Companies Needing to address Domestic Violence

Domestic violence does not only effect the home, but often overflows to other areas,such as the work place. It is very sad,, but truth is too many businesses don’t realize they have a issue until an incident occurs at work. It does in 1 out of 4 companies have an incident which is a direct result of a broken down homelike., resulting in domestic violence. More than 1.5 million adults are victims of domestic violence in the United States each year, according to Legal Momentum (formerly the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund), an advocacy and research organization based in New York City.More than 85 percent of them are women, the organization estimates. (The gender based pronouns used in this story reflect the occurrence patterns of domestic abuse.) Many of those women have jobs. But in an abusive relationship, a job can be another tool of manipulation.

3 Major reasons a company may want to consider addressing Domestic Violence.

1. Safety.

Safety should be utmost to all employers. Out of all issues of safety, and especially women getting seriously hurt on the job, did you know Murder ranks right up there? Homicide. In roughly 20% of these murders, the alleged killer was the victim’s current or former mate.. In Orlando, FL on September 27, 2012. Michelet Polynice brought a handgun to the Quality Suites Inn where his ex-girlfriend Carlene Pierre was working at the front desk. Two weeks before, Polynice had been served with a restraining order after he hit Carlene with his car in the hotel’s parking lot. When he returned on this day, he shot Carlene and her co-worker Vanessa Gonzalez-Orellanes.

2 Costs.

Living in domestic abuse, often is costly, but also for employer. Often employee calls off, is tardy, and sometimes doesn't show. It costs the company money, and time. It also puts more undo weight on fellow employees who often must fill a gap. It is also costly as often the mate will do damage on company property, fellow employee cars at times.

3. Legal Issues.

We live in a sue happy society,However sometimes not knowing it we put ourselves in a place for legal issues to come a knocking.

A company could, if not already develop what is called a domestic violence pro plan, or responce plan.

Identifying an emergency contact person if the victim is unreachable Providing a picture of the abuser to security and human resources personnel Modifying the victim’s work schedule or location where possible

Federal Protections

Federal law also recognizes the rights of domestic violence victims in the workplace.

Dougan cites the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to deal with medical issues. Last year, the Supreme Court of Alaska ruled that a female police officer who left the state after telling her department that she needed time to “get her life back together” and deal with post-traumatic stress due to domestic violence had provided sufficient notice to trigger the protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act. The court said the issues cited by the officer in her wrongful termination suit were exactly the sorts of things the act was meant to cover and the city should have granted her leave. Municipality of Anchorage v. Gregg, 101 P.3d 181. The most notable federal law dealing with the rights of domestic violence victims is the Violence Against Women Act, which funds shelters for battered women, rape prevention programs, law enforcement services to deal with domestic violence cases and civil legal representation for victims.

The 1994 law was reauthorized by Congress for the first time in 2000. The law is up for reauthorization again this year, and it will sunset on Sept. 30 if Congress does not vote to continue it.

The ABA has urged Congress to strengthen the Violence Against Women Act as part of the reauthorization process. “VAWA programs and policies have led to profound improvements in the criminal justice system’s response to domestic violence and sexual assaults,” said ABA President Robert J. Grey Jr. (whose term ended in August) in a letter sent June 22 to members of Congress leading the reauthorization push. “We must not let this successful program languish, as there is much more that must be done to combat the violence.”

There are multiple versions of the reauthorization bill in Congress, but most share some key elements. One provision, for instance, would mandate confidentiality for domestic violence victims to reduce the chance that insurers or others would deny them benefits. A key provision in the proposed Senate version would mandate unpaid leave for tending to matters arising out of domestic violence.

The proposed House version mandates only that employers allow domestic violence victims to use their accumulated regular leave time for such matters without penalizing them or unreasonably restricting the amount of leave that can be used in a given time frame. (About 60 percent of U.S. workers receive regular leave time, according to Labor Department figures.)

The Senate version also would promote insurance practices that do not discriminate against domestic violence victims.

Legal Momentum endorses the insurance provisions in the Senate version as a way to preserve coverage for domestic violence victims, says Lisalyn Jacobs, the group’s vice president for government relations.

Goldscheid downplays concerns expressed by some in the business community that proposed revisions to the Violence Against Women Act would have the effect of creating what amounts to another category of protected employees.

“People flinch at the idea of creating new protected classes, but this shouldn’t be controversial,” Goldscheid says. “Having workplace policies has been shown to help prevent violence and actually reduce the economic impact of domestic violence in the workplace.”

source-

I—Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. is the Manhattan District Attorney.

https://www.fastcompany.com/3037083/strong-female-lead/employers-responsibility-to-victims-of-domestic-violence

Margaret Graham Tebo, a lawyer, is a senior writer for the ABA Journal.

http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/when_home_comes_to_work

#Workplaceissues #Legalissues