Bill Text: IA HF493 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to unfair or discriminatory employment practices based upon issues relating to reproductive health, and including effective date provisions.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-02 - Introduced, referred to Labor. H.J. 498. [HF493 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-HF493-Introduced.html

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House File 493 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  BENNETT, BROWN=POWERS,
                                     HUNTER, ABDUL=SAMAD,
                                     T. TAYLOR, and MEYER

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to unfair or discriminatory employment
  2    practices based upon issues relating to reproductive health,
  3    and including effective date provisions.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 216.2, subsection 15, Code 2017, is
  1  2 amended to read as follows:
  1  3    15.  "Unfair practice" or "discriminatory practice" means
  1  4 those practices specified as unfair or discriminatory in
  1  5 sections 216.6, 216.6A, 216.6B, 216.7, 216.8, 216.8A, 216.9,
  1  6 216.10, 216.11, and 216.11A.
  1  7    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  216.6B  Additional unfair or
  1  8 discriminatory employment practices == reproductive health.
  1  9    1.  It shall be an unfair or discriminatory practice for any
  1 10 employer to do any of the following:
  1 11    a.  Take any adverse employment action against an employee
  1 12 based on the use of any drug, device, or medical service
  1 13 related to reproductive health by the employee or the
  1 14 employee's spouse or dependent.
  1 15    b.  Require an employee to sign a waiver or other document
  1 16 which purports to deny an employee, or an employee's spouse or
  1 17 dependents, the right to make the employee's or the employee's
  1 18 spouse or dependents own reproductive health care decisions,
  1 19 including whether to use any particular drug, device, or
  1 20 medical service.
  1 21    c.  Take any adverse employment action in retaliation
  1 22 against an employee for asserting rights or remedies under this
  1 23 section.
  1 24    2.  An employer who provides an employee handbook to the
  1 25 employer's employees shall include in the handbook notice of
  1 26 the employee's rights and remedies under this section.
  1 27    3.  For purposes of this section, "adverse employment action"
  1 28 means termination, demotion or refusal to promote or advance,
  1 29 loss of career specialty, reassignment to a different shift,
  1 30 reduction of wages or benefits, refusal to provide training
  1 31 opportunities or transfer to a different department, adverse
  1 32 administrative action, or any other penalty or disciplinary or
  1 33 retaliatory action.
  1 34    4.  This section shall not apply to any of the following:
  1 35    a.  Any bona fide religious institution with respect to any
  2  1 qualifications the institution may impose based on religion,
  2  2 sexual orientation, or gender identity when such qualifications
  2  3 are related to a bona fide religious purpose.
  2  4    b.  Any employer who regularly employs less than four
  2  5 individuals. For purposes of this paragraph, individuals who
  2  6 are members of the employer's family shall not be counted as
  2  7 employees.
  2  8    Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT.  This Act, being deemed of
  2  9 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
  2 10                           EXPLANATION
  2 11 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  2 12 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  2 13    This bill relates to unfair or discriminatory employment
  2 14 practices based upon reproductive health decisions.
  2 15    The bill specifies that it is an unfair or discriminatory
  2 16 practice for any employer to do any of the following:
  2 17    1. Take any adverse employment action against an employee
  2 18 based on the use of any drug, device, or medical service
  2 19 related to reproductive health by the employee or the
  2 20 employee's spouse or dependent;
  2 21    2. Require an employee to sign a waiver or other document
  2 22 which purports to deny an employee, or an employee's spouse or
  2 23 dependents, the right to make the employee's or the employee's
  2 24 spouse or dependents own reproductive health care decisions,
  2 25 including whether to use any particular drug, device, or
  2 26 medical service; or
  2 27    3. Take any adverse employment action in retaliation
  2 28 against an employee for asserting rights or remedies under the
  2 29 bill.
  2 30    The bill  requires an employer who provides an employee
  2 31 handbook to the employer's employees to include in the handbook
  2 32 notice of the employee's rights and remedies under the bill.
  2 33    The bill defines "adverse employment action" for the
  2 34 purposes of the bill; and provides that the bill does not apply
  2 35 to any bona fide religious institution with respect to any
  3  1 qualifications the institution may impose based on religion,
  3  2 sexual orientation, or gender identity when such qualifications
  3  3 are related to a bona fide religious purpose or to any employer
  3  4 who regularly employs less than four individuals.
  3  5    The bill takes effect upon enactment.
       LSB 2511YH (4) 87
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