PayMaster Monthly Reporter for December 2007

Under Florida law, employers must give certain employees time off if the employee or a family or household member is a victim of domestic violence. This law makes Florida one of only a few states that require leave for victims of domestic violence. Florida Statute Section 741.313 provides up to three days of leave within a twelve-month period for employees who are victims of domestic violence and prohibits employers from interfering with, restraining, and denying the exercise or any attempt to exercise the rights provided by the law. Additionally, employers may not discriminate or retaliate against an employee for exercising his or her rights under the law.

Requirements under the law

The statute applies to businesses with 50 or more employees.

The leave is limited to three working days within a twelve month period. Employers have discretion as to whether the leave is with or without pay.

The leave must be used for one of the following

To seek an injunction for protection against domestic violence or an injunction for protection in cases of repeat violence, dating violence or sexual violence.

To obtain medical care or mental health counseling, or both, for the employee or a family or household member to address physical or psychological injuries resulting from the act of domestic violence.

To obtain services from a victim-services organization, including but not limited to, a domestic violence shelter or program or a rape crisis center as a result of the act of domestic violence.

To make the employee’s home secure from the perpetrator of the domestic violence or to seek new housing to escape the perpetrator.

To seek legal assistance in addressing issues arising from the act or domestic violence or to attend and prepare for court related proceedings arising from the act of domestic violence.

An employee seeking leave from work must

Have been employed by the employer for 3 months or longer;

Except in cases of imminent danger to the health or safety of the employee, or to the health or safety of a family or household member, must provide to Employer with at least advance notice or such shorter notice as is practicable (i.e. within 1 or 2 business days of learning of the need for the leave);

In cases of imminent danger to the health or safety of the employee, or the health or safety of a family or household member, must provide notice of the need for leave to Employer as soon as practicable (i.e., within 1 or 2 business days of learning of the need for the leave);

Provide sufficient documentation of the act of domestic violence; and

Exhaust all annual or vacation leave, personal leave, and sick leave, if applicable, before using any leave under this policy. [Note, under the statute, the employer may waive this requirement.]

Employers must

Grant the leave when all the requirements are satisfied;

Not interfere with, restrain, or deny an employee’s exercise or attempt to exercise the rights provided by the law. Additionally, employers must not discriminate or retaliate against an employee for exercising his or her rights under the law; and

Keep the information relating to an employee’s Domestic Violence Leave confidential.

Employees have no greater rights to continued employment or to other benefits and conditions of employment than if the employees were not entitled to leave under this law. Thus, the employers’ right to discipline or terminate any employee for any lawful reason remains.

For violations of this statute, employees may bring a civil lawsuit for damages, equitable relief, or both. As such, violations of this legislation could leave employers liable to their employees for lost wages and benefits up to the date of the trial. Therefore, employers must be familiarized with this new law.

Definitions under the law

“Domestic Violence” means any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member, or any crime, of which the underlying factual basis has been found by a court to include an act of domestic violence.

“Family or Household Member” means spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are presently residing together as if a family or who have resided together in the past as if a family, and persons who are parents of a child in common regardless of whether they have been married. With the exception of persons who have a child in common, the family or household members must be currently residing or have in the past resided together in the same single dwelling unit.

“Victim” means any individual who has been subjected to domestic violence.

Guidelines to insulate your business from liability

Create policies to govern advance notice and documentation needed prior to taking leave;

Create policies to govern whether the leave will be with or without pay;

Train your managers and HR professionals on this law and your compliance practices and policies;

Ensure that your policies for this law are in compliance with and consistent with your leave requirements under other laws such as the FMLA and your business’ vacation, sick leave, or other leave policies and whether employees will be required to exhaust other types of leave before taking domestic violence leave; and

Revise your employee handbook to reflect this change in legislation.

Employers should take action now to come into compliance with this new legislation. If you have any questions regarding the law or revising your leave policies to include provisions for domestic violence leave, please contact your attorney.


Click here to unsubscribe In This Edition... New I-9 Form Employee Rights for Victims of Domestic Violence Marathon of the Palm Beaches Helpful Links PayMaster's Home Page Federal Links State Links Upcoming Events There are no upcoming events currently scheduled.	PayMaster Monthly Reporter for December 2007 Welcome to the December 2007 edition of the PayMaster Monthly Reporter. In this edition, we will take a close look at the new I-9 form that goes into effect as of December 26th 2007. Also, we have some helpful information for victims of domestic violence and how a Florida law can provide leave for those employees to seek help and other types of services. Last, but certainly not least, we have a big congratulations to give to all of our employees that participated in the Marathon of the Palm Beaches. Article \| New I-9 Form The new I-9 Form goes into effect on December 26th, 2007. The I-9 Form helps employers verify if individuals are authorized to perform work in the United States in return for wages. As of 1986, every employer is required to complete an I-9 for every new employee within 3 business days of hire. This includes agricultural and domestic workers. On November 7th, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security has released an amended I-9 form, with the main change being the list of acceptable documents that allows an individual to evidence their identity and employment eligibility. As of this date, the new Form I-9 (Revision 06/05/07)N is the only version of the form that is valid for use. DHS recognizes that employers should be afforded a period of time to transition to the amended form, therefore DHS will not seek penalties against an employer for using a previous version of the form before December 26th, 2007. After December 26th, 2007, employers who fail to use the new form may be subject to all applicable penalties as enforced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Note that employers do not need to complete the new form for current employees for whom there is already a properly completed Form I-9 on file. The new form is available through the forms database on our website. A Spanish-language version of the new form is available for use in Puerto Rico only
	Article \| Florida Law for Victims of Domestic Violence Under Florida law, employers must give certain employees time off if the employee or a family or household member is a victim of domestic violence. This law makes Florida one of only a few states that require leave for victims of domestic violence. Florida Statute Section 741.313 provides up to three days of leave within a twelve-month period for employees who are victims of domestic violence and prohibits employers from interfering with, restraining, and denying the exercise or any attempt to exercise the rights provided by the law. Additionally, employers may not discriminate or retaliate against an employee for exercising his or her rights under the law. Requirements under the law The statute applies to businesses with 50 or more employees. The leave is limited to three working days within a twelve month period. Employers have discretion as to whether the leave is with or without pay. The leave must be used for one of the following To seek an injunction for protection against domestic violence or an injunction for protection in cases of repeat violence, dating violence or sexual violence. To obtain medical care or mental health counseling, or both, for the employee or a family or household member to address physical or psychological injuries resulting from the act of domestic violence. To obtain services from a victim-services organization, including but not limited to, a domestic violence shelter or program or a rape crisis center as a result of the act of domestic violence. To make the employee’s home secure from the perpetrator of the domestic violence or to seek new housing to escape the perpetrator. To seek legal assistance in addressing issues arising from the act or domestic violence or to attend and prepare for court related proceedings arising from the act of domestic violence. An employee seeking leave from work must Have been employed by the employer for 3 months or longer; Except in cases of imminent danger to the health or safety of the employee, or to the health or safety of a family or household member, must provide to Employer with at least advance notice or such shorter notice as is practicable (i.e. within 1 or 2 business days of learning of the need for the leave); In cases of imminent danger to the health or safety of the employee, or the health or safety of a family or household member, must provide notice of the need for leave to Employer as soon as practicable (i.e., within 1 or 2 business days of learning of the need for the leave); Provide sufficient documentation of the act of domestic violence; and Exhaust all annual or vacation leave, personal leave, and sick leave, if applicable, before using any leave under this policy. [Note, under the statute, the employer may waive this requirement.] Employers must Grant the leave when all the requirements are satisfied; Not interfere with, restrain, or deny an employee’s exercise or attempt to exercise the rights provided by the law. Additionally, employers must not discriminate or retaliate against an employee for exercising his or her rights under the law; and Keep the information relating to an employee’s Domestic Violence Leave confidential. Employees have no greater rights to continued employment or to other benefits and conditions of employment than if the employees were not entitled to leave under this law. Thus, the employers’ right to discipline or terminate any employee for any lawful reason remains. For violations of this statute, employees may bring a civil lawsuit for damages, equitable relief, or both. As such, violations of this legislation could leave employers liable to their employees for lost wages and benefits up to the date of the trial. Therefore, employers must be familiarized with this new law. Definitions under the law “Domestic Violence” means any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member, or any crime, of which the underlying factual basis has been found by a court to include an act of domestic violence. “Family or Household Member” means spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are presently residing together as if a family or who have resided together in the past as if a family, and persons who are parents of a child in common regardless of whether they have been married. With the exception of persons who have a child in common, the family or household members must be currently residing or have in the past resided together in the same single dwelling unit. “Victim” means any individual who has been subjected to domestic violence. Guidelines to insulate your business from liability Create policies to govern advance notice and documentation needed prior to taking leave; Create policies to govern whether the leave will be with or without pay; Train your managers and HR professionals on this law and your compliance practices and policies; Ensure that your policies for this law are in compliance with and consistent with your leave requirements under other laws such as the FMLA and your business’ vacation, sick leave, or other leave policies and whether employees will be required to exhaust other types of leave before taking domestic violence leave; and Revise your employee handbook to reflect this change in legislation. Employers should take action now to come into compliance with this new legislation. If you have any questions regarding the law or revising your leave policies to include provisions for domestic violence leave, please contact your attorney.
	Article \| Marathon of the Palm Beaches Congratulations to the PayMaster Marathon Team for completing the Marathon of the Palm Beaches in 4 hours 19 minutes. A new team record! This year’s team consisted of TJ, Lisa, Jeffery and John.

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