I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3837

To provide unemployment insurance and leave from employment to battered

women.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 17, 1996

Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD (for herself, Ms. WOOLSEY, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways

and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Economic and Educational Opportunities, Government Reform and Oversight, and House

Oversight, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

A BILL

To provide unemployment insurance and leave from

employment to battered women.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Battered Women’s

5 Employment Protection Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
2

HR 3837 IH

1 (1) violence against women is the leading cause

2 of physical injury to women, and the Department of

3 Justice estimates that intimate partners commit

4 more than one million violent crimes against women

5 every year;

6 (2) the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that

7 women will account for two-thirds of all new en8 trants into the workforce between now and the year

9 2000;

10 (3) violence against women dramatically affects

11 women’s workforce participation, insofar as one12 quarter of battered women surveyed had lost a job

13 due at least in part to the effects of domestic vio14 lence, and over half had been harassed by their

15 abuser at work;

16 (4) the availability of economic support is a

17 critical factor in women’s ability to leave abusive sit18 uations that threaten them and their children, and

19 over half of battered women surveyed stayed with

20 their batterers because they lacked resources to sup21 port themselves and their children;

22 (5) a report by the New York City Victims

23 Services Agency found that abusive spouses and

24 lovers harass 74 percent of battered women at work

25 and 54 percent of battering victims miss at least 3
3

HR 3837 IH

1 days of work per month and 56 percent are late for

2 work at least 5 times per month, and a University

3 of Minnesota study found that 24 percent of women

4 in support groups for battered women had lost a job

5 partly because of being abused;

6 (6) a survey of State unemployment insurance

7 agency directors by the Federal Advisory Council on

8 Unemployment Compensation found that in 31

9 States battered women who leave work as a result

10 of domestic violence do not qualify for unemploy11 ment benefits, in 9 States the determination often

12 varies depending on the facts and circumstances,

13 and in only 13 States are they usually considered

14 qualified for unemployment benefits;

15 (7) a study by the New York State Department

16 of Labor found that, when filing for unemployment

17 insurance benefits, domestic violence victims fre18 quently hide their victimization and do not disclose

19 the domestic violence as a reason for their problems

20 with the job or need to separate from employment;

21 (8) the same New York State study found that

22 75 percent of employed victims of domestic violence

23 must communicate with doctors, lawyers, shelters,

24 counselors, family and friends from their workplaces

25 because they cannot do so at home;
4

HR 3837 IH

1 (9) 49 percent of senior executives recently sur2 veyed said domestic violence has a harmful effect on

3 their company’s productivity, 47 percent said domes4 tic violence negatively affects attendance, and 44

5 percent said domestic violence increases health care

6 costs, and the Bureau of National Affairs estimates

7 that domestic violence costs employers between 3

8 and 5 billion dollars per year; and

9 (10) existing Federal and State legislation does

10 not expressly authorize battered women to take leave

11 from work to seek legal assistance and redress,

12 counseling, or assistance with safety planning and

13 activities.

14 (b) PURPOSES.—Pursuant to the affirmative power

15 of Congress to enact this Act under section 5 of the Four16 teenth Amendment to the Constitution, as well as under

17 section 8 of Article I of the Constitution, the purposes of

18 this Act are—

19 (1) to promote the national interest in reducing

20 domestic violence by enabling victims of domestic vi21 olence to maintain the financial independence nec22 essary to leave abusive situations, to achieve safety

23 and minimize the physical and emotional injuries

24 from domestic violence, and to reduce the devastat-
5

HR 3837 IH

1 ing economic consequences of domestic violence,

2 by—

3 (A) providing unemployment insurance for

4 victims of domestic violence who are forced to

5 leave their employment as a result of domestic

6 violence; and

7 (B) entitling employed victims of domestic

8 violence to take reasonable leave to seek medi9 cal help, legal assistance, counseling, and safety

10 planning and assistance without penalty from

11 their employer;

12 (2) to promote the purposes of the Fourteenth

13 Amendment by protecting the civil and economic

14 rights of victims of domestic violence and by further15 ing the equal opportunity of women and men to em16 ployment and economic self-sufficiency;

17 (3) to minimize the negative impact on inter18 state commerce from dislocations of employees and

