July 2026 Iowa Q&A roundup

Q           An employee who was on short-term disability leave received an overpayment of wages and employer-covered benefit premiums that should have partially been covered by the employee. The employee exhausted all paid leave and now plans to end employment. Can we enter into a repayment agreement, seeing as there are no remaining wages to deduct from, and are there any risks or specific best practices to prevent running afoul of the law?

You can request that the employee enter into a repayment agreement, but most employees in this situation will decline. Because you don’t have any wages to deduct from, you’ll likely have to file a claim, such as a small claims action, to receive a judgment. In some states and instances, you may already have an agreement that would allow you to send the amounts for collection without first seeking a judgment, but that depends on the specific state and your agreements. It sounds like in this instance, having the correct documents to do this is unlikely.

Q          We have an employee who has been out beyond their exhausted paid-time-off (PTO) balance and hasn’t provided medical documentation, as requested. Can we terminate this employee, or would this risk a discrimination claim?