The States

Iowa

Name: Iowa: governmental orders, March 2020 through September 2021
Creator: The COVID Project

The Iowa file holds 74 instruments from the State's governor, health authorities, courts and agencies, 70 of them with the exhibit file held by The COVID Project. 121 records in the Library resolve to Iowa in all, counting its metros, the agency clusters and the standing duties.

Code IAFirst closure or stay-at-home order Mar. 17, 2020 Ex. IA-002End of general restrictions Feb. 7, 2021Orders reaching 2021 Q3 16Primary source read 65 Confirmed from a secondary source 9

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The record in brief

Iowa's regime ran entirely through the Governor's Proclamations of Disaster Emergency under Iowa Code §§ 29C.6 and 135.144, renewed roughly every thirty days from March 9, 2020 until the final extension expired at 11:59 p.m. on February 15, 2022 (IA-043). Iowa never issued a stay-at-home order; it closed commerce by category instead. 2020 Q2 (with the March 13-31 run-up): the March 17 Public Health Disaster Emergency proclamation (IA-002) closed all restaurants and bars to the public except carry-out, drive-through and delivery, closed fitness centers, theaters, casinos and senior centers, and prohibited 'social, community, spiritual, religious, recreational, leisure, and sporting gatherings and events of more than 10 people' effective noon March 17; March 22 (IA-004) closed salons, barbershops, medical spas, tattoo, tanning and massage establishments and pools and suspended foreclosures; March 26 (IA-005) suspended 'all nonessential or elective surgeries and procedures that utilize personal protective equipment' and all elective dental procedures from 5:00 p.m. March 27, closed bookstores, clothing, shoe, jewelry, luggage, cosmetic, florist and furniture stores, and ordered every hospital, nursing facility and assisted living program to screen all staff each shift; April 2 (IA-007) closed all public and nonpublic schools through April 30 and extended every closure and the ten-person cap to April 30, calling on 'all peace officers of the state' to enforce; April 6 (IA-008) closed enclosed malls, tobacco and vape stores, toy, gaming, music and movie stores, social and fraternal clubs, bowling alleys, arcades, amusement parks, museums, libraries, zoos, race tracks, skating rinks, playgrounds and campgrounds from 8:00 a.m. April 7; April 16 (IA-010) imposed on the fourteen Region 6 counties (Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque) a household-only gathering rule and ordered that 'all employers shall evaluate whether any more of their employees can feasibly work remotely and to the extent reasonable, shall take steps to enable such employees to work from home.' Schools stayed closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 year (announced April 17). Reopening came in steps: April 24 (IA-011) allowed surgeries only under PPE, testing and 30 percent ICU-reserve conditions; April 27 (IA-012, IA-013) reopened restaurants, fitness centers, malls, libraries and retail at 50 percent in 77 counties from 5:00 a.m. May 1 while the 22 metropolitan counties (Polk, Linn, Johnson, Black Hawk, Scott, Dubuque, Woodbury and others) stayed closed; May 6 (IA-014) let dentists resume May 8 only 'in compliance with the Guidelines for the Safe Transition Back to Practice adopted by the Iowa Dental Board'; May 13 (IA-015) reopened statewide at 50 percent from May 15 with salons and barbershops by appointment only; May 20 (IA-016) reopened movie theaters at 50 percent, museums and zoos; May 26 (IA-017) reopened bars, wineries, breweries and clubs at 50 percent seated capacity from May 28 with groups of ten, and casinos, bowling alleys, amusement parks and skating rinks from June 1; June 10 (IA-018) lifted the 50 percent caps from June 12 but kept the mandatory six-foot seated-service rule for every restaurant, bar, fitness center, casino, salon, theater and race track. The ten-person gathering prohibition ran from March 17 to May 27, 2020. 