Does an Iowa employer have to pay out unused PTO at termination?

If your policy promises vacation, unused accrued time is 'wages' under Iowa Code Chapter 91A and is collectible at separation — unless the written policy clearly says it forfeits. Iowa courts enforce the policy exactly as drafted.

What is Iowa's voting leave rule?

Up to 2 consecutive paid hours if the employee doesn't have 2 consecutive non-working hours while polls are open — reduced from 3 hours in 2021. The employee must request it in writing in advance, and the employer designates the time.

When is the final paycheck due in Iowa?

By the next regular payday, whether the employee was fired or quit.

Can you fire someone for calling in sick in Iowa?

Generally yes — at-will applies, limited by FMLA/ADA, workers' comp retaliation, and any promises your own handbook makes. Iowa's implied-contract doctrine means a policy that lists discipline steps can require you to follow them.

What counts as a no-call no-show in Iowa?

Your written policy defines it. Keep the definition, notice window, and abandonment threshold explicit — and follow your own listed steps, since Iowa handbooks can become contracts.

Iowa sick leave law & call-off rules

Q: Is paid sick leave required in Iowa?

No. Iowa has no sick leave requirement, and 2017's HF 295 preempts local mandates. Sick leave is whatever your written policy provides, plus federal FMLA and ADA obligations.

Iowa has no sick leave mandate and preempts local ones — but once your handbook promises PTO, unused accrued time becomes collectible wages under Chapter 91A unless the policy explicitly says otherwise. Iowa courts also take handbooks seriously as implied contracts. Here is what applies in 2026.

Iowa at a glance

Paid sick leave mandate	None — local mandates preempted (HF 295, 2017)
PTO at termination	Policy-promised vacation is Chapter 91A wages unless the policy clearly forfeits it
Voting leave	Up to 2 consecutive hours paid (reduced from 3 in 2021), written advance request
Employment relationship	At-will; handbook implied-contract and public-policy exceptions
Final paycheck deadline	Next regular payday, fired or quit
Jury duty	Protected, unpaid
Meal & rest breaks	None for adults

Is paid sick leave required in Iowa?

No. Iowa has no sick leave requirement, and the 2017 preemption law (HF 295) bars cities and counties from mandating benefits. Your written policy plus the federal floor governs.

The federal floor that still applies

FMLA

Employers with 50+ employees within 75 miles must give eligible employees (12+ months tenure, 1,250+ hours in the past year) up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition — their own or a close family member's. FMLA-protected absences can't accrue attendance points, and a call-off that mentions an ongoing condition can be notice enough to trigger your FMLA obligations, even if the employee never says "FMLA."

ADA

For employers with 15+ employees, the ADA can require modified attendance expectations or unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. An attendance policy applied "no exceptions" is exactly the kind that loses ADA cases — build an accommodation carve-out into the policy itself.

Call-offs, no-call no-shows, and firing in Iowa

Iowa is at-will with two familiar carve-outs — public policy (workers' comp retaliation, jury duty) and implied contracts from handbooks, which means an attendance policy that promises progressive steps can bind you to them. Older handbooks also overstate voting leave (it shrank from 3 hours to 2 in 2021) — worth a sweep. Wage disputes go to the Iowa Division of Labor, and the written policy plus the absence record decide them. A call-off hotline or text-based call-off system keeps the record half automatic.

PTO payout and final paychecks

Scenario	Rule	Source
Employee is fired or laid off	Next regular payday	Iowa Code 91A.4
Employee quits	Same — next regular payday	Iowa Code 91A.4
Unused vacation / PTO	Wages when due under your policy — use-it-or-lose-it and no-payout clauses hold only if clearly stated	Iowa Code 91A.2
Enforcement	Iowa Division of Labor wage claims or court	—

Iowa enforces the policy as drafted — silence converts balances into wages. See how PTO accrual works.

Leave Iowa employers must (and must not) provide

Leave type	Required?	Notes
Voting	Yes — paid	Up to 2 consecutive hours if the employee lacks 2 free hours while polls are open; written request in advance; employer sets the time
Jury duty	Yes — unpaid	Job-protected (Iowa Code ch. 607A)
Military	Yes	USERRA (federal) plus Iowa National Guard protections
Sick leave	No	Whatever your written policy provides
Meal & rest breaks	No	None for adults; minors under 16 only

The Iowa employer's attendance playbook

Put it in writing. A written policy — call-off deadline and channel, points or steps, the no-call no-show rule, and carve-outs for legally protected absences — is what makes discipline defensible. Our attendance policy guide walks through it.
Give call-offs one channel. "Tell whoever answers" is how records get lost. One number every employee texts or calls makes the record automatic.
Log everything with timestamps. Unemployment hearings and discrimination charges are won on contemporaneous records, not recollections.
Enforce consistently. Uneven enforcement converts a lawful termination into a discrimination claim.
Screen call-offs for protected reasons before applying points — sickness that could be FMLA/ADA territory gets a different track than an overslept alarm.

Note: This is general information for Iowa private-sector employers as of 2026, not legal advice. Federal contractors and public employers have additional rules, and laws change. Confirm specifics with qualified counsel.

Comparing states? See all published guides on the state sick leave laws hub.

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