Iowa Payroll Rules

Frequency of Payments

You must pay your employees at least monthly, semimonthly, or biweekly on regularly spaced paydays.

You must pay your employees within 12 days (excluding Sundays and holidays) after the end of the pay period.

Manner of Payments

You may pay your employees by cash or check. With the employee’s written consent, you may pay them via direct deposit.

Payment Upon Separation

If an employee leaves your company for any reason, you must pay them by the next regular payday.

Deductions

You may only make deductions from an employee’s paycheck if

• required or permitted to do so by state or federal law,
• required to do so by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or
• the employee has given their written consent.

You cannot deduct or withhold the following from an employee’s paycheck:

• cash shortages in a common money till, cash box, or register operated by two (2) or more employees;
• any losses due to a dishonored check, if the employee has been given discretion to accept or reject checks and the employee does not abuse that discretion;
• any losses due to breakage, damage to property, default of customer credit, or nonpayment for goods or services rendered, if the losses are not due to the employee’s willful or intentional disregard;
• lost or stolen property, unless the property is equipment specifically assigned to the employee and the employee acknowledged receiving the equipment in writing;
• gratuities received from customers;
• costs of personal, required protective equipment, unless provided in a collective bargaining agreement; or
• costs of more than $20 for an employee’s return to the place of employment.

Uniforms & Other Required Equipment or Tools

You may require an employee to purchase a uniform, tools, or other necessary equipment.

If the uniform has a logo or company colors that makes the uniform unusable outside of work, you cannotdeduct the cost from the employee’s wages.

Pre-Hire Medical, Physical, & Drug Tests

Iowa does not have any laws about whether you can require employees to pay for pre-hire exams.

Notice of Wage Reduction

If you have previously violated wage payment laws, Iowa may require you to notify employees of any changes to wages or paydays, at least one pay period prior to the changes. The notice must be in writing or posted.

Paystubs

You must provide each employee with a paystub on each payday. The paystub must include the following:

• hours worked,
• wages earned, and
• any deductions made.

The paystub may be electronic, if you give your employees free and unrestricted access to a printer to print the paystub.

Recordkeeping

For each employee, you must keep the following records for at least three (3) years:

• full name;
• the employee’s identifying symbol or number, if used in place of name on any time, work, or payroll records;
• home address;
• date of birth (if under 19);
• time of day and day of week on which the employee’s workweek begins;
• basis of pay (indicating whether the amount paid is per hour, per day, per week, per piece, per commission on sales, etc.);
• hours worked each workday and total hours worked each workweek;
• total daily or weekly straight-time wages;
• total additions to or deductions from wages paid each pay period;
• dates, amounts, and nature of each addition and deduction;
• total wages paid each pay period; and
• date of payment and the dates covered by each pay period.

You must also keep the following records for at least two (2) years:

• basic employment and earnings records, including:
  • all basic time and earning cards or sheets, which indicate the starting and stopping time of individual employees or of separate workforces; and/or
  • the amount of work accomplished by individual employees, when those amounts determine the pay-period earnings of those employees; and
• wage rate tables, including all tables or schedules which provide the piece rates or other rates used in computing straight-time earnings, wages, or salary, or overtime pay.

Notices

If you have previously violated wage payment laws, Iowa may require you to:

• notify your employees, in writing at the time of hire, what wages and regular paydays are;
• notify your employees at least one pay period prior to the beginning of any changes to wages or paydays; and
• to make available to your employees upon written request, a written statement of employment agreements and policies regarding
  • vacation pay,
  • sick leave,
  • reimbursement of expenses,
  • retirement benefits,
  • severance pay, or
  • other comparable matters concerning wages.