SF 134 (LSB 1698XS (3) 91)

SENATE FILE 134

BY  PETERSEN, WINCKLER, STAED, CELSI, DONAHUE, DOTZLER, TOWNSEND, WAHLS, BENNETT, and WEINER

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:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  216.23  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 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. 2.  NEW SECTION.  216.24  Penalties.
   An employer who violates section 216.23 is subject to a civil penalty of up to seven hundred fifty dollars.
    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  216.25  Duties and authority of the director.
   1.  The director shall adopt rules to implement and enforce section 216.23 and shall provide exemptions from the provisions of section 216.23 where reasonable.
   2.  In order to carry out the purposes of section 216.23, the director or the director’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. 4.  NEW SECTION.  216.26  Collective bargaining agreements.
   Compliance with the minimum standards required in section 216.23 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 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 director of the Iowa office of civil rights shall adopt rules to enforce the bill and provide exemptions where reasonable. The director or director’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.