House File 675 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 675 BY COOLING , WILBURN , JAMES , LEVIN , B. MEYER , KONFRST , MATSON , KRESSIG , BAGNIEWSKI , MADISON , CROKEN , R. JOHNSON , AMOS JR. , SRINIVAS , EHLERT , OLSON , SCHOLTEN , WESSEL-KROESCHELL , and NIELSEN A BILL FOR An Act requiring employers to provide employees with meal 1 periods and rest periods and providing penalties. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 2159YH (3) 91 je/js
H.F. 675 Section 1. Section 10A.202, subsection 2, Code 2025, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 2. The department is responsible for the administration 3 of the laws of this state under chapters 88A , 88B , 89 , 89A , 4 90A , 91A , 91C , 91D , 91E , 91F, 92 , and such other labor-services 5 duties assigned to the department or director. 6 Sec. 2. Section 10A.204, subsection 3, Code 2025, is amended 7 to read as follows: 8 3. The director, in consultation with the labor 9 commissioner, shall, at the time provided by law, make an 10 annual report to the governor setting forth in appropriate form 11 the business and expense of the division and department under 12 this subchapter for the preceding year, the number of remedial 13 actions taken under chapter 89A , the number of disputes or 14 violations processed by the division or department and the 15 disposition of the disputes or violations, and other matters 16 pertaining to the division or department under this subchapter 17 which are of public interest, together with recommendations for 18 change or amendment of the laws in this chapter and chapters 19 88 , 88A , 88B , 89 , 89A , 89B , 90A , 91A , 91C , 91D , 91E , 91F, and 20 92 , and sections 85.67A and 85.68 , and the recommendations, if 21 any, shall be transmitted by the governor to the first general 22 assembly in session after the report is filed. 23 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 91F.1 Meal and rest periods 24 requirements. 25 1. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise 26 requires: 27 a. Director means the director of the department of 28 inspections, appeals, and licensing. 29 b. Employee means a natural person who is employed in this 30 state for wages by an employer. 31 c. Employer means a person, as defined in section 4.1, 32 who in this state employs for wages a natural person. An 33 employer does not include a client, patient, customer, or 34 other person who obtains professional services from a licensed 35 -1- LSB 2159YH (3) 91 je/js 1/ 6
H.F. 675 person providing the services on a fee service basis or as an 1 independent contractor. 2 2. An employer shall provide an employee with appropriate 3 meal periods and appropriate rest periods. 4 a. An appropriate meal period shall be a period of not less 5 than thirty minutes during an employees work period in which 6 an employee works at least seven hours. The meal period shall 7 be taken between the second and fifth hours. If an employee 8 works more than seven hours, the meal period shall be taken 9 between the third and sixth hours. 10 b. An appropriate rest period shall be a paid period of 11 not less than ten minutes during every consecutive four-hour 12 period of work taken by an employee approximately in the middle 13 of each four-hour period. The rest period is in addition to a 14 meal period, if applicable, and shall not be added to a meal 15 period or deducted from the work period to reduce the overall 16 length of the total work period. 17 3. An employer is not required to pay for a meal period 18 if an employee is free from work duties during the employees 19 entire meal period. An employee shall be paid for the meal 20 period if any of the following occur: 21 a. The employee is required or allowed to remain on duty. 22 b. The employee is required to be on-call at the work 23 premises or designated worksite in order to be available to 24 return to duty even if the employee is not called back to duty. 25 c. The employee is called back to duty during the employees 26 meal period even though the employee is not usually on-call 27 during the meal period. 28 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 91F.2 Meal and rest periods 29 exemptions. 30 1. Meal and rest period requirements may be modified by the 31 terms of a collective bargaining agreement if the collective 32 bargaining agreement entered into by the employees prescribes 33 specific terms concerning meal periods and rest periods. 34 2. Meal and rest period requirements apply to hourly paid 35 -2- LSB 2159YH (3) 91 je/js 2/ 6
H.F. 675 and salary-paid employees. Management or employees involved 1 in agricultural jobs are not required to have breaks or meal 2 breaks. For the purposes of this section, agricultural jobs do 3 not include work in the production of seed, limited to removal 4 of off-type plants and corn tassels and hand-pollinating during 5 the months of June, July, and August by persons ages fourteen 6 and older. 7 3. Meal period requirements may be waived if an employer 8 shows that the ordinary nature and circumstance of the work 9 prevented the employer from establishing and maintaining a 10 regularly scheduled meal period. The factors that may be 11 considered regarding the waiver of the requirements are limited 12 to the following: 13 a. The safety and health needs of employees, patients, 14 clients, and the public. 15 b. The lack of other employees available to provide relief 16 to an employee. 17 c. The cost involved in shutdown and startup of machinery in 18 continuous operation of the industrial process. 19 d. The intermittent and unpredictable workflow not 20 controlled by the employer or employee. 21 e. Unforeseeable equipment failures, emergencies, or acts 22 of nature that require immediate and uninterrupted attention 23 by an employee. 24 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 91F.3 Civil penalties. 25 1. Any employer who violates the provisions of this chapter 26 or the rules adopted pursuant to this chapter is subject to 27 a civil penalty of not more than one hundred dollars for 28 each violation. The director may recover the civil penalty 29 according to subsections 2 through 5. Any civil penalty 30 recovered shall be deposited in the general fund of the state. 31 2. The director may propose that an employer be assessed 32 a civil penalty by serving the employer with notice of such 33 proposal in the same manner as an original notice is served 34 under the rules of civil procedure. Upon service of such 35 -3- LSB 2159YH (3) 91 je/js 3/ 6