2020 Q3: the June 25, July 24 and August 21 proclamations (IA-019, IA-021, IA-022) carried the six-foot and seated-service mandates for every establishment, the conditional surgery and dental orders, the health-facility staff screening order and the gathering rule (more than ten people only with six feet between groups) through September 20; July 17 (IA-020) made in-person instruction 'the presumed method of instruction' and confined remote learning to four enumerated circumstances; August 27 (IA-023) closed every bar, tavern, winery, brewery, distillery and nightclub in Black Hawk, Dallas, Johnson, Linn, Polk and Story counties from 5:00 p.m. that day and cut off alcohol service at 10:00 p.m. in restaurants there; September 15 (IA-024) reopened four of those counties from September 16 and kept Johnson and Story closed; the Iowa Supreme Court postponed all jury trials to September 14 (IA-051); Iowa City (July 21), Johnson County (August 6), Waterloo (August 17), Des Moines (August 26), Dubuque (August 6), Cedar Rapids and Ames (September 1-2) imposed face-covering orders the Governor's office called unenforceable. 2020 Q4: September 18 (IA-025) continued every establishment mandate to October 18 and Johnson and Story bar closures to September 27 (extended to October 4 by IA-026; lifted October 5 by IA-027); October 16 (IA-028) continued to November 15; the winter re-tightening came November 10 (IA-029: employers to enable remote work where feasible; indoor gatherings over 25 and outdoor over 100 masked; groups of eight) and November 16 (IA-030: statewide mask requirement indoors within six feet for fifteen minutes; indoor gatherings over 15 and outdoor over 30 prohibited; bars and restaurants closed 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.; hospitals to reserve ICU and medical-surgical capacity and limit elective surgeries), continued by December 9 (IA-032) and eased December 16 (IA-033: gatherings over ten allowed with six feet; masks required in establishments when not seated; groups of eight; 10 percent ICU and medical-surgical bed reserves), all to January 8, 2021; the Supreme Court postponed all jury trials from November 16 to February 1, 2021 (IA-052) and required masks in every court-controlled area (IA-053). 2021 Q1: the January 7 proclamation (IA-034) carried the mask, distancing, group-size and surgery rules to February 6; the February 5 proclamation (IA-035), effective February 7, 2021, ended the mask requirement, the distancing and group rules and the surgery restrictions; SF 160 (IA-045) forced every district to offer full-time in-person instruction from February 15. 2021 Q2: the April 30 and May 27 proclamations (IA-037, IA-038) kept the dental order ('The performance of any dental procedures except in compliance with paragraph A continue to be prohibited') and the health-facility staff screening order in force (screening to May 30, dental to June 26, 2021), with employer and gathering precautions 'strongly encouraged'; HF 847 and HF 889 (May 20, 2021; IA-046, IA-047) barred school mask policies, barred cities and counties from mask rules 'more stringent than a policy imposed by the state,' and barred businesses from requiring proof of vaccination. 2021 Q3: the Public Health Disaster Emergency remained in force throughout (IA-039 to August 22, IA-040 to September 19, IA-041 to October 17) with health-care regulatory suspensions; HF 847 and HF 889 governed every school, city, county and business; the Iowa Supreme Court's June 21 order (IA-055) continued pandemic court protocols to January 1, 2022 and its August 27 order (IA-056) required face coverings of everyone entering court-controlled areas statewide regardless of vaccination; the S.D. Iowa mask order (IA-077) governed the federal courthouses; Iowa City's mayoral order (IA-067) required face coverings in every public place from 11:59 p.m. August 19 to September 30, 2021; Linn County required masks in county facilities from August 9 (IA-076); the Arc of Iowa TRO of September 13 (IA-057) enjoined the school-mask ban and Des Moines Public Schools reinstated masks September 15 (IA-068).

