Does Iowa have a pregnancy leave law? What kind of pregnancy leave does that law require?
Yes, Iowa does have a law requiring pregnancy leave under certain circumstances if the employer or employee does not fall within the provisions of the federal FMLA. Section 216.6(2)(e) of the Iowa Civil Rights Act requires that qualified employers (those with at least 4 employees who are not related to the employer) must provide to pregnant employees all benefits the employer provides its employees under any kind of sick leave or disability plan, or eight weeks of job-protected leave, whichever amount of time is less. Thus an employee who may not qualify for 12 weeks of federal FMLA job-protected leave, may be entitled to at least eight weeks of job-protected leave under the Iowa law. There is no length of service or minimum hour requirements for employee eligibility for the job-protected leave under the Iowa pregnancy law.
