1. Waiver of rights void. Any agreement by an individual to waive, release, or commute
the individual’s rights to benefits or any other rights under this chapter shall be void. Any
agreement by any individual in the employ of any person or concern to pay all or any portion
of an employer’s contributions, required under this chapter from such employer, shall be void.
No employer shall directly or indirectly make or require or accept any deduction from wages
to finance the employer’s contributions required from the employer, or require or accept
any waiver of any right under this chapter by any individual in the employer’s employ. Any
employer or officer or agent of an employer who violates any provision of this subsection
shall, for each offense, be guilty of a serious misdemeanor.
2. Prohibition against fees. An individual claiming benefits shall not be charged fees of
any kind in any proceeding under this chapter by the department or its representatives or
by a court or an officer of the court. An individual claiming benefits in a proceeding before
the department, an appeal tribunal, or a court may be represented by counsel or other duly
authorized agent. A person who violates a provision of this subsection is guilty of a serious
misdemeanor for each violation.
3. No assignment of benefits — exemptions. Any assignment, pledge, or encumbrance
of any right to benefits which are or may become due or payable under this chapter shall be
void, and such rights to benefits shall be exempt from levy, execution, attachment, or any
other remedy whatsoever provided for the collection of debt; and benefits received by any
individual, so long as they are not mingled with other funds of the recipient, shall be exempt
from any remedy whatsoever for the collection of all debts. Any waiver of any exemption
provided for in this subsection shall be void.
[C39, §1551.21; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §96.15]
85 Acts, ch 54, §1; 96 Acts, ch 1186, §23; 2022 Acts, ch 1021, §37
Referred to in §96.3
\n
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
15
cases (
3 in the last 5 years), 1986–2024 · leading case:
Lara v. Thomas, 512 N.W.2d 777 (Iowa 1994).
Lara v. Thomas, 512 N.W.2d 777 (Iowa 1994).
· cites it 8× “See Iowa Code § 96.15 . On appeal Thomas argues that such a discharge, even if retaliatory, does not fall within the narrow exceptions to the employment at-will doctrine.”
Geiken v. Lutheran Home for the Aged Ass'n, 468 N.W.2d 223 (Iowa 1991).
· cites it 12× “Claimant emphasizes that Iowa Code section 96.15(2) provides as follows: An individual claiming benefits shall not be charged fees of any kind in any proceeding under this chapter by the division of job service or its representatives or by a court or an officer of the court.”
Teachout v. Forest City Cmty. Sch. Dist., 584 N.W.2d 296 (Iowa 1998).
· cites it 2× “(quoting Iowa Code § 96.15 (1) (1989)). Finally the legislature made it a serious misdemeanor for any employer to violate this provision of the statute.”
Cobb v. Emp. Appeal Bd., 506 N.W.2d 445 (Iowa 1993).
· cites it 4× “Under Iowa Code section 96.15(2), "an individual claiming benefits shall not be charged fees of any kind in any proceeding under this chapter by the division of job service or its representatives or by a court or an officer of the court.”
Efkamp v. Iowa Dep't of Job Serv., 383 N.W.2d 566 (Iowa 1986).
· cites it 2× “Efkamp thinks there is particular reason to apply the principle in the Johns-Man-ville and Reynolds cases because of Iowa Code section 96.15(1) which provides: Any agreement by an individual to waive, release, or commute the individual’s rights to benefits or any other rights…”
Savage v. Emp. Appeal Bd.(eab), 529 N.W.2d 640 (Iowa Ct. App. 1995).
· cites it 4× “2d 223 (Iowa 1991), the court said, “the prohibition in Iowa Code section 96.15(2) against charging a claimant ‘fees of any kind’ encompasses court costs.”
Ron Thomas v. Union Pac. RR Co., 308 F.3d 891 (8th Cir. 2002).
“at 782 (citing Iowa Code § 96.15 (1)). One prohibition was a bar on the waiver or release of claims to unemployment benefits.”
— Iowa Code § 96.15(1) — 4 cases
Lara v. Thomas, 512 N.W.2d 777 (Iowa 1994).
“See Iowa Code § 96.15 . On appeal Thomas argues that such a discharge, even if retaliatory, does not fall within the narrow exceptions to the employment at-will doctrine.”
Efkamp v. Iowa Dep't of Job Serv., 383 N.W.2d 566 (Iowa 1986).
“Efkamp thinks there is particular reason to apply the principle in the Johns-Man-ville and Reynolds cases because of Iowa Code section 96.15(1) which provides: Any agreement by an individual to waive, release, or commute the individual’s rights to benefits or any other rights…”
— Iowa Code § 96.15(2) — 4 cases
Geiken v. Lutheran Home for the Aged Ass'n, 468 N.W.2d 223 (Iowa 1991).
“Claimant emphasizes that Iowa Code section 96.15(2) provides as follows: An individual claiming benefits shall not be charged fees of any kind in any proceeding under this chapter by the division of job service or its representatives or by a court or an officer of the court.”
Cobb v. Emp. Appeal Bd., 506 N.W.2d 445 (Iowa 1993).
“Under Iowa Code section 96.15(2), "an individual claiming benefits shall not be charged fees of any kind in any proceeding under this chapter by the division of job service or its representatives or by a court or an officer of the court.”
Savage v. Emp. Appeal Bd.(eab), 529 N.W.2d 640 (Iowa Ct. App. 1995).
“2d 223 (Iowa 1991), the court said, “the prohibition in Iowa Code section 96.15(2) against charging a claimant ‘fees of any kind’ encompasses court costs.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.