1. A person claiming to be aggrieved by an unfair or discriminatory practice must initially
seek an administrative relief by filing a complaint with the agency in accordance with
section 216.15. This provision also applies to persons claiming to be aggrieved by an unfair
or discriminatory practice committed by the state or an agency or political subdivision of the
state, notwithstanding the terms of the Iowa administrative procedure Act, chapter 17A.
2. After the proper filing of a complaint with the agency, a complainant may subsequently
commence an action for relief in the district court if all of the following conditions have been
satisfied:\n\nTue Dec 09 22:22:08 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 216 (47, 2)
21 OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS, §216.16A\n\n a. The complainant has timely filed the complaint with the agency as provided in section
216.15, subsection 13.
b. The complaint has been on file with the agency for at least sixty days and the agency
has issued a release to the complainant pursuant to subsection 3.
3. a. Upon a request by the complainant, and after the expiration of sixty days from the
timely filing of a complaint with the agency, the agency shall issue to the complainant a release
stating that the complainant has a right to commence an action in the district court. A release
under this subsection shall not be issued if any of the following apply:
(1) A finding of no probable cause has been made on the complaint by the administrative
law judge charged with that duty under section 216.15, subsection 3.
(2) A conciliation agreement has been executed under section 216.15.
(3) The agency has served notice of hearing upon the respondent pursuant to section
216.15, subsection 6.
(4) The complaint is closed as an administrative closure and two years have elapsed since
the issuance date of the closure.
b. Notwithstanding section 216.15, subsection 5, a party may obtain a copy of all
documents contained in a case file where the agency has issued a release to the complainant
pursuant to this subsection.
4. An action authorized under this section is barred unless commenced within ninety days
after issuance by the agency of a release under subsection 3. If a complainant obtains a
release from the agency under subsection 3, the agency is barred from further action on that
complaint.
5. Venue for an action under this section shall be in the county in which the respondent
resides or has its principal place of business, or in the county in which the alleged unfair or
discriminatory practice occurred.
6. The district court may grant any relief in an action under this section which is
authorized by section 216.15, subsection 9, to be issued by the agency. The district court
may also award the respondent reasonable attorney fees and court costs when the court
finds that the complainant’s action was frivolous.
7. It is the legislative intent of this chapter that every complaint be at least preliminarily
screened during the first one hundred twenty days.
8. This section does not authorize administrative closures if an investigation is warranted.
[C79, 81, §601A.16]
84 Acts, ch 1096, §2; 85 Acts, ch 197, §10; 86 Acts, ch 1245, §263; 88 Acts, ch 1109, §29; 90
Acts, ch 1040, §1, 2
C93, §216.16
2003 Acts, ch 44, §114; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §221; 2009 Acts, ch 133, §83; 2024 Acts, ch 1170,
§263
Referred to in §216.15, 216.15A, 216.19
For provision governing conflicts between this section and section 216.16A, see §216.15A, subsection 13
\n
Notes of Decisions
Christopher J. Godfrey v. State of Iowa Terry Branstad, Governor of the State of Iowa, Individually & in His Off. Capacity Kimberly Reynolds, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Iowa, Individually & in Her Off. Capacity Jeffrey Boeyink, Chief of Staff to the Governor of the State of Iowa, Individually & in His Off. Capacity Brenna Findley, Legal Couns. to the Governor of The, 898 N.W.2d 844 (Iowa 2017).
· cites it 10× “In Iowa, the general assembly has directed that a person “claiming to be aggrieved by an unfair or discriminatory practice must initially seek an administrative relief,” and thereafter may bring a civil action under the ICRA.”
Ritz v. Wapello Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors, 595 N.W.2d 786 (Iowa 1999).
· cites it 17× “Iowa Code § 216.16 (l)(a) (1997). Second, the Commission must issue a release or right-to-sue letter no earlier than sixty days after the complaint has been on file.”
Rent-A-Ctr., Inc. v. Iowa Civil Rights Comm'n, 843 N.W.2d 727 (Iowa 2014).
· cites it 9× “See Iowa Code § 216.16 (3)(o )(3) (2011) (stating the ICRC shall not issue a release for the right to commence an action after notice of hearing has been served on a respondent).”
Westin v. Mercy Med. Servs., Inc., 994 F. Supp. 1050 (N.D. Iowa 1998).
