Unemployment Insurance for Domestic Violence Survivors Act
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This Act shall be called the “Unemployment Insurance for Domestic Violence Survivors Act.”
SECTION 2. UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS
(A) DEFINITIONS—In this section:
1. “Domestic violence” means abuse committed against an employee or an employee’s dependent child by:
a. A current or former spouse of the employee.
b. A person with whom the employee shares parentage of a child in common.
c. A person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the employee.
d. A person who is related by blood or marriage.
e. A person with whom the employee has or had a dating or engagement relationship.
2. “Abuse” means:
a. Causing, or attempting to cause, physical harm.
b. Placing another person in fear of imminent serious physical harm.
c. Causing another person to engage involuntarily in sexual relations by force, threat or duress, or threatening to do so.
d. Engaging in mental abuse, which includes threats, intimidation, stalking and acts designed to induce terror.
e. Depriving another person of medical care, housing, food or other necessities of life.
f. Restraining the liberty of another.
(B) ELIGIBILITY FOR UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
1. An individual shall not be disqualified from receiving unemployment insurance benefits if the individual establishes to the satisfaction of the [Commissioner] that the reason the individual left work was due to domestic violence, including:
a. The individual’s reasonable fear of future domestic violence at or en route to or from the individual’s place of employment.
b. The individual’s need to relocate to another geographic area in order to avoid future domestic violence.
c. The individual’s need to address the physical, psychological and legal impacts of domestic violence.
d. The individual’s need to leave employment as a condition of receiving services or shelter from an agency which provides support services or shelter to victims of domestic violence.
e. Any other situation in which domestic violence causes the individual to reasonably believe that termination of employment is necessary for the future safety of the individual or the individual’s family.
2. An individual may demonstrate the existence of domestic violence by providing one of the following:
a. A restraining order or other documentation of equitable relief issued by a court of competent jurisdiction;
b. A police record documenting the abuse;
c. Documentation that the abuser has been convicted of one or more of the criminal offenses enumerated in [cite appropriate criminal law section];
d. Medical documentation of the abuse;
e. A statement provided by a counselor, social worker, health worker, member of the clergy, shelter worker, legal advocate, or other professional who has assisted the individual in addressing the effects of the abuse on the individual or the individual’s family; or
f. A sworn statement from the individual attesting to the abuse.
3. No evidence of domestic violence experienced by an individual, including the individual’s statement and corroborating evidence, shall be disclosed by the [Department] unless consent for disclosure is given by the individual.
4. For an individual who left work due to domestic violence, requirements to pursue suitable work must reasonably accommodate the individual’s need to address the physical, psychological, legal and other effects of the domestic violence.
(C) TRAINING PROGRAM
1. The [Commissioner of Employment and Training] shall implement a training curriculum approved by the [Governor’s Commission on Domestic Violence and the Human Resources Division].
2. All senior management personnel of the [Division of Employment and Training] shall be trained in this curriculum not later than 60 days from the effective date of this section. The [Commissioner] shall develop an ongoing plan for employees of the [Division] who interact with claimants to be trained in the nature and dynamics of domestic violence, so that employment separations stemming from domestic violence are reliably screened and adjudicated, and so that victims of domestic violence are able to take advantage of the full range of job services provided by the [Division].
SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE—This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2004.