CS/HB 55

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," "employee,"
4	"employer," "family or household member," and "victim";
5	requiring that certain employers permit an employee to
6	take leave from work to undertake activities resulting
7	from an act of domestic violence; specifying the
8	activities for which the employee may take leave;
9	requiring the employee to notify the employer of the
10	leave; providing exceptions; requiring a private employer
11	to keep information relating to the employee's leave
12	confidential; requiring a governmental agency to keep such
13	information confidential and exempt to the extent
14	authorized by statute; prohibiting an employer from taking
15	certain actions against the employee for exercising rights
16	specified in the act; providing a recourse for violation
17	of the act; providing an effective date.
18
19	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21	Section 1.  Section 741.313, Florida Statutes, is created
22	to read:
23	741.313  Unlawful action against employees seeking
24	protection.--
25	(1)  As used in this section, the term:
26	(a)  "Domestic violence" means domestic violence, as
27	defined in s. 741.28, or any crime the underlying factual basis
28	of which has been found by a court to include an act of domestic
29	violence.
30	(b)  "Employee" has the same meaning as in s. 440.02(15).
31	(c)  "Employer" has the same meaning as in s. 440.02(16).
32	(d)  "Family or household member" has the same meaning as
33	in s. 741.28.
34	(e)  "Victim" means an individual who has been subjected to
35	domestic violence.
36	(2)(a)  An employer shall permit an employee to request and
37	take up to 3 working days of leave from work in any 12-month
38	period if the employee or a family or household member of an
39	employee is the victim of domestic violence. This leave may be
40	with or without pay, at the discretion of the employer.
41	(b)  This section applies if an employee uses the leave
42	from work to:
43	1.  Seek an injunction for protection against domestic
44	violence or an injunction for protection in cases of repeat
45	violence, dating violence, or sexual violence;
46	2.  Obtain medical care or mental health counseling, or
47	both, for the employee or a family or household member to
48	address physical or psychological injuries resulting from the
49	act of domestic violence;
50	3.  Obtain services from a victim-services organization,
51	including, but not limited to, a domestic violence shelter or
52	program or a rape crisis center as a result of the act of
53	domestic violence;
54	4.  Make the employee's home secure from the perpetrator of
55	the domestic violence or to seek new housing to escape the
56	perpetrator; or
57	5.  Seek legal assistance in addressing issues arising from
58	the act of domestic violence or to attend and prepare for court-
59	related proceedings arising from the act of domestic violence.
60	(3)  This section applies to an employer who employs 50 or
61	more employees and to an employee who has been employed by the
62	employer for 3 or more months.
63	(4)(a)  Except in cases of imminent danger to the health or
64	safety of the employee, or to the health or safety of a family
65	or household member, an employee seeking leave from work under
66	this section must provide to his or her employer appropriate
67	advance notice of the leave as required by the employer's policy
68	along with sufficient documentation of the act of domestic
69	violence as required by the employer.
70	(b)  An employee seeking leave under this section must,
71	before receiving the leave, exhaust all annual or vacation
72	leave, personal leave, and sick leave, if applicable, which is
73	available to the employee, unless the employer waives this
74	requirement.
75	(c)1.  A private employer must keep all information
76	relating to the employee's leave under this section
77	confidential.
78	2.  An agency, as defined in s. 119.011, must keep
79	information relating to the employee's leave under this section
80	confidential and exempt from disclosure to the extent authorized
81	by subsection (7).
82	(5)(a)  An employer may not interfere with, restrain, or
83	deny the exercise of or any attempt by an employee to exercise
84	any right provided under this section.
85	(b)  An employer may not discharge, demote, suspend,
86	retaliate, or in any other manner discriminate against an
87	employee for exercising his or her rights under this section.
88	(c)  An employee has no greater rights to continued
89	employment or to other benefits and conditions of employment
90	than if the employee was not entitled to leave under this
91	section. This section does not limit the employer's right to
92	discipline or terminate any employee for any reason, including,
93	but not limited to, reductions in work force or termination for
94	cause or for no reason at all, other than exercising his or her
95	rights under this section.
96	(6)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the
97	sole remedy for any person claiming to be aggrieved by a
98	violation of this section is to bring a civil suit for damages
99	or equitable relief, or both, in circuit court. The person may
100	claim as damages all wages and benefits that would have been due
101	the person up to and including the date of the judgment had the
102	act violating this section not occurred, but the person may not
103	claim wages or benefits for a period of leave granted without
104	pay as provided in paragraph (2)(a). However, this section does
105	not relieve the person from the obligation to mitigate his or
106	her damages.
107	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.