HF 823 (LSB 1169YH (3) 91)

HOUSE FILE 823

BY  SORENSEN

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to unpaid leave for appointments with a county commission of veteran affairs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  35.4  Appointments with county commission of veteran affairs —— employee leave.
   1.  An employee who is a veteran shall be entitled to unpaid leave for an appointment with a county commission of veteran affairs.
   2.  Before attending an appointment with a county commission of veteran affairs, the employee shall provide the employer with a written request for leave at least five calendar days in advance of the time the employee is requesting to take leave as provided in this section. In emergency situations, no more than twenty-four hours’ notice shall be required.
   3.  A veteran may file a complaint with the Iowa office of civil rights pursuant to section 216.15 if the veteran’s employer denies a timely request, without a good-faith reason, for using unpaid leave to attend an appointment with a county commission of veteran affairs or retaliates against the veteran for using unpaid leave to attend an appointment with a county commission of veteran affairs when the employee gave the employer proper notice and such leave was not denied for a good-faith reason.
    Sec. 2.  Section 216.6, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  e.  Employer to deny unpaid leave, without a good-faith reason, to an employee who is a veteran as defined in section 35.1 for the purpose of attending an appointment with a county commission of veteran affairs, or to retaliate against an employee who is a veteran for taking unpaid leave for such purpose when the employee gave the employer proper notice and such leave was not denied for a good-faith reason.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill provides that an employee who is a veteran is entitled to unpaid leave for attending an appointment with a county commission of veteran affairs. An employee must provide the employer with a written request for leave at least five days prior to the intended leave. The bill categorizes the denial of or retaliation for taking such unpaid leave as an unfair or discriminatory employment practice. If the veteran’s employer denies such unpaid leave without a good-faith reason or retaliates against the veteran for using such unpaid leave, the veteran may file a complaint with the Iowa office of civil rights.