Prohibiting employer control of employee political candidacy and contributions, and making penalties applicable

This bill requires any appointing authority or employer to, upon request, grant an employee who is a candidate for an elective public office leave commencing any time within days before an election. Current law requires a public employer to grant a public employee such leave requests. The bill also prohibits an appointing authority or employer from taking adverse actions against an employee for seeking election to a public office or from prohibiting an employee from seeking election to a public office, in the event the employee informs the appointing authority or employer that the employee intends to seek election to a public office. By operation of law, a person who violates these provisions of the bill is guilty of a simple misdemeanor for each day of the offense. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than days or a fine of at least $105 but not more than $855 or by both. The bill also prohibits an employer who employs people in Iowa from prohibiting, limiting, or requiring approval for the contributions of employees to political committees or candidates’ committees. By operation of law, a person who violates this provision of the bill is guilty of a serious misdemeanor. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560.