Relates to the entitlement to unpaid leave of absence for victims of domestic violence

Summary of provisions

Section 1: Provides for the creation of a new section 19-D of the labor law, which defines terms, creates an entitlement to medical leave for victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse, provides parameters for the grant and use of such leave, and provides a right to return to a position from which an employee takes a medical leave because such employee was a victim of domestic violence or sexual abuse.

Section 2: Provides the act shall take effect ninety days after it shall have become law.

Justification

Domestic violence,: often defined as mental or physical abuse at the hands of an intimate partner, affects the victims' ability to work. In 2008, in the United States, intimate partners committed approximately 552,000 violent crimes against women, including 35,690 rapes or sexual assaults, 38,820 robberies, 70,550 aggravated assaults, and 406,530 simple assaults.* Notwithstanding the prevalence of domestic violence across demographic categories, it is overwhelmingly a crime perpetrated against women. Women are far more likely than men to be victims of domestic violence; the rate of intimate partner victimization per 1,000 persons is 4.3 for women compared with 0.8 for men.**

More broadly, African-American, Latina, and other minority women experience a heightened risk of domestic abuse. The victimization of minority women is exacerbated by the institutionalized under-protection and discrimination by the police. Law enforcement's failure to adequately investigate and respond to reports of violence -- particularly domestic violence -involving minority and immigrant women is often influenced by racial and ethnic stereotypes. In addition, such stereotyping often )11 $,!, results in underreporting of violence and in disproportionate arrests of female victims rather than, or in addition to, their perpetrators.

In addition, every year, according to Safe Horizons,*** more than 3 million children witness domestic violence in their homes. Children who live in homes where there is domestic violence also suffer abuse or neglect at high rates (30% to 60%). A 2005 Michigan study found that children exposed to domestic violence at home are more likely to have health problems, including becoming sick more often, having

frequent headaches or stomachaches, and being more tired and lethargic.****

It has been found that victims of domestic violence lose an average of 137 hours of work a year. Some victims need time off from work to seek medical attention; others need time to seek restraining orders, or relocate to a safe place where an abuser cannot find for further victimize them. Other victims are prevented from getting to work when an abuser disables or takes the car, sabotages childcare arrangements, cancels service to or steals a cell phone, or leaves the victim without cash to use public transportation.

These problems have led a number of states to pass domestic violence leave laws, which give victims of domestic violence the right to take time off for certain reasons. New Jersey signed its Domestic Violence Leave Act into law in October of 2013 Other states with similar laws include but are not limited to: California, Florida, Illinois, Washington and Washington, D.C.

While state laws providing employment rights for victims of domestic violence are not uniform, there is a clear trend toward awarding medical leave for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. It is time New York provided these victims with greater protections, similar to those done it its sister states.

Legislative history

2013-2014: S.5954 - Referred to Labor

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect ninety days after it shall have become law. *See 1CPR "Shadow Report" submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, https://www.legalmomentum.org/resources/iccpi-shadow -report-domestic-violence-gun-violence-and-syg-laws-sept-2013, last visited October 8,2013, citing from the U.S. Justice Department report, Catalano, S., et al, U.S. Dept of Just., Female Victims of Violence (Sept. 2009), http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/fvv.pdf (Table 1 Violence by intimate partners, by type of crime and gender of the victims, 2008) **Id ***See,httpliwww.safehorizon.org/index/what-we-do-2/domestic-violence- abuse-53/domestic-violence-the-facts.195html, last visited October 8, 2013.