This post is not going to discuss, in my view, the NFL’s inadequate response over the years to domestic violence incidents by players in the league.  (If you want to listen to a full take down of the NFL, I recommend Slate’s The Gist podcast from yesterday.)

Rather, I want to talk today about how Connecticut employers can address domestic violence when such incidents have an impact on work.

  • As I talked about in August, the ABA adopted a Model Workplace Policy in Employer Responses to Domestic Violence.  It worth a look at for most employers. An “employer who does adopt it can illustrate that it takes the issues of domestic violence seriously and will encourage employees who are going through the process to speak up. As noted in the materials attached to the resolution, researchers have determined that victimization rates in the workplace are actually higher than in the general population.”\
  • Beyond that though, employers should have updated their policies to provide for the state-mandated domestic violence leave.  The law, which has been in place since 2010, provides for several items including the following: “It requires employers to allow family violence victims to take paid or unpaid leave (including compensatory time, vacation time, personal days, or other time off) during any calendar year in which the leave is reasonably necessary for the following reasons: 1.seek medical care or counseling for physical or psychological injury or disability, 2.obtain services from a victim services organization, 3.relocate due to the family violence, or 4.participate in any civil or criminal proceeding related to or resulting from such family violence.”  Unpaid leave is limited to 12 days per calendar year.
  • There are also plenty of online resources as well, including a toolkit designed to help address these issues further.  While such online resources need to be tailored to your workplace, it is a good place to start if you’re seeking more information.

Domestic violence isn’t just an issue for football players. It has an impact on employers all across the United States.  For employers that want to do something more, these resources are a good place to start.