The Iowa Labor Law Guide

Minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay rate that employers are legally obligated to pay employees. The federal minimum wage is a wage baseline, but different states, cities, and regions can adopt their own rates. 

$7.25 for most employees (as of 2024)

Iowa does not have a state-set minimum wage so Iowa employers should use the federal minimum wage. Local cities tend to follow this wage amount and do not set their own higher rates.

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Tipped minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay rate employers are legally obligated to pay employees who earn a significant portion of their income through tips. 

$4.35 for most tipped employees (as of 2024)

Iowa does not have its own overtime laws. Employers must follow the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which requires non-exempt employees to receive paid time and a half for every hour worked over 40 hours within a workweek.

Iowa has no laws requiring an employer to provide a meal period or breaks to employees sixteen years of age or older, thus the federal rule applies. The federal rule does not require an employer to provide either a meal period or breaks. 

However, if an employer chooses to do so, breaks lasting less than twenty minutes must be paid. Meal or lunch periods (usually thirty minutes or more) do not need to be paid, so long as the employee is completely relieved of all duties and free to do as they wish during the meal or lunch period.

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Vacation leave
Iowa does not require employers to provide paid time off to their employees. The employer can choose to offer vacation leave at their discretion.

Paid Sick Leave
Iowa does not have state laws requiring private employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave. However, employers can comply with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). 

Holidays
Iowa state law does not require employers to provide paid or unpaid holiday leave.

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Work permits:

• Minors who are 14 and 15 need a work permit to be employed. 

• Minors 16 or older are exempted but must comply with state and federal labor laws. 

Age restrictions:

• 14 and 15-year-olds can work in non-hazardous jobs depending on the hours and types of work. 

• 16- and 17-year-olds have fewer restrictions but still need to follow the regulations pertaining to hazardous work. 

Work hours: 

• Minors under 16 may work between 7 AM and 9 PM, for a maximum of 6 hour shift on school days, 8 hour shift on weekend days, and a maximum of 28 hours per week.

• Minors under 16 may work between 7 AM and 11 PM when school is not in session, for a maximum of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

• There are no specific restrictions for minors ages 16 and over in Iowa.

Wage:
Minors are subjected to the same minimum wage as adult workers.

Breaks:
Iowa wage and hour laws generally require employers to grant a meal period of at least thirty minutes to nonexempt minor employees under sixteen who work 5 or more consecutive hours.

Hiring
The Iowa Civil Rights Act (ICRA) prohibits employers with four or more employees from discrimination during the hiring process based on these characteristics:

• Race

• Sex

• Age

• Religion

• National origin

• Disability

Firing
Iowa employers have the right to terminate employees at will for nearly any reason and no reason at all provided the reason is not unlawful.