The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DOLIR) has released a notice of unpaid leave available for victims of domestic and or sexual violence, due to passage of a law during the 2021 Legislative Session.
The new law is effective August 28, 2021, and requires employers with 20 or more employees to provide unpaid leave for such victims AND to post the notice that has now been developed by DOLIR. You may find the printable notice on the DOLIR website here: https://labor.mo.gov/sites/labor/files/DLS/LS_112_Poster_f_0.pdf
Employees who are victims of domestic or sexual violence, or have a family or household member
who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence, may take unpaid leave from work to address the issues at hand. The leave may be used for the following purposes:
• Seeking medical attention for, or recovering from, physical or psychological injuries caused by
such violence;
• Obtaining services from a victim services organization;
• Obtaining psychological or other counseling;
• Participating in safety planning, temporarily or permanently relocating, or taking other actions
to increase the safety of the employee or employee’s family or household; or,
• Seeking legal assistance or remedies to ensure health and safety.
Leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced work schedule. The employee shall provide to the employer 48 hours notice of their desire to use the leave, unless such notice is not practicable (as in the case of emergency health care, for example).
The amount of leave is dependent on the size of the employer. An individual who works for a business with 50 or more employees is entitled to up to two workweeks of unpaid leave within any 12-month period. An individual who works for a business employing 20 to 49 employees is entitled to up to one workweek of unpaid leave within any 12-month period.
The employer:
• May request certification that the employee or member of family or household is a victim as
described above;
• Must restore the employee to the position of employment held prior to the reporting of
domestic or sexual violence or an equivalent position;
• Must maintain coverage for the employee and any family or household member under any
group health plan for the duration of such leave at the level and under the conditions coverage
would have been provided had the employee continued in the employment previously held; and,
• May, under many circumstances, recover from the employee the premium paid for maintaining
coverage if the employee fails to return from leave after the leave period has expired.
Employers should post the poster as soon as possible with other required posters regarding minimum wage, etc.
Comments