An Act To Strengthen the Right of a Victim of Sexual Assault or Domestic Violence To Take Necessary Leave from Employment
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0921
Committee: Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development
Sponsors: DAUGHTRY, GIDEON, HERBIG, MAKER, POULIOT, POWERS, TURNER, KATZ, VOLK
Amends: 26 MRSA §850

Legislative Document 
No. 921 
H.P. 640 
House of Representatives, March 17, 2015 
An Act To Strengthen the Right of a Victim of Sexual Assault or 
Domestic Violence To Take Necessary Leave from Employment 
Reference to the Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development 
suggested and ordered printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative DAUGHTRY of Brunswick. 
Cosponsored by Representatives: GIDEON of Freeport, HERBIG of Belfast, MAKER of 
Calais, POULIOT of Augusta, POWERS of Naples, TURNER of Burlington, Senators: KATZ 
of Kennebec, VOLK of Cumberland. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  26 MRSA §850, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2001, c. 685, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
1.  Required leave.  An employer must grant reasonable and necessary leave from 
work, with or without pay, for an employee to: 
A.  Prepare for and attend court proceedings; 
B.  Receive medical treatment or attend to medical treatment for a victim who is the 
employee's daughter, son, parent or spouse; or 
C.  Obtain necessary services to remedy a crisis caused by domestic violence, sexual 
assault or stalking. 
The leave must be needed because the employee or the employee's daughter, son, parent 
or spouse is a victim of violence, assault, sexual assaults under Title 17-A, chapter 11, 
stalking or any act that would support an order for protection under Title 19-A, chapter 
101.  An employer may not sanction an employee or deprive an employee of pay or 
benefits for exercising a right granted by this section. 
Sec. 2.  26 MRSA §850, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 435, §1, is repealed. 
Sec. 3.  26 MRSA §850, sub-§§3-A to 3-C are enacted to read: 
3-A.  Restoration of employment.  An employer of an employee who exercises the 
right to take leave under subsection 1 shall upon the expiration of the leave restore the 
employee to the employment position that the employee occupied upon commencement 
of the leave or to a position of equivalent employment status, including equivalent 
seniority, benefits, wages and any other term or condition of employment. 
3-B.  Prohibited acts.  An employer may not: 
A.  Discriminate or retaliate against an employee who exercises a right granted by 
this section; 
B.  Discharge, coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with an employee exercising a 
right granted by this section; 
C.  Discharge, coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with another employee who is 
assisting an employee in exercising a right under this section or for opposing any act 
on the part of the employer that violates this section; or 
D.  Oppose or discriminate or retaliate against any employee making a charge or 
testifying, assisting or participating in an investigation, proceeding or hearing 
concerning a violation of this section. 
3-C.  Enforcement.  An employee whose rights have been violated under this section 
or the Department of Labor acting on behalf of the employee may bring an action in 
Superior Court against an employer to seek injunctive or other equitable relief to enforce 
this section and compensatory damages, including lost wages, benefits or other 
compensation or damages suffered by the employee due to the violation.  A plaintiff has a 
right to a jury trial in an action under this subsection, and the court shall award reasonable 
attorney's fees and costs to a prevailing plaintiff in addition to any other relief granted. 
SUMMARY 
This bill expands the law creating the right to a leave of absence for employees who 
are victims of violence by requiring that a returning employee be placed in the employee's 
former employment position or a position of equivalent employment status.  The bill 
prohibits discrimination or retaliation against an employee for exercising the right to take 
a leave of absence or enforcing the provisions of the law and creates a private right of 
action to enforce the law, and to seek injunctive or equitable relief and compensatory 
damages.