The six quarters

What the record shows in force in Iowa on the first day and the last day of each quarter. Every exhibit named here opens its record. The orders of March 13 to 31, 2020 belong to the second quarter of 2020, because wages paid after March 12, 2020 fall in that quarter.

Quarter	First day	Last day
2020 Q2Second quarter of 2020The quarter nationally →	April 1, 2020: restaurants and bars closed to the public except carry-out and delivery; fitness centers, theaters, casinos, senior centers, salons, barbershops, spas, tattoo, tanning, massage, pools and eight categories of nonessential retail closed; all nonessential or elective surgeries and procedures and all elective dental procedures prohibited; health-facility staff screening ordered; gatherings of more than 10 prohibited; schools closed (IA-002, IA-004, IA-005, IA-006); jury trials postponed and courthouses limited to emergency in-person business (IA-048, IA-049); foreclosures suspended (IA-004).	June 30, 2020: all establishments open under mandatory six-foot distancing, seated service and IDPH/DIA-guided measures (IA-018, IA-019); gatherings over ten only with six feet between groups (IA-019); surgeries only under PPE, testing and capacity conditions; dental only under Dental Board guidelines; staff screening ordered; schools closed for the school year, summer activities permitted from June 1 (IA-016, IA-019); jury trials postponed to September 14 (IA-051).
2020 Q3Third quarter of 2020The quarter nationally →	July 1, 2020: the June 25 proclamation (IA-019) in force: six-foot seated-service mandates on every restaurant, bar, fitness center, casino, salon, theater and venue; gatherings over ten conditioned on six feet; conditional surgery and dental orders; staff screening; jury trials postponed to September 14 (IA-051).	September 30, 2020: the September 18 proclamation (IA-025) in force to October 18 with the same establishment mandates; bars, taverns, wineries, breweries, distilleries and nightclubs in Johnson and Story counties closed to the public (IA-025, IA-026, to October 4); in-person instruction presumed with remote learning confined to enumerated circumstances (IA-020); mayoral and county face-covering orders in Iowa City, Johnson County, Waterloo, Des Moines, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids and Ames (IA-058 to IA-064).
2020 Q4Fourth quarter of 2020The quarter nationally →	October 1, 2020: IA-025 in force (establishment distancing mandates; Johnson and Story bar closures; conditional surgery and dental orders; screening; gatherings over ten with six feet); local mask orders in the metropolitan counties.	December 31, 2020: IA-030 as continued by IA-032 and modified by IA-033 in force to January 8, 2021: statewide mask requirement indoors within six feet for fifteen minutes; employers to enable remote work where feasible; gatherings over ten only with six feet; spectators limited to two per athlete and masked; restaurants and bars seated, groups of eight, masks when not seated; casinos, fitness centers, salons under mask and distancing conditions; hospitals holding 10 percent ICU and medical-surgical reserves with nonessential surgeries otherwise prohibited; all jury trials postponed from November 16 to February 1, 2021 (IA-052); masks required in every court-controlled area (IA-053).
2021 Q1First quarter of 2021The quarter nationally →	January 1, 2021: same as December 31, 2020 (IA-030, IA-032, IA-033; IA-052; IA-053); Linn County and Des Moines local mask orders in force.	March 31, 2021: the March 5 proclamation (IA-036) in force to April 4 with the mask, distancing, gathering and surgery mandates ended since February 7 (IA-035); dental-guidelines order and health-facility staff screening order continuing; SF 160 requiring full-time in-person instruction option from February 15 (IA-045); Iowa Supreme Court mask and scheduling orders (IA-053) and jury trials resumed only from February 1 under COVID protocols.
2021 Q2Second quarter of 2021The quarter nationally →	April 1, 2021: IA-036 in force (dental order; staff screening order; in-person instruction directives; health-care suspensions); court mask and distancing orders (IA-053).	Dental order ended June 26 and screening order May 30 (IA-037, IA-038); HF 847 and HF 889 in force since May 20 (IA-046, IA-047); Iowa Supreme Court protocols continued to January 1, 2022 (IA-055) with masks required of unvaccinated persons (IA-054); federal courthouses under IA-077.
2021 Q3Third quarter of 2021The quarter nationally →	July 1, 2021: Public Health Disaster Emergency in force (June 25, 2021 proclamation to July 25; then IA-039 to August 22) with health-care regulatory suspensions; HF 847 (school mask ban; city and county preemption) and HF 889 (vaccination-proof ban on businesses and governmental entities); Iowa Supreme Court orders IA-054 and IA-055; S.D. Iowa order IA-077.	September 30, 2021: IA-041 in force to October 17; HF 889 in force; HF 847 § 28 enjoined as to public schools since September 13 (IA-057) with HF 847 §§ 29-30 (local preemption) in force; Iowa Supreme Court order IA-056 requiring face coverings of everyone entering court-controlled areas statewide; IA-055 protocols to January 1, 2022; Iowa City's face-covering order (IA-067) in force through September 30; Linn County facilities mask rule (IA-076); Des Moines Public Schools and other districts' mask requirements from September 15 (IA-068); federal courthouse mask rule for unvaccinated persons (IA-077).

The end of general restrictions

The day the general business restrictions ended in Iowa, the instrument that ended them, and what the record shows still in force afterward. The end of the general orders is not the end of the record: sector rules, standing duties and the federal layer continue past it.