19 harmful effects on productivity, health care costs,

20 and employer costs from domestic violence; and

21 (4) to accomplish the purposes described in

22 paragraphs (1) , (2) and (3) in a manner that ac23 commodates the legitimate interests of employers.
6

HR 3837 IH

1 SEC. 3. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.

2 (a) UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.—Section

3 3304(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend4 ed—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

6 (18),

7 (2) by striking the period at the end of para8 graph (19) and inserting ‘‘; and’’,

9 (3) by adding after paragraph (19) the follow10 ing:

11 ‘‘(20) compensation is to be provided where an

12 individual is separated from employment due to cir13 cumstances directly resulting from the individual’s

14 experience of domestic violence.’’,

15 (4) by redesignating subsections (b) through (f)

16 as subsections (c) through (g), respectively, and

17 (5) by adding after subsection (a) the following:

18 ‘‘(b) CONSTRUCTION.—

19 ‘‘(1) For the purpose of determining, under

20 subsection (a)(20), whether an employee’s separation

21 from employment is ‘directly resulting’ from the in22 dividual’s experience of domestic violence, it shall be

23 sufficient if the separation from employment re24 sulted from—
7

HR 3837 IH

1 ‘‘(A) the employee’s reasonable fear of fu2 ture domestic violence at or en route to or from

3 her place of employment;

4 ‘‘(B) the employee’s wish to relocate to an5 other geographic area in order to avoid future

6 domestic violence against the employee or the

7 employee’s family;

8 ‘‘(C) the employee’s need to recover from

9 traumatic stress resulting from the employee’s

10 experience of domestic violence;

11 ‘‘(D) the employer’s denial of the employ12 ee’s request for temporary leave from employ13 ment to deal with domestic violence and its

14 aftermath, as provided in section 4 of the Bat15 tered Women’s Employment Protection Act; or

16 ‘‘(E) any other respect in which domestic

17 violence causes the employee to reasonably be18 lieve that termination of employment is nec19 essary for the future safety of the employee or

20 the employee’s family.

21 ‘‘(2) For purposes of subsection (a)(20), where

22 State law requires the employee to have made rea23 sonable efforts to retain employment as a condition

24 for receiving unemployment compensation, it shall be

25 sufficient that the employee—
8

HR 3837 IH

1 ‘‘(A) sought protection from or assistance

2 in responding to domestic violence, including

3 calling the police or seeking legal, social work,

4 medical, clergy, or other assistance;

5 ‘‘(B) sought safety, including refuge in a

6 shelter or temporary or permanent relocation,

7 whether or not the employee actually obtained

8 such refuge or accomplished such relocation; or

9 ‘‘(C) reasonably believed that options such

10 as a leave, transfer, or alternative work sched11 ule would not be sufficient to guarantee the em12 ployee or the employee’s family’s safety.

13 ‘‘(3) For purposes of subsection (a)(20), where

14 State law requires the employee to actively search

15 for employment after separation from employment

16 as a condition for receiving unemployment com17 pensation, such requirement shall be deemed to be

18 met where the employee is temporarily unable to ac19 tively search for employment because the employee is

20 engaged in seeking safety or relief for the employee

21 or the employee’s family from domestic violence, in22 cluding—

23 ‘‘(A) going into hiding or relocating or at24 tempting to do so, including activities associ25 ated with such relocation or hiding, such as
9

HR 3837 IH

1 seeking to obtain sufficient shelter, food, school2 ing for children, or other necessities of life for

3 the employee or the employee’s family;

4 ‘‘(B) actively pursuing legal protection or

5 remedies, including meeting with the police,

6 going to court to make inquiries or file papers,

7 meeting with attorneys, or attending court pro8 ceedings; or

9 ‘‘(C) participating in psychological, social,

10 or religious counseling or support activities to

11 assist the employee in ending domestic violence.

12 ‘‘(4) In determining if an employee meets the

13 requirements of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), the

14 employer or reviewer of any claim of an employee

15 may require the employee to provide a statement

16 along with—

17 ‘‘(A) documentation, such as police or

18 court records, or documentation from a shelter

19 worker, attorney, clergy, medical or other pro20 fessional from whom the employee has sought

21 assistance in dealing with domestic violence; or

22 ‘‘(B) other corroborating evidence, such as

23 a statement from any other individual with

24 knowledge of the circumstances which provide

25 the basis for the claim, or physical evidence of
10

HR 3837 IH

1 domestic violence, such as photographs, torn or

2 bloody clothes, etc.’’

