Post employment inquiries - Iowa

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

In Iowa, an employer/former employer or representative may disclose, upon request of a representative of whom the employer/former employer believes to be a prospective employer or upon request of an employee/former employee, employee/former employee information that is work-related, unless he/she is acting unreasonably. An employer/former employer may be liable for unreasonable disclosures. Lack of reasonableness may be shown if the employer/former employer discloses information that:

• Violates employee/former employee civil rights,
• Is knowingly provided to someone who has no right to receiving the information,
• Is not relevant,
• Is provided with malice, or
• Is not believed to be true.

Employers that allow agents to blacklist a discharged employee or prevent a discharged or resigned employee from obtaining employment may be liable. However, this does not prevent employers from providing truthful, written statements about the cause of discharge, upon request.

State

Contacts

Iowa Department of Justice Iowa Attorney General

Iowa Workforce Development

Regulations

Iowa Code 91B.2, Information provided by employers about current or former employees – immunity

Iowa Code 730.1, Punishment

Iowa Code 730.2, Blacklisting employees—treble damages

Federal

Contacts

None.

Regulations

None.