End of general restrictions

Feb. 7, 2021

Instrument Proclamation of Disaster Emergency of February 5, 2021 (IA-035), effective 12:01 a.m. February 7, 2021

What remained in force

The Public Health Disaster Emergency itself (renewed monthly to February 15, 2022; IA-036 to IA-043); the order that dental services be provided only in compliance with the Iowa Dental Board's Guidelines for the Safe Transition Back to Practice, enforced by Board investigators with peace-officer powers (through June 26, 2021; IA-037, IA-038); the order that hospitals, nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities, residential care facilities, hospice programs and assisted living programs screen all staff each shift (through May 30, 2021; IA-037); the in-person-instruction directives (IA-037, IA-038; SF 160, IA-045); the health-care regulatory suspensions (certificate of need, 1135 waivers, out-of-state licensure) to February 15, 2022; the Iowa Supreme Court's mask, distancing and scheduling orders (IA-053, IA-054, IA-055, IA-056); HF 847 and HF 889 from May 20, 2021 (IA-046, IA-047); local face-covering orders (Iowa City, Linn County, Johnson County) until HF 847 and, in Q3 2021, Iowa City's August 19 order and Linn County's August 9 facilities rule; the Arc of Iowa TRO of September 13, 2021 (IA-057) and the school-district mask requirements that followed it.

Preemption of local orders

Iowa's Governor took the position from July 2020 that cities and counties could not impose mask mandates or other COVID-19 orders because Iowa Code ch. 29C and § 135.144 vest the public-health-disaster power in the Governor and the Department of Public Health and local rules must be 'consistent with' the Governor's proclamations; the Attorney General's office stated in July 2020 that 'a local regulation requiring masks would not be consistent with the governor's declarations' (Iowa Public Radio, July 21, 2020), and the Polk County Board of Supervisors declined a county mandate on August 28, 2020 because 'the Governor of Iowa has eliminated the ability of local governments to enact common sense practices' (IA-066). Iowa City (July 21, 2020, and again August 19, 2021), Johnson County (August 6, 2020, under Iowa Code § 137.104), Waterloo (August 17, 2020, under home rule, Iowa Const. art. III, § 38A and Iowa Code ch. 364), Des Moines, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, Ames, Muscatine and Linn County (November 18, 2020) issued face-covering orders anyway, several with simple-misdemeanor penalties; none was enjoined. The Legislature then preempted by statute: HF 847, §§ 29-30 (Iowa Code §§ 331.301(19), 364.3(14)), effective May 20, 2021, provides that a county or city 'shall not adopt an ordinance, motion, resolution, or amendment, or use any other means, that requires the owner of real property to implement a policy relating to the use of facial coverings that is more stringent than a policy imposed by the state,' and § 28 (Iowa Code § 280.31) bars school mask policies; the school provision was enjoined September 13, 2021 (IA-057). Iowa City's August 19, 2021 order rested on the statute's limitation to 'the owner of real property' and imposed the duty on persons instead; the Governor's office called it unlawful but did not sue.

Third quarter of 2021

July 1 through September 30, 2021, the last claimable quarter: the instruments the record shows in force in Iowa. An order in force on any day of the quarter is an order in force during it. The quarter nationally →

In force (14)

IA-039 Proclamation of Disaster Emergency, July 23, 2021 (Public Health Disaster Emergency continued to August 22, 2021; health-care regulatory suspensions; state agency activation)
IA-040 Proclamation of Disaster Emergency, August 19, 2021 (continued to September 19, 2021)
IA-041 Proclamation of Disaster Emergency, September 17, 2021 (continued to October 17, 2021; hospital criminal-history-check suspension added)
IA-046 HF 847 §§ 28-31 (Iowa Code § 280.31 school mask ban, enjoined as to public schools September 13, 2021 by IA-057; §§ 331.301(19) and 364.3(14) city and county preemption in force throughout)
IA-047 HF 889 (Iowa Code ch. 27B: no business or governmental entity may require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for entry; state grants and contracts barred to violators)
IA-057 Arc of Iowa v. Reynolds, No. 4:21-cv-00264 (S.D. Iowa Sept. 13, 2021) temporary restraining order enjoining enforcement of Iowa Code § 280.31 in Iowa public schools
IA-068 Des Moines Public Schools mask requirement for all students, staff and visitors effective September 15, 2021 (with Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Ames and other districts following the TRO)
IA-055 Iowa Supreme Court order of June 21, 2021 continuing the amended November 24, 2020 court protocols to January 1, 2022
IA-054 Iowa Supreme Court order of May 14, 2021 (face coverings required of unvaccinated persons; distancing requirements remain) through August 27, 2021
IA-056 Iowa Supreme Court order of August 27, 2021 ('All people entering court-controlled areas must wear a face covering... regardless of a person's vaccination status'; statewide)
IA-077 S.D. Iowa Public Administrative Order 21-AO-6-P (May 24, 2021): unvaccinated persons must mask and distance in the Council Bluffs, Des Moines and Davenport courthouses
IA-067 Iowa City Mayor's face covering order, effective 11:59 p.m. August 19, 2021 through September 30, 2021, with proclamation of civil emergency
IA-076 Linn County Board of Supervisors mask requirement in all indoor county facilities effective August 9, 2021
Federal layer (indexed by FED-A and FED-B): CDC conveyance mask order, 86 Fed. Reg. 8025; TSA security directives; OSHA Healthcare ETS, 29 C.F.R. § 1910.502; CMS conditions of participation and QSO memoranda; FMCSA emergency declaration