3 (b) SOCIAL SECURITY PERSONNEL TRAINING.—Sec4 tion 303(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

5 503(a)(4)) is amended by redesignating paragraphs (4)

6 through (10) as paragraphs (5) through (11), respectively,

7 and by adding after paragraph (3) the following:

8 ‘‘(4) Such methods of administration as will en9 sure that claims reviewers and hearing personnel are

10 adequately trained in the nature and dynamics of

11 domestic violence and in methods of ascertaining in12 formation about possible experiences of domestic vio13 lence, so that employment separations stemming

14 from domestic violence are reliably screened, identi15 fied, and adjudicated.’’.

16 (c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3306 of the Internal Rev17 enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the

18 following:

19 ‘‘(u) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘domestic vio20 lence’ includes abuse committed against an employee or

21 a family member of the employee by—

22 ‘‘(1) a current or former spouse of the em23 ployee;

24 ‘‘(2) a person with whom the employee shares

25 a child in common;
11

HR 3837 IH

1 ‘‘(3) a person who is cohabitating with or has

2 cohabitated with the employee as a romantic or inti3 mate partner; or

4 ‘‘(4) a person from whom the employee would

5 be eligible for protection under the domestic vio6 lence, protection order, or family laws of the juris7 diction in which the employee resides or the em8 ployer is located.

9 ‘‘(v) ABUSE.—The term ‘abuse’ includes—

10 ‘‘(1) physical acts resulting in, or threatening to

11 result in, physical injury;

12 ‘‘(2) sexual abuse, sexual activity involving a

13 dependent child, or threats of or attempts at sexual

14 abuse;

15 ‘‘(3) mental abuse, including threats, intimida16 tion, acts designed to induce terror, or restraints on

17 liberty; and

18 ‘‘(4) deprivation of medical care, housing, food

19 or other necessities of life.’’.

20 SEC. 4. LEAVE FROM EMPLOYMENT.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Employers subject to the Federal

22 Family and Medical Leave Act (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.),

23 any State law addressing family, medical, sick, or other

24 kind of leave from employment, or an employment benefits

25 program or policy or collective bargaining agreement ad-
12

HR 3837 IH

1 dressing family, medical, sick, or other kind of leave from

2 employment, shall provide leave to employees seeking tem3 porary absences from employment to deal with domestic

4 violence and its aftermath in accordance with this section.

5 (b) EXISTING LEAVE USEABLE FOR DOMESTIC VIO6 LENCE.—Where family, medical, sick, or any other kind

7 of leave from employment is available to employees pursu8 ant to the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

9 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), any State law, an existing em10 ployment benefits program or plan, or collective bargain11 ing agreement, employees shall be entitled to use such

12 leave for the purpose of dealing with domestic violence and

13 its aftermath.

14 (c) MINIMUM LEAVE FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any employee who is not en16 titled to leave from employment for the purpose of

17 dealing with domestic violence and its aftermath

18 pursuant to subsection (b) or who has used up the

19 employee’s available leave pursuant to subsection (b)

20 and who is not an employee who has taken 12 weeks

21 of leave for the purpose of dealing with domestic vio22 lence and its aftermath, shall be entitled to take up

23 to 10 days per year of unpaid leave without penalty,

24 for that purpose.
13

HR 3837 IH

1 (2) SUBSTITUTION.—An employee may elect, or

2 an employer may require the employee, to substitute

3 accrued paid leave for any part of the 10 days of un4 paid leave provided under paragraph (1).

5 (d) DEALING WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ITS

6 AFTERMATH.—The following activities constitute means of

7 ‘‘dealing with domestic violence and its aftermath,’’ which

8 shall render an employee eligible for leave under this sec9 tion:

10 (1) Experiencing domestic violence.

11 (2) Seeking medical attention for injuries

12 caused by domestic violence, except for ‘‘serious

13 health conditions’’ where covered by the Family and

14 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.).

15 (3) Seeking legal assistance or remedies, includ16 ing communicating with the police or an attorney, or

17 participating in any legal proceeding related to do18 mestic violence.

19 (4) Attending support groups for victims of do20 mestic violence.

21 (5) Obtaining psychological counseling related

22 to experiences of domestic violence.