H.F. 675 notice, the proposed assessment shall be treated as a contested 1 case under chapter 17A. However, to remain a contested case, 2 an employer must request a hearing within thirty days of being 3 served. 4 3. If an employer does not request a hearing pursuant 5 to subsection 2 or if the director determines, after an 6 appropriate hearing, that an employer is in violation of this 7 chapter or the rules adopted pursuant to this chapter, the 8 director shall assess a civil penalty which is consistent with 9 the provisions of subsection 1 and which is rendered with due 10 consideration for the penalty amount in terms of the size of 11 the employers business, the gravity of the violation, the good 12 faith of the employer, and the history of previous violations. 13 4. An employer may seek judicial review of any assessment 14 rendered under subsection 3 by instituting proceedings for 15 judicial review pursuant to chapter 17A. However, such 16 proceedings must be instituted in the district court of the 17 county in which the violation or one of the violations occurred 18 and within thirty days of the day on which the employer was 19 notified that an assessment has been rendered. Also, an 20 employer may be required, at the discretion of the district 21 court and upon instituting such proceedings, to deposit the 22 amount assessed with the clerk of the district court. Any 23 moneys so deposited shall either be returned to the employer or 24 be forwarded to the director for deposit in the general fund 25 of the state, depending on the outcome of the judicial review, 26 including any appeal to the supreme court. 27 5. After the time for seeking judicial review has expired or 28 after all judicial review has been exhausted and the directors 29 assessment has been upheld, the director shall request the 30 attorney general to recover the assessed penalties in a civil 31 action. 32 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 91F.4 Duties and authority of 33 director. 34 1. The director shall provide further exemptions from the 35 -4- LSB 2159YH (3) 91 je/js 4/ 6
H.F. 675 provisions in this chapter by rule when reasonable. 1 2. In order to carry out the purposes of this chapter, 2 the director or the directors designee, upon presenting 3 appropriate credentials to the employer or agent of the 4 employer, may do any of the following: 5 a. Inspect employment records relating to meal and rest 6 periods for employees. 7 b. Interview an employer or employee or an agent of 8 the employer or employee, during working hours or at other 9 reasonable times. 10 3. The director shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to 11 administer this chapter. 12 EXPLANATION 13 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 14 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 15 This bill requires an employer to provide an employee with 16 appropriate meal periods and appropriate rest periods. 17 The bill states that an appropriate meal period shall be not 18 less than 30 minutes during an employees work period of at 19 least seven hours. The meal period is to be taken between the 20 second and fifth hours of the work or, if the employee works 21 more than seven hours, between the third and sixth hours. 22 The bill states that an appropriate rest period shall be a 23 paid period of not less than 10 minutes during every four-hour 24 work period. The rest period is taken in the middle of the work 25 period. The rest period is in addition to the meal period and 26 cannot be added to the meal period or deducted from the work 27 period to reduce the overall length of the total work period. 28 The bill defines an employee as a natural person who is 29 employed in this state for wages by an employer. An employer 30 is defined as a person, as defined in Code section 4.1, who 31 employs a natural person for wages. 32 The bill provides that an employer is not required to pay for 33 a meal period if an employee is free from work duties during 34 the employees entire meal period. 35 -5- LSB 2159YH (3) 91 je/js 5/ 6
H.F. 675 The bill allows three exemptions to the meal and rest period 1 requirements. The first exemption is if the meal and rest 2 period requirements are modified by the terms of a collective 3 bargaining agreement. However, the exemption is valid only 4 if the collective bargaining agreement entered into by the 5 employees prescribes specific terms concerning meal periods and 6 rest periods. 7 The second exemption states that meal and rest period 8 requirements apply to hourly paid and salary-paid employees. 9 However, management or employees involved in certain 10 agricultural jobs are not required to have breaks or meal 11 breaks. 12 The third exemption is if an employer shows that the ordinary 13 nature and circumstance of the work prevented the employer from 14 establishing and maintaining a regular scheduled meal period. 15 The bill provides civil penalties for violating the new 16 Code chapter. An employer who violates the provisions shall 17 be subject to a penalty of up to $100 for each violation. 18 The director of the department of inspections, appeals, and 19 licensing may recover the penalties under Code chapter 17A 20 contested case procedures. Any penalties recovered shall be 21 deposited in the general fund of the state. 22 The director may propose that an employer be assessed a 23 penalty by serving the employer with notice of a penalty in the 24 same manner as an original notice is served under the rules of 25 civil procedure. 26 The bill provides the director with the authority to provide 27 further exemptions from the requirements of the bill by rule 28 when reasonable. Also, the director or the directors designee 29 may inspect employment records relating to rest periods for 30 employees and interview an employer or employee or an agent 31 of the employer or employee, during working hours or at other 32 reasonable times. 33 -6- LSB 2159YH (3) 91 je/js 6/ 6