STAFF CONTACT: Sue Foecke
HF 681 — Iowa Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
HF 2485 – PERB Chapter 20 Technical Changes
FLOOR ACTION:
HF 681 creates the Iowa Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The bill requires employers to notify employees or their representatives and the Iowa Department of Workforce Development of business closings that result in the layoff of 25 or more full-time employees and mass layoffs that are reductions in the workforce of at least 25 employees in a 30-day period. [3/10: 31-18 (Excused: Heckroth)]
FLOOR AND COMMITTEE ACTION:
HF 2485 makes technical and substantive corrections to the Public Employee Collective Bargaining Chapter, Chapter 20. The bill eliminates fact finding as a step in the statutory impasse procedures. Fact finding is costly and has rarely been used in recent years by labor organizations. Currently in Chapter 20, it is a prohibited practice for a public employer or employee organization to “willfully” refuse to negotiate in good faith or engage in other prohibited conduct. Supporters of this legislation argued that the legal standard “willfully” sets an unnecessarily high standard of proof for these cases and is not consistent with the National Labor Relations Act. The bill removes “willfully.” [3/9: 50-0; 3/4: short form]