Small business owners want a safe and supportive work environment for their staff. One disrupter is domestic abuse, the effects of which do not stop as employees enter the workplace. According to one source, more than 10% of employees said they experienced domestic violence in the past year. A Cornell Law School article said “suffering through domestic violence can interfere with work productivity, efficiency, attendance, and job retention. Ensuring that victims of domestic violence have access to a safe and secure workplace that accommodates their needs is part of fulfilling their right to be free from domestic violence.” What can or should you do?
Legal and ethical responsibilities
Employers have a legal responsibility to provide a safe workplace. Legally, you may have to provide reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to employees who’ve been victims of domestic violence if their condition amounts to a disability. Reasonable accommodations include:
- A change in the workplace or the way things are usually done
- Time off for treatment
- Modified work schedules
- Reassignment
State law may require an employer to accommodate an employee who needs to make court appearances. This means not penalizing an employee appearing as a witness in a criminal case; time off or work rescheduling should be available options. So, too, should time off be available for medical or legal assistance.
Paid leave? Unpaid leave? Consider the impact of the Family and Medical Leave Act as well as state laws in crafting your policy. About the half the states and the District of Columbia have laws giving victims of domestic violence to time off from work.
The EEOC has examples of employment decisions for employees who are victims of domestic violence that may violate the law.
Be sure to consider confidentiality. For example, the ADA and HIPAA bar the disclosure of confidential medical information. Be sure employees feel safe to share a protective order they may have obtained and alert other staff (those who need to know) so they can provide physical protection if needed.
Recognize that in most states, employees who quit because of domestic abuse are not barred from unemployment benefits. Don’t contest their claims in this situation.
Beyond what the law requires, you probably want to offer support to the extent the employee wants it. Be sure that employees feel safe in disclosing this matter and don’t fear retaliation of any kind. Be ready to offer referrals and resources to help employees experiencing or recovering from domestic abuse.
Resources to help:
- OSHA has several prevention programs that provide guidance for evaluating and controlling violence in the workplace, which can impact employees who are victims of domestic abuse.
- You can adapt a model policy to meet your needs.
Tax considerations
For frequent readers of my blogs, you know I like to work tax considerations into a subject where applicable. Here’s something for employers:
Under a new tax law effective as of January 1, 2024, survivors of domestic abuse can take early distributions from their employer’s qualified retirement plan (or an IRA) without the 10% penalty that would otherwise apply; the distributions are still taxable. The plan isn’t required to offer this distribution option, but if it does, it’s limited to the lesser of $10,000 (indexed for inflation after 2024) or 50% of the employee’s vested benefits in the plan. The mandatory 20% income tax withholding applicable to eligible rollover distributions does not apply in this case. The distribution can be repaid (and taxes on it recouped) within 3 years.
The IRS provided guidance to employers regarding these distributions. For tax purposes, the term “domestic abuse” means “physical, psychological, sexual, emotional, or economic abuse, including efforts to control, isolate, humiliate, or intimidate the victim, or to undermine the victim’s ability to reason independently, including by means of abuse of the victim’s child or another family member living in the household.” The employee can self-certify as being a survivor of domestic abuse, and the plan can accept this as valid.
Final thought
As an employer, being proactive to help and support employees who experience domestic violence is very important—to your employees and the company. Having a paycheck as well as the emotional and physical support of the company can make a meaningful difference in the life of an affected employee.
For additional reading concerning workplace safety, see this list of blogs.
