Section 341A.18. Civil rights respected.

  1.  A person shall not be appointed or promoted to, or demoted or discharged from, any position subject to civil service, or in any way favored or discriminated against with respect to employment in the sheriff’s office because of the person’s political or religious opinions or affiliations or race or national origin or sex, or age.

  2.  a.  A person holding a position subject to civil service shall not, during the person’s scheduled working hours or when performing duties or when using county equipment or at any time on county property, take part in any way in soliciting any contribution for any political party or any person seeking political office, nor shall such employee engage in any political activity that will impair the employee’s efficiency during working hours or cause the employee to be tardy or absent from work. The provisions of this section do not preclude any employee from holding any office for which no pay is received or any office for which only token pay is received.

  b.  A person shall not seek or attempt to use any political endorsement in connection with any appointment to a position subject to civil service.

  c.  A person shall not use or promise to use, directly or indirectly, any official authority or influence, whether possessed or anticipated, to secure or attempt to secure for any person an appointment or advantage in the appointment to a position subject to civil service, or an increase in pay or other advantage in employment in any such position, for the purpose of influencing the vote or political action of any person or for any consideration.

  d.  An employee shall not use the employee’s official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or affecting the results thereof.

  3.  Any officer or employee subject to civil service who violates any of the provisions of this section shall be subject to suspension, dismissal, or demotion subject to the right of appeal herein.

  4.  All employees shall retain the right to vote as they please and to express their opinions on all subjects.

  5.  An officer or employee subject to civil service and a chief deputy sheriff or second deputy sheriff, who becomes a candidate for a partisan elective office for remuneration, upon request, shall automatically be given a leave of absence without pay, commencing thirty days before the date of the primary election and continuing until the person is eliminated as a candidate or wins the primary, and commencing thirty days before the date of the general election and continuing until the person is eliminated as a candidate or wins the general election, and during the leave period shall not perform any duties connected with the office or position so held. The officer or employee subject to civil service, or chief deputy sheriff or second deputy sheriff, may, however, use accumulated paid vacation time for part or all of any leave of absence under this section. The county shall continue to provide health benefit coverages, and may continue to provide other fringe benefits, to any officer or employee subject to civil service, or to any chief deputy sheriff or second deputy sheriff during any leave of absence under this section.

[C75, 77, 79, 81, §341A.18]

90 Acts, ch 1119, §2

; 2000 Acts, ch 1033, §1, 2

; 2014 Acts, ch 1026, §80