Childcare

Too many Iowans lack access to high quality affordable childcare that allows young parents to return to work and children enter school ready to learn.  We need to ensure the early childhood workforce are fairly compensated so Iowa's children have consistent and qualified caregivers.  This may require a public / private partnership.

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Immigration

The federal government is responsible for fixing our broken immigration system. Enacting meaningful immigration reform is critical to our long-term efforts to lift labor standards and empower workers.  The entire workforce suffers when millions struggle to support their families without a way to speak up on the job, and ramping up fear in our workplaces only serves to increase exploitation.

Until the federal government acts Iowa must do more to stop worker exploitation. 

Iowa needs to crack down on unscrupulous employers such as those who misclassify their workers as independent contractors.  According to Iowa Workforce development misclassification of workers as “independent contractors” rather than “employees" is a growing problem in Iowa and nationally.  The misclassification of workers threatens Iowa’s economy, its businesses and its workers - which are the most important resource we have.

Iowa employers must report wages to Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) Operations Division and pay unemployment insurance (UI) tax on wages paid to employees as required. Iowa employers must generally withhold State and Federal income taxes, as well as withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes.
When employers misclassify workers they:

• avoid paying taxes

• may avoid workers compensation coverage

• may fail to follow wage, contractor registration, labor laws and/or other employment laws

• may be more financially capable to underbid honest, law-abiding businesses that are paying all taxes owed