Supreme Court of Iowa
Larry R. Hedlund v. State of Iowa, K. Brian London
June 9, 2023
Summary
The court held that the 2019 amendments to Iowa Code section 70A.28(5)(a), which added enhanced damages for whistleblower retaliation, do not apply retrospectively to Hedlund's preenactment claim. Applying its revised framework for temporal statutory application, the court concluded that the amendments regulate the earlier wrongful discharge or retaliation and that the legislature did not expressly authorize retrospective application. The court reversed the district court's summary judgment ruling and remanded for further proceedings.