Governor Deval Patrick recently signed into law An Act Relative
to Domestic Violence (ARDV), a statute that requires covered
employers to provide employees with up to 15 days of unpaid leave
in the event that the employee or a close family member is a victim
of domestic violent or certain other abusive behavior. This new law
is effective immediately and applies to all Massachusetts employers
with 50 or more employees. Notably, in addition to requiring
covered Massachusetts employers to provide this new category of
leave, the statute also requires employers to notify employees of
their rights and obligations under the ARDV. Accordingly, similar
to an employer's obligations under the Family and Medical Leave
Act, covered employers should develop a Domestic Violence Leave
Policy that is consistent with the statute, distribute it to
employees, and ensure that the policy is maintained and made
available in the same manner as other company policies, such as in
an employee handbook.
Although the new law is named An Act Relative to Domestic Violence,
this statute provides leave not only in relation to incidents of
domestic violence, but also in connection with other forms of
abusive behavior, such as stalking, sexual assault, and kidnapping.
If an employee or his/her family member is a victim of abusive
behavior, the statute provides the employee with job-protected
leave to seek medical attention or counseling, tend to legal
issues, or address other issues directly related to the abusive
behavior.
Additionally, the ARDV explains: (a) the protocol by which an
employer can require notice of foreseeable leave and how to manage
circumstances where leave is not foreseeable; (b) the permissible
types of documentation to substantiate domestic violence leaves;
(c) the employer's obligation to keep confidential leave under
the ARDV and remove related documentation from an employee's
personnel file; and (d) how ARDV leave is counted and treated in
connection with other types of leave and/or paid time off.
If you have any questions about updating your employee handbook,
complying with ARDV, or how ARDV interacts with other leave rights
or absences from work, please contact WilmerHale's
Labor and Employment team.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
