Before you vote: Here are 6 anti-worker laws passed by the Iowa Legislature

If you care about workers’ rights, or upholding federal child labor laws, or even being fiscally responsible with your tax dollars, you should know what your elected leaders have been up to in the Iowa Legislature.

Iowa Republicans have held power for years in the state legislature, passing all manner of laws designed to take money from the middle class and give it to corporations and the wealthy. (Iowa Democrats, meanwhile, have a different plan. But that plan is contingent upon voters electing them instead.)

Let’s look at six of the most egregious anti-worker policies of the last few years—and which state legislators on your ballot have voted for them.

They’re giving wealthy Iowans a huge tax cut and bankrupting the state

A flat tax—meaning you pay the same tax rate as everyone else does—sounds good in theory. And then you find out such policies have basically bankrupted other states.

Iowa Republicans: But it won’t bankrupt OUR state!

HF 2317, signed by Gov. Reynolds in March of 2022, slowly drops the individual income tax rate to 6%, then 5.7%, then 4.82%, before hitting 4% in 2026.

The lowest income people would see a yearly savings of $7—yes, just seven dollars per year. But Iowans who make over a million dollars get a much bigger tax cut—and, surprise, that means way less revenue (to the tune of $1.6 billion less by 2028) to spend on any kind of quality-of-life programs.

Here’s who voted for HF 2317.

They allowed younger child care workers to watch more kids at a time

Ask any parent, and they’ll tell you it’s tough trying to find quality child care in Iowa. Ask any child care provider or advocate, and they’ll tell you that’s because we pay child care providers poverty wages.

How did Iowa Republicans respond in 2022? Passing HF 2198, which loosened safety regulations on how old child care workers have to be, and how many children they can take care of at one time.

Providers and parents alike criticized it, saying the decreased supervision could not only put kids in danger, but cause teachers to quit, perpetuating the child care shortage in Iowa.

Here’s who voted for HF 2198.

They allowed younger workers in more dangerous occupations

Can’t attract workers to your state anymore? Make the kids do the work instead—even if it’s hazardous.

SF 542, signed into law in May of 2023, lowers the age for teenagers to do hazardous work like operating band saws, roofing, and serving alcohol from 18 to 16.

But it turns out that passing the Project 2025-inspired law got the attention of the federal government, who warned last year they would enforce federal child labor laws regardless of state laws—and then did exactly that.

Here’s who voted for SF 542.

They took away teachers’ right to bargain for better wages

Public school teachers are among the professions with the lowest pay relative to the number of years of schooling they need. In Iowa, their pay is lower than many states around them.

So how are Iowa Republicans getting teachers to stay in Iowa? LOL, they are not.

HF 291, signed into law by then-Gov. Terry Branstad in February of 2017, makes life worse for those 180,000 teachers and state, county, and city workers.

2017’s law gutted collective bargaining for public workers means, instead of being able to bargain with your employer on anything that needs fixing at your workplace, public workers are only able to bargain over wages—not benefits, retirement, or anything else.

Additionally, you no longer just have to vote for your union the first time: Iowa makes all public unions recertify constantly—and every person eligible to vote who does not vote is counted as a “no,” tilting the scales toward breaking unions—which might be exactly as Iowa Republicans designed it.

Here’s who voted for HF 291.

They’re giving your tax dollars to wealthy private school parents

One of the biggest taxpayer money transfers from the working class to the rich? School vouchers.

HF 68, signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds in January of 2023, lets already-wealthy Iowans take your tax dollars to help pay for their children’s private schooling via school vouchers.

Sure, each $7,635 scholarship was initially limited to parents under a certain income limit. But those limits expire by the third year—and even in its first year, vouchers are sucking up way more money in the state treasury than expected.

Here’s who voted for HF 68.

They took away protection from discrimination

Even in right-to-work Iowa, our state still once protected workers for being fired for discriminatory reasons, like because of your race or sexual orientation.

But SF 2095, the “religious freedom” law—signed into law by Gov. Reynolds in April—would essentially be a “blank check for discrimination,” Sen. Janice Weiner said during debate on the bill.

Religious freedom laws are theoretically supposed to allow people greater freedom to exercise their religion, no matter what that religion is. But in practice, such laws are so vague they give cover to medical providers to deny access to abortion or birth control, or circumvent civil rights protections for religious and ethnic minorities as well as LGBTQ+ Iowans.

“This legislation is just the latest in a long and exhausting line of bills that will make it more difficult for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other queer Iowans to live, work, and raise a family in this state,” Sen. Zach Wahls told the Iowa Capital Dispatch.

Even lobbyists for business groups argued the law will “empower Iowa business owners to deny services or accommodations based on potential customer sexual orientation or gender identity or any other protected class,” and would make Iowa less attractive to potential workers.

Here’s who voted for SF 2095.