Massachusetts Passes Domestic Violence Leave Law: Employment Law Manual Updated

Authors: Melissa Burdorf, Marta Moakley and Melissa Silver, XpertHR Legal Editors

On August 8, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed a law providing time off for victims of abusive behavior, which includes domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and kidnapping. Effective immediately, an employer with 50 or more employees must provide an employee who is a victim of abusive behavior, or who has a family member who is a victim, with as many as 15 days of leave in a 12-month period to take actions that address issues directly related to the abuse, such as seeking medical attention and legal assistance, finding housing, obtaining a protective order, appearing in court and attending child custody proceedings.

Whether leave is paid or unpaid is up to the employer. However, the law requires employees to first use up their available annual leave, vacation, personal leave and sick leave, unless the employer waives this requirement.

The law contains employer and employee notification requirements, and an employer may require an employee to provide documentation verifying the need for leave.

The law also prohibits an employer from taking a negative action against an employee who provides appropriate documentation in a timely manner and from terminating or otherwise discriminating against an employee who exercises his or her rights under the law.

In light of this new law, the following Massachusetts sections of the Employment Law Manual have been updated: