[B.] Victims Leave
§378-72 Leave of absence for domestic or sexual violence. (a) An employer employing fifty or more employees shall allow an employee to take up to thirty days of unpaid victim leave from work per calendar year, or an employer employing not more than forty-nine employees shall allow an employee to take up to five days of unpaid leave from work per calendar year, if the employee or the employee's minor child is a victim of domestic or sexual violence; provided the leave is to either:
(b) An employee's absence from work that is due to or resulting from domestic abuse or sexual violence against the employee or the employee's minor child as provided in this section shall be considered by an employer to be a justification for leave for a reasonable period of time, not to exceed the total number of days allocable for each category of employer under subsection (a).
"Reasonable period of time" as used in this section means:
(c) Where an employee is a victim of domestic or sexual violence and seeks leave for medical attention to recover from physical or psychological injury or disability caused by domestic or sexual violence, the employer may request that the employee provide:
(d) Where an employee has taken not more than five calendar days of leave for non-medical reasons, the employee shall provide certification to the employer in the form of a signed statement within a reasonable period after the employer's request, that the employee or the employee's minor child is a victim of domestic or sexual violence and the leave is for one of the purposes enumerated in subsection (a). If the leave exceeds five days per calendar year, then the certification shall be provided by one of the following methods:
(e) If certification is required, no leave shall be protected until a certification, as provided in this section, is provided to the employer.
(f) The employee shall provide the employer with reasonable notice of the employee's intention to take the leave, unless providing that notice is not practicable due to imminent danger to the employee or the employee's minor child.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an employer from requiring an employee on victim leave to report not less than once a week to the employer on the status of the employee and intention of the employee to return to work.
(h) Upon return from leave under this section, the employee shall return to the employee's original job or to a position of comparable status and pay, without loss of accumulated service credits and privileges, except that nothing in this subsection shall be construed to entitle any restored employee to the accrual of:
(i) All information provided to the employer under this section, including statements of the employee, or any other documentation, record, or corroborating evidence, and the fact that the employee or employee's minor child has been a victim of domestic or sexual violence or the employee has requested leave pursuant to this section, shall be maintained in the strictest confidence by the employer, and shall not be disclosed, except to the extent that disclosure is:
(j) Any employee denied leave by an employer in wilful violation of this section may file a civil action against the employer to enforce this section and recover costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, incurred in the civil action. [L 2003, c 60, pt of §2; am L 2020, c 19, §7]