Employers in Iowa are not required by federal or state law to provide vacation benefits to their employees so, unless there is a union collective bargaining agreement or specific agreements with individual employees, employers have considerable flexibility in setting vacation policies. If an employer does provide vacation benefits, as most do, the employer’s vacation policy should clearly state the requirements for taking vacations and granting vacation pay and that policy should be communicated to all employees.
The employer may place reasonable limitations on when employees can take vacation, for example, by requiring employees to take one week of vacation during an annual shutdown or during a specified period when business traditionally is slow. Employers also may require that vacation be taken in certain increments; for example, if employees are given two weeks of vacation per year, the employer may require that the employee use one week all at once.
It is important for employers to establish how vacation time is granted. Some may choose...
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