Sector chronology

How the orders reached each kind of business in Iowa, sector by sector, in the order the record gives. Open a sector to read its chronology; every exhibit named opens its record.

Restaurants and bars

Closed to the public except carry-out, drive-through and delivery from noon March 17, 2020 (IA-002); restaurants reopened at 50 percent, groups of six, six feet, no self-service in 77 counties May 1 (IA-012) and statewide May 15 (IA-015); bars, wineries, breweries, distilleries and clubs reopened at 50 percent seated capacity May 28 (IA-017); caps lifted June 12 but six-foot seated service mandatory (IA-018) through February 6, 2021; bars in Black Hawk, Dallas, Johnson, Linn, Polk and Story closed August 27-September 16, 2020 (Johnson and Story to October 4) with alcohol service cut off at 10:00 p.m. (IA-023, IA-024, IA-025, IA-026, IA-027); closed 10:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m., groups of eight, masks when not seated November 17-December 16, 2020 (IA-030); groups of eight and masks when not seated December 17, 2020-February 6, 2021 (IA-033, IA-034); all mandates ended February 7, 2021 (IA-035).

Retail

Bookstores, clothing, shoe, jewelry, luggage, cosmetic, florist and furniture stores closed 10:00 p.m. March 26 (IA-005); malls, tobacco and vape, toy, gaming, music and movie stores closed 8:00 a.m. April 7 (IA-008); reopened at 50 percent in 77 counties May 1 (IA-012) and statewide May 15 (IA-015); caps lifted June 12 (IA-018); 'reasonable measures' distancing obligation continued to February 6, 2021; HF 889 barred vaccination-proof conditions on entry from May 20, 2021 (IA-047).

Personal care

Salons, barbershops, medical spas, tattoo, tanning and massage establishments closed 10:00 p.m. March 22 (IA-004) through May 14; reopened statewide May 15 at 50 percent, appointment only, six feet (IA-015); tanning and medical spas May 8 (IA-014); caps lifted June 12 with six-foot mandate (IA-018); masks required of customers and providers November 17, 2020-February 6, 2021 (IA-030, IA-033).

Fitness and entertainment

Fitness centers, theaters and casinos closed March 17 (IA-002); bowling alleys, arcades, amusement parks, skating rinks, museums, zoos, race tracks and playgrounds closed April 7 (IA-008); fitness centers reopened at 50 percent with ten-person classes May 1/May 15 (IA-012, IA-015); movie theaters, museums, zoos May 22 (IA-016); casinos, bowling, amusement parks, skating rinks and outdoor performance venues June 1 (IA-017); caps lifted June 12 with six-foot mandates (IA-018); group sports and spectator limits and mask rules November 17, 2020-February 6, 2021 (IA-030, IA-033, IA-034).

Hotels and short-term rentals

No lodging ban; hotel bars closed with other bars in the six counties August 27-September 2020 ('Bars located in hotels, casinos, movie theaters, or sporting venues... must still close to the public'; IA-023); banquet and meeting business governed by the gathering rules (ten-person cap to May 27, 2020; six-foot rule; 15/30 caps November 17-December 16, 2020; groups of eight); campgrounds closed April 7-May 7, 2020 (IA-008, IA-014).

Offices and telework

Region 6 (14 counties including Linn, Black Hawk and Dubuque): 'All employers shall evaluate whether any more of their employees can feasibly work remotely and to the extent reasonable, shall take steps to enable such employees to work from home,' April 16-30, 2020 (IA-010); statewide employer directive to enable remote work where feasible November 11, 2020-February 6, 2021 (IA-029 Section Four; continued by IA-030, IA-032, IA-034); Division of Banking authorized licensees to work from residences from March 18, 2020 (IA-071); employer precautions 'strongly encouraged' to May 30, 2021 (IA-037).

