for attending an appointment with a 34 county commission of veteran affairs. An employee must provide 35 -1- LSB 1169YH (3) 91 sc/js 1/ 2
H.F. 823 the employer with a written request for leave at least five 1 days prior to the intended leave. The bill categorizes the 2 denial of or retaliation for taking such unpaid leave as an 3 unfair or discriminatory employment practice. If the veteran’s 4 employer denies such unpaid leave without a good-faith reason 5 or retaliates against the veteran for using such unpaid leave, 6 the veteran may file a complaint with the Iowa office of civil 7 rights. 8 -2- LSB 1169YH (3) 91 sc/js 2/ 2