· cites it 16× “It is uncontested that plaintiff failed to file her claims of discrimination under the Iowa Civil Rights Act within ninety days of the issuance of the administrative release, as required by Iowa Code § 216.16 (3). The court is called upon here to determine, inter alia, whether…”
Deboom v. Raining Rose, Inc., 772 N.W.2d 1 (Iowa 2009).
· cites it 2× “Iowa Code § 216.16 (5). “[D]amages shall include but are not limited to actual damages, court costs and reasonable attorney fees.”
O'BRYAN v. KTIV Television, 868 F. Supp. 1146 (N.D. Iowa 1994).
· cites it 8× “KTIV challenges this claim on the ground that, as a matter of law, the Iowa Civil Rights Act, Iowa Code § 216.16 , provides the exclusive remedy for the conduct alleged.”
Cheryl Albaugh v. The Reserve, 930 N.W.2d 676 (Iowa 2019).
· cites it 2× “1(2), (11), (12), so can facilities offer uncertified nursing care? 30 Further, there is no exclusivity provision in the retirement facilities statute.”
Lovelle Banks v. John Deere & Co., 829 F.3d 661 (8th Cir. 2016).
“§ 2000e-2(a)(1) (unlawful employment practices); Iowa Code § 216.16 (unfair employment practices).”
Lucht v. Encompass Corp., 491 F. Supp. 2d 856 (S.D. Iowa 2007).
· cites it 4× “C § 626(e), and the ICRA, Iowa Code § 216.16 (3). Under the ICRA, the ninety days begin to run when the administrative release is issued, that is, the date the letter is mailed.”
— Iowa Code § 216.16(1) — 15 cases
Christopher J. Godfrey v. State of Iowa Terry Branstad, Governor of the State of Iowa, Individually & in His Off. Capacity Kimberly Reynolds, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Iowa, Individually & in Her Off. Capacity Jeffrey Boeyink, Chief of Staff to the Governor of the State of Iowa, Individually & in His Off. Capacity Brenna Findley, Legal Couns. to the Governor of The, 898 N.W.2d 844 (Iowa 2017).
“In Iowa, the general assembly has directed that a person “claiming to be aggrieved by an unfair or discriminatory practice must initially seek an administrative relief,” and thereafter may bring a civil action under the ICRA.”
Cheryl Albaugh v. The Reserve, 930 N.W.2d 676 (Iowa 2019).
“1(2), (11), (12), so can facilities offer uncertified nursing care? 30 Further, there is no exclusivity provision in the retirement facilities statute.”
— Iowa Code § 216.16(16) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 216.16(2) — 2 cases
Ritz v. Wapello Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors, 595 N.W.2d 786 (Iowa 1999).
“Iowa Code § 216.16 (l)(a) (1997). Second, the Commission must issue a release or right-to-sue letter no earlier than sixty days after the complaint has been on file.”
— Iowa Code § 216.16(2)(6) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 216.16(2)(b) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 216.16(3) — 3 cases
Westin v. Mercy Med. Servs., Inc., 994 F. Supp. 1050 (N.D. Iowa 1998).
“It is uncontested that plaintiff failed to file her claims of discrimination under the Iowa Civil Rights Act within ninety days of the issuance of the administrative release, as required by Iowa Code § 216.16 (3). The court is called upon here to determine, inter alia, whether…”
— Iowa Code § 216.16(3)(a) — 3 cases
— Iowa Code § 216.16(3)(c) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 216.16(4) — 4 cases
— Iowa Code § 216.16(5) — 3 cases
— Iowa Code § 216.16(6) — 4 cases
— Iowa Code § 216.16(l) — 1 case
Christopher J. Godfrey v. State of Iowa Terry Branstad, Governor of the State of Iowa, Individually & in His Off. Capacity Kimberly Reynolds, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Iowa, Individually & in Her Off. Capacity Jeffrey Boeyink, Chief of Staff to the Governor of the State of Iowa, Individually & in His Off. Capacity Brenna Findley, Legal Couns. to the Governor of The, 898 N.W.2d 844 (Iowa 2017).
“In Iowa, the general assembly has directed that a person “claiming to be aggrieved by an unfair or discriminatory practice must initially seek an administrative relief,” and thereafter may bring a civil action under the ICRA.”
— Iowa Code § 216.16(l)(b) — 1 case
Ritz v. Wapello Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors, 595 N.W.2d 786 (Iowa 1999).
“Iowa Code § 216.16 (l)(a) (1997). Second, the Commission must issue a release or right-to-sue letter no earlier than sixty days after the complaint has been on file.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
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