Manufacturing

Never ordered closed; Region 6 employer directive April 16-30, 2020 (IA-010); statewide remote-work directive for office functions November 11, 2020-February 6, 2021 (IA-029); the December 16, 2020 gathering rule expressly excluded 'gatherings in an office or manufacturing workplace' from the ten-person rule while leaving the establishment and mask rules in place (IA-033); meat and poultry plant outbreaks (Tyson Waterloo, Columbus Junction, Perry) fell under the federal instruments indexed by FED-A.

Construction

No construction shutdown; construction was never closed in Iowa. Job sites in Region 6 fell under the April 16-30, 2020 employer directive (screening, distancing, cleaning) (IA-010); permit and inspection offices operated under the courthouse and public-office limitations of the court orders and the general 'reasonable measures' rule; suspension of paper bidding procedures (IA-013).

Real estate

Foreclosure proceedings suspended March 22-May 27, 2020 (IA-004, IA-013); certain evictions suspended March 19-May 27, 2020 (IA-003, IA-013); remote notarization authorized March 22, 2020 (IA-004); Division of Banking remote-work authorization for mortgage licensees from March 18, 2020 (IA-071); mortgage lenders and title companies affected by court limitations on in-person business (IA-048 to IA-051).

Hospitals and long-term care

Mandatory shift screening of all staff at hospitals, nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities, residential care facilities, hospice programs and assisted living programs March 27, 2020-May 30, 2021 (IA-005, IA-007, IA-037); hospital capacity reserves November 17, 2020-February 6, 2021 (IA-030, IA-033); certificate-of-need and licensure suspensions to February 15, 2022 (IA-039 to IA-043).

Dental and elective health care

All elective dental procedures prohibited 5:00 p.m. March 27-May 7, 2020, enforced by Dental Board investigators with peace-officer powers (IA-005, IA-007); dental services from May 8 only in compliance with the Board's Guidelines for the Safe Transition Back to Practice, PPE inventory and conservation plan, through June 26, 2021 (IA-014, IA-037, IA-038); nonessential or elective surgeries and procedures using PPE prohibited March 27-April 26, 2020 (IA-005, IA-007), then conditioned on PPE, testing, ICU reserve (30 percent) and no-transfer rules April 27, 2020-February 6, 2021 (IA-011, IA-019, IA-025, IA-030 with 10 percent bed reserves, IA-033).

Schools

All public and nonpublic schools closed by proclamation through April 30, 2020 (IA-007; announced March 15 and April 2) and for the remainder of the school year (announced April 17, 2020); summer activities from June 1 (IA-016); SF 2310 (June 29, 2020) and the July 17, 2020 proclamation made in-person instruction the presumed method and confined remote learning to parental choice, Department-approved building closures, individual or classroom isolation and weather (IA-044, IA-020); SF 160 required a full-time in-person option from February 15, 2021 (IA-045); HF 847 § 28 barred school mask policies from May 20, 2021 (IA-046), enjoined for public schools September 13, 2021 (IA-057); districts reinstated masks from September 15, 2021 (IA-068).

Child care

Child care was never ordered closed; the Region 6 gathering rule and the statewide orders excepted 'the provision of necessary care, including child care' (IA-010); child-care playgrounds excepted from the playground closure (IA-008); DHS ratio and licensing suspensions carried in the regulatory-relief sections of the proclamations.

Worship and gatherings

Spiritual and religious gatherings of more than 10 prohibited March 17-April 30, 2020 (IA-002, IA-007); permitted from May 1 subject to 'reasonable measures' and distancing (IA-012); general gatherings over ten prohibited March 17-May 27, 2020, then permitted only with six feet between groups (IA-017, IA-019, IA-025); indoor gatherings over 15 and outdoor over 30 prohibited November 17-December 16, 2020 (IA-030); gatherings over ten with six feet and masks December 17, 2020-February 6, 2021 (IA-033); Region 6 household-only rule April 16-30, 2020 (IA-010).

