| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to domestic violence; creating s. 741.313, |
| 3 | F.S.; defining the terms "domestic violence," "family or |
| 4 | household member," and "victim"; requiring that certain |
| 5 | employers permit an employee to take leave from work to |
| 6 | undertake activities resulting from an act of domestic |
| 7 | violence; specifying the activities for which the employee |
| 8 | may take leave; requiring the employee to notify the |
| 9 | employer of the leave; providing exceptions; requiring |
| 10 | that an employer keep information relating to the |
| 11 | employee's leave confidential; prohibiting an employer |
| 12 | from taking certain actions against the employee for |
| 13 | exercising rights specified in the act; providing a |
| 14 | recourse for violation of the act; providing an effective |
| 15 | date. |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Section 1. Section 741.313, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 20 | to read: |
| 21 | 741.313 Unlawful action against employees seeking |
| 22 | protection.-- |
| 23 | (1) As used in this section, the term: |
| 24 | (a) "Domestic violence" means domestic violence, as |
| 25 | defined in s. 741.28, or any crime, the underlying factual basis |
| 26 | of which has been found by a court to include an act of domestic |
| 27 | violence. |
| 28 | (b) "Family or household member" has the same meaning as |
| 29 | in s. 741.28. |
| 30 | (c) "Victim" means an individual who has been subjected to |
| 31 | domestic violence. |
| 32 | (2)(a) An employer shall permit an employee to request or |
| 33 | take up to 3 working days of leave from work in any 12-month |
| 34 | period if the employee or a family or household member of an |
| 35 | employee is the victim of domestic violence. This leave may be |
| 36 | with or without pay, at the discretion of the employer. |
| 37 | (b) This section applies if an employee uses the leave |
| 38 | from work to: |
| 39 | 1. Seek an injunction for protection against domestic |
| 40 | violence or an injunction for protection in cases of repeat |
| 41 | violence, dating violence, or sexual violence; |
| 42 | 2. Obtain medical care or mental health counseling, or |
| 43 | both, for the employee or a family or household member to |
| 44 | address physical or psychological injuries resulting from the |
| 45 | act of domestic violence; |
| 46 | 3. Obtain services from a victim-services organization, |
| 47 | including, but not limited to, a domestic violence shelter or |
| 48 | program or a rape crisis center as a result of the act of |
| 49 | domestic violence; |
| 50 | 4. Make the employee's home secure from the perpetrator of |
| 51 | the domestic violence or to seek new housing to escape the |
| 52 | perpetrator; or |
| 53 | 5. Seek legal assistance in addressing issues arising from |
| 54 | the act of domestic violence or to attend and prepare for court- |
| 55 | related proceedings arising from the act of domestic violence. |
| 56 | (3) This section applies to an employer who employs 50 or |
| 57 | more employees and to an employee who has been employed by the |
| 58 | employer for 3 or more months. |
| 59 | (4)(a) Except in cases of imminent danger to the health or |
| 60 | safety of the employee, or to the health or safety of a family |
| 61 | or household member, an employee seeking leave from work under |
| 62 | this section must provide to his or her employer appropriate |
| 63 | advance notice of the leave as required by the employer's policy |
| 64 | and with sufficient documentation of the act of domestic |
| 65 | violence as required by the employer. |
| 66 | (b) An employee seeking leave under this section must, |
| 67 | before receiving the leave, exhaust all annual or vacation |
| 68 | leave, personal leave, and sick leave, if applicable, which is |
| 69 | available to the employee, unless the employer waives this |
| 70 | requirement. |
| 71 | (c) An employer must keep all information relating to the |
| 72 | employee's leave under this section confidential. |
| 73 | (5)(a) An employer may not interfere with, restrain, or |
| 74 | deny the exercise of or any attempt by an employee to exercise |
| 75 | any right provided under this section. |
| 76 | (b) An employer may not discharge, demote, suspend, |
| 77 | retaliate, or in any other manner discriminate against an |
| 78 | employee for exercising his or her rights under this section. |
| 79 | (c) An employee has no greater rights to continued |
| 80 | employment or to other benefits and conditions of employment |
| 81 | than if the employee was not entitled to leave under this |
| 82 | section. This section does not limit the employer's right to |
| 83 | discipline or terminate any employee for any reason, including, |
| 84 | but not limited to, reductions in work force or termination for |
| 85 | cause or for no reason at all, other than exercising his or her |
| 86 | rights under this section. |
| 87 | (6) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the |
| 88 | sole remedy for any person claiming to be aggrieved by a |
| 89 | violation of this section is to bring a civil suit for damages |
| 90 | or equitable relief, or both, in circuit court. The person may |
| 91 | claim as damages all wages and benefits that would have been due |
| 92 | the person up to and including the date of the judgment had the |
| 93 | act violating this section not occurred, but the person may not |
| 94 | claim wages or benefits for a period of leave granted without |
| 95 | pay as provided in paragraph (2)(a). However, this section does |
| 96 | not relieve the person from the obligation to mitigate his or |
| 97 | her damages. |
| 98 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |