Wage Theft » Iowa

Unpaid Wage Cases in Iowa

Since 2005 the U.S. Department of Labor has found $31.8M in back wages owed to 38,986 Iowa workers, in 2,349 cases, and assessed $5.7M in penalties. 544 cases involved child labor violations covering 2,001 minors.

$31.8MBack wages employers agreed to pay
38,986Workers owed back wages
2,349Cases with back wages

What workers weren't paid

Overtime not paid$19M (60%)
Below minimum wage$5.4M (17%)
Prevailing wage on government contracts$4.1M (13%)
Other laws (farmworker, visa, leave and more)$3.3M (10%)

Industries with the most back wages

Full-Service Restaurants$4.9M (16%)
Vocational Rehabilitation Services$1.1M (3%)
Residential Building Construction$1M (3%)
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels$998K (3%)
Computer Systems Design and Related Services$903K (3%)
Rendering and Meat Byproduct Processing$873K (3%)
Limited-Service Restaurants$837K (3%)
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors$761K (2%)
All Other Business Support Services$659K (2%)
Nursing Care Facilities$624K (2%)

Cases with back wages by year

050100150200124200512620061292007842008119200913520101442011182201217220131632014118201573201610920179420181342019802020752021732022432023372024402025102026

By city

CityBack wagesWorkersCases
Des Moines$3.6M 4,625249
West Des Moines$2M 1,99391
Cedar Rapids$1.5M 1,781150
Dubuque$1.3M 90454
Clive$1.1M 37936
Davenport$1M 1,60594
Sioux City$885K 95973
Urbandale$865K 74849
Clinton$782K 29421
Iowa City$750K 1,29172
Council Bluffs$744K 53068
Cedar Falls$630K 1,33141
Coralville$615K 1,10229
Ankeny$562K 1,04150
Ames$557K 93964
Bettendorf$544K 36232
Waterloo$476K 80946
Marshalltown$472K 40828
Waukee$363K 18510
Newton$300K 68219
Mason City$231K 17622
Fairfield$219K 26728
Marion$216K 52026
Johnston$213K 39328
Grimes$179K 7316
Muscatine$179K 8917
Ottumwa$178K 17921
Fort Dodge$172K 26329
Clarinda$161K 16417
Hiawatha$149K 39521
Oskaloosa$144K 8311
Spirit Lake$141K 50311
Burlington$115K 71625
Winterset$96,707 33412
Spencer$95,366 35112
Denison$90,174 9710
Grinnell$89,880 15813
Washington$57,820 11512
Indianola$56,545 16214
Waverly$33,136 6710

Cities with at least 10 cases with back wages.

Labor and employment lawyers in Iowa

Lawbamba lists 8 labor and employment lawyers with an office in Iowa, the practice area that deals with the wage theft cases on this page. These 4 come first in that listing (how the order is set).

Brandon J. Gray
Redfern, Mason, Larsen & Moore, PLC
Labor and Employment, Workers Compensation, General Practice
Cedar Falls · 3.4★ from 1 review
Conner L. Wasson
Ahlers & Cooney, P.C.
Labor and Employment, Taxation, Education Law
Des Moines
Emily Ann Kolbe
Ahlers & Cooney, P.C.
Labor and Employment, Litigation, College and University Law
Des Moines
Katherine Beenken
Ahlers & Cooney, P.C.
Labor and Employment, Employee Benefits, Education Law
Des Moines

Matched by practice area and office location only. These lawyers are not connected to the records on this page and have not reviewed or endorsed it.

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Source: the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division enforcement data (every concluded compliance action since fiscal year 2005), from the DOL Open Data Portal, loaded November 9, 2026. “Back wages” is the amount employers agreed to pay workers after an investigation found they were underpaid; dates are the end of the period the investigation covered. Employer names and addresses are as DOL publishes them. Federal cases only: state labor departments and private lawsuits recover more that isn't counted here.

Lawbamba is not affiliated with the Department of Labor, and this page is general information, not legal advice.