23 (6) Participating in safety planning and other

24 actions to increase safety from future domestic vio25 lence, including temporary or permanent relocation.
14

HR 3837 IH

1 (7) Any other activity necessitated by domestic

2 violence which must be undertaken during hours of

3 employment.

4 (e) CONSTRUCTION.—In determining if an employee

5 meets the requirements of subsections (b), (c), and (d),

6 the employer or reviewer of any claim of an employee may

7 require the employee to provide a statement along with—

8 (1) documentation, such as police or court

9 records, or documentation from a shelter worker, at10 torney, clergy, medical or other professional from

11 whom the employee has sought assistance in dealing

12 with domestic violence; or

13 (2) other corroborating evidence, such as a

14 statement from any other individual with knowledge

15 of the circumstances which provide the basis for the

16 claim, or physical evidence of domestic violence, such

17 as photographs, torn or bloody clothes, etc.

18 (f) ENFORCEMENT.—

19 (1) PUBLIC ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary of

20 Labor shall have the powers set forth in subsections

21 (b), (c), (d) and (e) of section 107 of the Family and

22 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2617) for the

23 purpose of public enforcement of any alleged viola24 tions of this section against any employer.

25 (2) PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT.—
15

HR 3837 IH

1 (A) PRIVATE AND FEDERAL EMPLOY2 ERS.—The remedies and procedures set forth in

3 subsection (a) of section 107 of the Family and

4 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2617)

5 shall be the remedies and procedures pursuant

6 to which an employee may initiate a legal action

7 against a Federal or private employer for al8 leged violations of this section..

9 (B) STATE EMPLOYERS.—

10 (i) QUI TAM ACTIONS.—

11 (I) An employee of a State em12 ployer may bring a civil action for a

13 violation of this section for the em14 ployee and for the United States Gov15 ernment (referred to as a ‘Qui Tam’

16 action). The action shall be brought in

17 the name of the United States Gov18 ernment. The action may be dismissed

19 only if the court and the Secretary of

20 Labor give written consent to the dis21 missal stating their reasons for con22 senting. The Qui Tam plaintiff may

23 recover damages or injunctive relief to

24 the same extent provided in subpara25 graph (A).
16

HR 3837 IH

1 (II) The right provided by sub2 clause (I) to bring a Qui Tam action

3 shall terminate on the filing of a com4 plaint by the Secretary of Labor in an

5 action seeking damages or monetary

6 relief on behalf of the affected em7 ployee under paragraph (1) unless

8 that action is dismissed without preju9 dice on motion of the Secretary of

10 Labor.

11 (3) EMPLOYER LIABILITY UNDER OTHER

12 LAWS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to

13 limit the liability of an employer to an employee for

14 harm suffered relating to the employee’s experience

15 of domestic violence pursuant to any other State or

16 Federal law or legal remedy.

17 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

18 (1) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘employer’ includes

19 any person subject to the Federal Family and Medi20 cal Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) or

21 any State law addressing family, medical, sick, or

22 any other kind of leave from employment, or any

23 employer granting family, medical, sick, or other

24 kind of leave from employment under an employ25 ment benefits program or policy or collective bar-
17

HR 3837 IH

1 gaining agreement in effect as of the date of enact2 ment of this Act.

3 (2) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘employee’ refers to

4 any person eligible to receive leave pursuant to the

5 Federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29

6 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), any State law addressing med7 ical, family, sick, or other kind of leave from employ8 ment, or an employment benefits program or policy

9 or collective bargaining agreement in effect as of the

10 date of enactment of this Act.

11 (3) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘domestic

12 violence’ has the meaning assigned to such term by

13 section 3306(u) of the Internal Revenue Code of

14 1986.

15 SEC. 5. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS AND EMPLOYMENT BENE16 FITS.

17 (1) MORE PROTECTIVE.—Nothing in this Act

18 or the amendments made by this Act shall be con19 strued to supersede any provision of any Federal,

20 State or local law, collective bargaining agreement,

21 or other employment benefit program which provides

22 greater unemployment compensation or leave bene23 fits for employed victims of domestic violence than

24 the rights established under this Act or such amend25 ments.
18

HR 3837 IH

1 (2) LESS PROTECTIVE.—The rights established

2 for employees under this Act or the amendments

3 made by this Act shall not be diminished by any col4 lective bargaining agreement, any employment bene5 fit program or plan, or any State or local law.