Page 173 - An Indispensible Resource for Being a Credible Activist

of the meeting and for any time required to travel to and from the meeting. Employers can
neither penalize nor discriminate against a trustee as a result of his or her absence.
Employers won’t be required to compensate the trustee for the time during which the trustee
is absent.

INDIANA

Minimum wage. Because of requirements included in previously enacted legislation, the
State minimum wage was increased to $6.55 per hour on July 24, 2008.
Worker privacy. New legislation expanded the listing of types of public records that are
exempt from public disclosure unless access to the records is specifically required by State
or Federal statute or is ordered by a court under the rules of discovery. Records requested
by an offender (a person confined in a penal institution as the result of having been con-
victed of a crime) that contain information relating to (1) a correctional officer, (2) the vic-
tim of a crime, or (3) a family member of a correctional officer or the victim of a crime, or
that concern or could affect the security of a jail or correctional facility, are now normally
exempt from disclosure.

IOWA

Discharge. Legislation was enacted that prohibits employment discrimination in the State by
an employer against an employee who serves as a witness in a criminal proceeding or as a
plaintiff, defendant, or witness in a civil proceeding.
Minimum wage. With some exceptions, the Monthly State minimum-wage require-
ments shall no longer apply to an enterprise whose annual gross volume of sales made or
business done, exclusive of excise taxes at the retail level, which are separately stated, is less
than $300,000. The minimum-wage requirements now apply to an enterprise engaged in the
business of laundering, cleaning, or repairing clothing or fabrics and also apply to an enter-
prise engaged in construction or reconstruction. In addition, the requirements apply to an
enterprise engaged in the operation of a hospital, a preschool, an elementary or secondary
school, and an institution of higher education. Finally, the requirements also apply to a pub-
lic agency.
Time off. An employer shall not discharge an employee, or take or fail to take action
regarding an employee’s promotion or proposed promotion, or take action to reduce an
employee’s wages or benefits for actual time worked, due to the service of the employee as a
witness in a criminal proceeding or as a plaintiff, defendant, or witness in a civil proceeding.
Wages paid. The State law requirement regarding an employer’s payment of wages to
employees was amended. Henceforth, upon written request by an employee, employers
must send any wages due to the employee by mail. The employer shall maintain a copy of
the request for as long as it is effective and for two years thereafter. If an employer fails to
pay an employee’s wages on or by the regular payday, the employer is liable for the amount
of any overdraft charge if the overdraft is created on the employee’s account because of the
employer’s failure to pay the wages on or by the regular payday.

156 The H R Toolkit