Courts and public offices

Iowa Supreme Court supervisory orders postponed criminal jury trials from March 14 to April 20, then July 13, then September 14, 2020, and all jury trials from November 16, 2020 to February 1, 2021; closed the Judicial Branch Building to the public March 18, 2020; limited courthouses to emergency in-person business through July 13, 2020; required masks in all court-controlled areas from November 24, 2020, revised May 14, 2021 and reimposed for all persons August 27, 2021; continued all protocols to January 1, 2022 (IA-048 to IA-056); S.D. Iowa courthouse mask rules (IA-077); driver's license, registration and title deadlines suspended by proclamation from March 17, 2020 (IA-002) and DOT service centers appointment-only from March 17, 2020; county facilities masked in Linn County from August 9, 2021 (IA-076).

Travel and quarantine

Iowa issued no travel-quarantine order. Interstate travel into Iowa fell under other States' quarantine lists (indexed by ECO-C); IDPH isolation and quarantine directions for cases and contacts operated under Iowa Code ch. 139A; hours-of-service and oversize-load suspensions for carriers of medical and household goods (IA-002).

Face coverings

Strongly encouraged by proclamation from August 27, 2020 (IA-023); local mandates in Muscatine (July 6, 2020), Iowa City (July 21, 2020), Dubuque (August 10, 2020), Johnson County (August 2020), Waterloo (August 18, 2020), Des Moines (August 26, 2020), Cedar Rapids (September 2, 2020), Ames (September 4, 2020), Linn County (November 19, 2020); statewide requirement for everyone two or older within six feet of others indoors for fifteen minutes November 17, 2020-February 6, 2021 (IA-030, IA-035); court-area masks November 24, 2020-May 14, 2021 (all), May 14-August 27, 2021 (unvaccinated), August 27, 2021 onward (all) (IA-053, IA-054, IA-056); HF 847 preemption May 20, 2021 (IA-046); Iowa City August 19-September 30, 2021 (IA-067); Linn County facilities August 9, 2021 (IA-076); school districts from September 15, 2021 (IA-068).

Vaccination mandates

None issued by the State; HF 889 (May 20, 2021) prohibits businesses and governmental entities from requiring proof of vaccination for entry, health care facilities excepted (IA-047); HF 902 (October 29, 2021, post-period) required employers to grant medical and religious exemptions; the federal health-care and contractor mandates of Q4 2021 are indexed by FED-A and FED-B.

Standing duties

The statutes, codes and penalty provisions of Iowa that stood before March 2020 and ran through every claimable quarter. They are the reason nothing an employer did under the orders was voluntary. Read the Iowa duties →

