July 2025 Iowa Q&A Roundup

Q         We have an employee who’s been on workers’ compensation leave for six months. She was placed on light duty, but then her doctor changed her restrictions, and she’s been off work since leave began. Can we fire her?

Any time you fire an employee who has an active workers’ comp claim, you will want to coordinate not only with your employment attorney but also with the attorney handling the workers’ comp issues. The issue becomes one of accommodation in most jurisdictions and whether you can accommodate the continuing need for leave. If you cannot, then you are in a position to fire the employee. This could eventually increase a final workers’ comp payment amount if the claim is settled because the loss of a job factors into many payments. But you also have the employment issues of having an unfilled position, which may put burdens on other staff and your operation. Do note that in some states the termination itself could be considered a retaliatory violation, so getting advice of counsel is important.

Q         Can a pregnant employee start her 12 weeks of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave before delivery, and if so, will this shorten her amount of postpartum leave?