Bills › 91st General Assembly
Requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees based on pregnancy or childbirth and providing civil penalties
Sponsored by Sen. Liz Bennett (D), Sen. Molly Donahue (D), Sen. William A. Dotzler Jr. (D), Sen. Janet Petersen (D), Sen. Art Staed (D), Sen. Thomas Townsend (D), Sen. Zach Wahls (D), Sen. Janice Weiner (D), Sen. Cindy Winckler (D)
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedJanuary 23, 2025
- Done: SubcommitteeJanuary 30, 2025
- Stopped: Senate committeeDied when the General Assembly ended
- Next: Passes the Senate
- Next: House committeeFunnel: by March 20, 2026
- Next: Passes the House
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Died when the session ended The General Assembly adjourned on October 2, 2026. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
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.
Read the full explanation
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.
From the explanation printed with the bill as introduced, written by the Legislative Services Agency. Amendments adopted later aren’t reflected. Full bill text
Senate subcommittee
Named January 30, 2025. It hasn’t reported yet.
Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part
Iowa Code it changes
Creates§216.23§216.24§216.25§216.26
Read from the bill as introduced. Each links to every bill touching that chapter of the Iowa Code. How the Code works
Lobbying
5 for · 0 against · 14 undecided · Who →
Family tree
Where this legislation came from and where it went: earlier tries, the versions it moved through this Assembly, and later bills built on it.
91st General Assembly
Earlier and later bills are matched by wording or an identical title; check the text to be sure it’s the same idea.
Tried before
This idea has been filed in 2 earlier General Assemblies. None got through a chamber.
- SF 435 Requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees based on pregnancy o…90th General Assembly · In committee · same titleCleared committee
- SF 485 Requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees based on pregnancy o…89th General Assembly · Approved by committee · same titleCleared committee
Similar bills this General Assembly
- HF 676 Requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees based on pregnancy o…91st General Assembly · In committeeSimilar
Matched by the wording of each bill’s explanation, or an identical title. Companion bills and renumbered versions of this bill aren’t listed; they’re the same bill.