Iowa's standing law made the pandemic protocols compulsory through five interlocking layers, each in force every day of the six quarters. First, the communicable-disease statute: Iowa Code chapter 139A empowers the Department of Public Health and every local board of health to 'impose and enforce isolation and quarantine restrictions' and 'area quarantine restrictions' (section 139A.4; DUT-IA-001), the public-health-disaster subchapter authorizes the Department, with the Governor, to 'take reasonable measures as necessary to prevent the transmission of infectious disease' and to isolate or quarantine individuals or groups (section 135.144(3), (8); DUT-IA-002), and the Department's rules make an isolation or quarantine order operative on issuance and permit 'exclusion of individuals or groups from... workplace' (641 IAC ch. 1; DUT-IA-012). Second, the offense layer: knowing violation of any lawful order of the Department is a simple misdemeanor (section 135.38, in the Code since 1873; DUT-IA-004), so is knowing violation of any lawful order under chapter 139A or of a local board (sections 139A.25, 137.117; DUT-IA-010, DUT-IA-008), peace officers 'shall enforce' the Department's orders when called upon (section 135.35; DUT-IA-011), and a peace officer may arrest without warrant any person violating an order made under chapter 29C (section 29C.18(2); DUT-IA-005). Every proclamation from April 2, 2020 called all peace officers of the State to enforce it under sections 29C.18 and 135.35 (IA-007 section 9), and the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Public Health told the public on March 17, 2020 that 'a violation of such orders is a crime' (DUT-IA-013); the Attorney General repeated it on June 3, 2020 (DUT-IA-009). Third, the workplace duty: Iowa is a State-plan State whose Occupational Safety and Health Act requires every employer to furnish 'a place of employment which is free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm' (section 88.4(1); DUT-IA-006), enforced by civil penalties at the federal amounts (section 88.14), with every federal Part 1910 standard adopted as Iowa law by rule 875-10.20(88) (DUT-IA-018) and the federal COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard adopted by reference effective July 22, 2021 (ARC 5847C; DUT-IA-015; FED-080). Fourth, the liability shield: Senate File 2338, signed June 18, 2020 and retroactive to January 1, 2020, codified as Iowa Code chapter 686D, withholds its protection from a person who 'recklessly disregards a substantial and unnecessary risk' of exposure and grants its safe harbor only where the act or omission 'was in substantial compliance or was consistent with any federal or state statute, regulation, order, or public health guidance related to COVID-19' (sections 686D.4, 686D.5; DUT-IA-007); 'public health guidance' is defined to include written CDC, CMS, OSHA, Governor's Office and Iowa Department of Public Health guidance. Fifth, the licensing layer: the Alcoholic Beverages Division and the Department of Inspections and Appeals enforced the proclamations' distancing and hygiene conditions against bars and restaurants through license sanctions under section 123.39 (civil penalty to $1,000 per violation, suspension to one year, revocation; DUT-IA-003), filing 56 hearing complaints for 'COVID-19 Proclamation Violation' in FY2021 on 938 COVID-19 complaints (DUT-IA-014). The proclamations themselves wrote the protocols into the permission to operate: from April 27, 2020 a restaurant 'may reopen... but only to the extent that it complies with the following requirements,' including that it 'shall also implement reasonable measures... consistent with guidance issued by the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals and the Iowa Department of Public Health' (IA-012); from April 16, 2020 in fourteen counties and from November 11, 2020 statewide, 'All employers shall evaluate whether any more of their employees can feasibly work remotely and to the extent reasonable, shall take steps to enable such employees to work from home,' and employers open in person 'shall take reasonable precautions... including appropriate employee screening, social distancing practices, and increased cleaning and hygiene practices' (IA-010, IA-029, IA-030); dental services could resume from May 8, 2020 only 'in compliance with the Guidelines for the Safe Transition Back to Practice adopted by the Iowa Dental Board' and every other dental procedure 'continue[d] to be prohibited' through June 26, 2021 (IA-014, IA-035); health facilities were ordered to screen all staff every shift from March 27, 2020 to May 30, 2021 (IA-005, IA-035). The February 5, 2021 proclamation converted the general employer section to 'I strongly encourage' (recommendation) while keeping the dental and screening orders mandatory (IA-035). The Iowa Supreme Court's opinion in Riley Drive Entertainment I, Inc. v. Reynolds (Feb. 18, 2022) records that the plaintiff bars 'were required to close temporarily as a result of the Governor's August 27 order' and that the district court held the order a 'reasonable' and 'necessary' measure under section 135.144(3); the Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal as moot without reaching the merits (DUT-IA-017).

The question these duties answer

Whether the pandemic measures Iowa employers took beyond the closure and capacity terms of the Governor's proclamations were 'voluntary' (Notice 2021-20 Q&A-14) or were compelled by standing legal duties.

By character

5 Order penalty
3 Statutory authority
2 Agency position statement
2 Workplace duty
1 Adjudication
1 Covid workplace rule
1 Guidance incorporated
1 Liability shield condition
1 Sanitary code duty
1 Statutory duty

Exhibits

Ex. DUT-IA-001 Ex. DUT-IA-002 Ex. DUT-IA-003 Ex. DUT-IA-004 Ex. DUT-IA-005 Ex. DUT-IA-006 Ex. DUT-IA-007 Ex. DUT-IA-008 Ex. DUT-IA-009 Ex. DUT-IA-010 Ex. DUT-IA-011 Ex. DUT-IA-012 Ex. DUT-IA-013 Ex. DUT-IA-014 Ex. DUT-IA-015 Ex. DUT-IA-016 Ex. DUT-IA-017 Ex. DUT-IA-018

The Iowa duties, read in full 18 duty records in the Library →

On the calendar

Every dated instrument in the Iowa file across the nineteen months from March 2020 through September 2021, in the order it took effect. A bar takes the color of the instrument's first limitation type and runs from its effective month through its end month; a fading edge marks an instrument whose end the record does not date. Point at a bar for its dates; open the bar for the record.

Emergency declaration 24Stay-at-home 1Business closure 13Telework mandate 6Capacity limit 9Gathering cap 22Face-covering requirement 26Schools and child care 21Health care orders 28Curfew and hours 5Alcohol and bars 13Events and venues 19Courts and public offices 17Workplace rules 24Vaccination or testing 1Supply chain 2Other 12

Instrument

2020 Q2

2020 Q3

2020 Q4

2021 Q1

2021 Q2

2021 Q3

Mar

Apr

May

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May