Iowa’s new law on permits for carrying concealed weapons – S.F. 2379 of the 2010 legislative session – goes into effect on January 1, 2011. What does this mean for Iowa employers?

We previously provided a link to Iowa Code Section 35.1 as to which employees actually qualify as “veterans” under the new Iowa law granting veterans the day off, but many employers did not see the footnote at the bottom of the Iowa General Assembly’s page.

As Veterans Day approaches, we have had several inquiries in response to our first blog post on Iowa Code Section 91A.5A as to which employees actually qualify as “veterans” under the new Iowa law granting veterans the day off. We have also been asked if the law applies to all Iowa employers.

On April 27, 2010, Governor Chester Culver signed into law House File 2197, a bill giving Iowa veterans the right to take off Veterans Day each year. This Veterans Day Law requires employers to provide each employee who is a veteran with holiday time off for Veterans Day, November 11, if the employee would otherwise be required to work on that day.

Two recent pregnency discrimination cases, Elam v. Regions Financial Corporation et al and Ash v. Burim Aliu d/b/a Riverside Family Restaurant, provide some valuable reminders for Iowa employers.