Bills › 91st General Assembly
Concerning eligibility for unemployment benefits
Sponsored by Sen. Molly Donahue (D), Sen. William A. Dotzler Jr. (D), Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott (D), Sen. Janet Petersen (D), Sen. Herman C. Quirmbach (D), Sen. Art Staed (D), Sen. Thomas Townsend (D), Sen. Zach Wahls (D), Sen. Janice Weiner (D)
Topics:Jobs & workers
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedFebruary 19, 2025
- Done: SubcommitteeFebruary 24, 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 relates to unemployment benefits. Under current law, the department of workforce development may establish by rule a process to waive or alter the work search requirements for a claim for benefits if an individual has a reasonable expectation that the individual will be returning to employment and is attached to a regular job or industry or a member in good standing of a union therein eligible for referral for employment. To be considered attached to a regular job or industry, an individual must be on a “short-term temporary layoff”, which is defined as a layoff period of weeks or less due to seasonal weather conditions that impact the ability to perform work related to highway construction, repair, or maintenance with a specific return-to-work date verified by the employer.
Read the full explanation
The bill changes the defined term to “short-term seasonal or temporary layoff”, provides that conditions other than weather conditions are included in the definition, and strikes the language that the work to be performed must be related to highway construction, repair, or maintenance and must have a specific return-to-work date verified by the employer. The bill provides that benefits shall not be denied to an eligible individual for refusing to accept work if the individual has a reasonable expectation that the individual will be returning to employment, as defined by the department by rule, and is attached to a regular job or industry or is a member in good standing of a union therein eligible for referral for employment. To be considered attached to a regular job or industry, an individual must be on a short-term seasonal or temporary layoff. The bill provides that benefits shall not be denied to an eligible individual for refusing to accept work if the individual is unemployed due to the individual’s employer temporarily ceasing operations or going out of business at the factory, establishment, or other premises at which the individual was last employed; the reason for the employer going out of business was a result of unforeseen circumstances; and the individual has a reasonable expectation that the individual will be returning to employment with the employer that temporarily ceased operations or went out of business.
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 February 24, 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
Read from the bill as introduced. Each links to every bill touching that chapter of the Iowa Code. How the Code works
Lobbying
4 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 an earlier General Assembly. None got through a chamber.
- SF 2120 Concerning eligibility for unemployment benefits90th General Assembly · In committee · same titleCleared committee
- HF 2173 Concerning eligibility for unemployment benefits90th General Assembly · In committee · very similarCleared committee
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.