Senate Bill sb0188c1
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 188
By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
Senator Aronberg
586-1987-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to domestic violence; creating
3 s. 741.313, F.S.; defining the terms "domestic
4 violence," "employer," "family or household
5 member," and "victim"; requiring that certain
6 employers permit an employee to take leave from
7 work to undertake activities resulting from an
8 act of domestic violence; specifying the
9 activities for which the employee may take
10 leave; requiring the employee to notify the
11 employer of the leave; providing exceptions;
12 requiring that a private employer or
13 governmental agency keep information relating
14 to the employee's leave confidential;
15 prohibiting an employer from taking certain
16 actions against the employee for exercising
17 rights specified in the act; providing a
18 recourse for violation of the act; providing an
19 effective date.
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21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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23 Section 1. Section 741.313, Florida Statutes, is
24 created to read:
25 741.313 Unlawful action against employees seeking
26 protection.--
27 (1) As used in this section, the term:
28 (a) "Domestic violence" means domestic violence, as
29 defined in s. 741.28, or any crime the underlying factual
30 basis of which has been found by a court to include an act of
31 domestic violence.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 188
586-1987-07
1 (b) "Employer" has the same meaning as in s.
2 440.02(16).
3 (c) "Family or household member" has the same meaning
4 as in s. 741.28.
5 (d) "Victim" means an individual who has been
6 subjected to domestic violence.
7 (2)(a) An employer shall permit an employee to request
8 and take up to 3 working days of leave from work in any
9 12-month period if the employee or a family or household
10 member of an employee is the victim of domestic violence. This
11 leave may be with or without pay, at the discretion of the
12 employer.
13 (b) This section applies if an employee uses the leave
14 from work to:
15 1. Seek an injunction for protection against domestic
16 violence or an injunction for protection in cases of repeat
17 violence, dating violence, or sexual violence;
18 2. Obtain medical care or mental health counseling, or
19 both, for the employee or a family or household member to
20 address physical or psychological injuries resulting from the
21 act of domestic violence;
22 3. Obtain services from a victim-services
23 organization, including, but not limited to, a domestic
24 violence shelter or program or a rape crisis center as a
25 result of the act of domestic violence;
26 4. Make the employee's home secure from the
27 perpetrator of the domestic violence or to seek new housing to
28 escape the perpetrator; or
29 5. Seek legal assistance in addressing issues arising
30 from the act of domestic violence or to attend and prepare for
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 188
586-1987-07
1 court-related proceedings arising from the act of domestic
2 violence.
3 (3) This section applies to an employer who employs 50
4 or more employees and to an employee who has been employed by
5 the employer for 3 or more months.
6 (4)(a) Except in cases of imminent danger to the
7 health or safety of the employee, or to the health or safety
8 of a family or household member, an employee seeking leave
9 from work under this section must provide to his or her
10 employer appropriate advance notice of the leave as required
11 by the employer's policy along with sufficient documentation
12 of the act of domestic violence as required by the employer.
13 (b) An employee seeking leave under this section must,
14 before receiving the leave, exhaust all annual or vacation
15 leave, personal leave, and sick leave, if applicable, which is
16 available to the employee, unless the employer waives this
17 requirement.
18 (c)1. A private employer must keep all information
19 relating to the employee's leave under this section
20 confidential.
21 2. An agency, as defined in s. 119.011, must keep all
22 information relating to the employee's leave confidential and
23 exempt from disclosure under this section.
24 (5)(a) An employer may not interfere with, restrain,
25 or deny the exercise of, or any attempt by an employee to
26 exercise, any right provided under this section.
27 (b) An employer may not discharge, demote, suspend,
28 retaliate, or in any other manner discriminate against an
29 employee for exercising his or her rights under this section.
30 (c) An employee has no greater rights to continued
31 employment or to other benefits and conditions of employment
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 188
586-1987-07
1 than if the employee was not entitled to leave under this
2 section. This section does not limit the employer's right to
3 discipline or terminate any employee for any reason,
4 including, but not limited to, reductions in work force or
5 termination for cause or for no reason at all, other than
6 exercising his or her rights under this section.
7 (6) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the
8 sole remedy for any person claiming to be aggrieved by a
9 violation of this section is to bring a civil suit for damages
10 or equitable relief, or both, in circuit court. The person may
11 claim as damages all wages and benefits that would have been
12 due the person up to and including the date of the judgment
13 had the act violating this section not occurred, but the
14 person may not claim wages or benefits for a period of leave
15 granted without pay as provided in paragraph (2)(a). However,
16 this section does not relieve the person from the obligation
17 to mitigate his or her damages.
18 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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20 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
21 Senate Bill 188
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23 The Committee Substitute adds a definition of "employer";
distinguishes between a public and private employer, to
24 specify that the public employer must keep certain records
confidential and exempt; and clarifies that the employer must
25 permit an employee to request and take up to 3 working days of
leave.
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