CS/HB 55

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


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