NYC Passes Bill to Guarantee Paid Leave for Domestic Violence Victims
New York City lawmakers passed legislation that will require employers to allow people to use their paid time off for issues relating to sexual abuse, domestic violence, stalking, and human trafficking.
The bill would amend city code to create "safe time" for victims. The legislation, Introduction 1313-A of 2016, was introduced by Julissa Ferreras-Copeland.
“Often times, women would miss appointments with either a D.A., or miss appointments at the police precinct, or, unfortunately in cases, had to go and serve orders of protection, they had to go themselves and weren’t able to do that because they weren’t able to take the time off work,” said Councilwoman Ferreras-Copeland (D-Queens).
Covered family members under the bill include traditional family members such as a child, spouse, parent, sibling, grandchild or grandparent, as well as a domestic partner, a blood relative or “any other individual whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.”
The new legislation overlaps with the city’s latest sick-leave rules mandating that workers who put in more than 80 hours a year accrue at least 40 hours of paid sick leave.
According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, New York City will join a growing list of localities—including Chicago, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh—and eight states that guarantee paid leave giving employees time to deal with issues relating to domestic violence and sexual violence.
http://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/work-family/psd/paid-sick-days-statutes.pdf
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