Legal Question in Discrimination Law in Iowa
I work in a Neonatal Intensive care Unit at a big health system in my state, I am a Unit Secretary. I was recently sent an email, as well as my fellow Unit Secretaries, from a supervisor stating that "If us Unit Secretaries were caught using our cell phones or other personal devices, we would be sent home for the rest of the day without pay." We were instructed to send conformation reciept to this email. Not a single one of us did. This promted said supervisor to go around and have us sign a paper stating what the email said. I refused to on the grounds that the nurses weren't required to sign the paper and they ar� "offenders" as well. I felt it was unfair, singled us specific job title employees out and was discriminating against us secretaries. What would anger you more, a secretary on her phone or a nurse who is supposed to be taking care of your sick baby on her phone? If I get fired for refusing to sign this paper, can I sue?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Iowa is a right to work state which means that you can be fired for any reason, good reason or no reason at all and you have no rights unless you have a contract of employment or are covered by a collective bargaining agreement. It also means they get to set the work rules and enforce them, whatever that happens to be.