Iowa Requires Equal Treatment for Adoptive Parents by Employers
On May 19, 2025, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed House File 248 , which requires employers to treat adoptive parents the same as biological parents under certain circumstances. Specifically, if an employee adopts a child up to six years of age, an employer must treat the employee “in the same manner as an employee who is the biological parent of a newborn child for purposes of employment policies, benefits, and protections for the first year of the adoption.” The law defines adoption as the “permanent placement in this state of a child by the Department of Health and Human Services, by a licensed agency under chapter 238 [child-placing agencies ], by an agency that meets the provisions of the interstate compact in section 232.158, or by a person making an independent placement according to the provisions of chapter 600.” The law does not require employers to provide disability leave to an employee without a qualifying disability under an employer’s disability policies ....