Back in May, we noted that the New Jersey Assembly was working to provide leave rights to victims of domestic violence. Last week, legislation was signed into law to accomplish that.

Under the New Jersey Security and Financial Empowerment Act, New Jersey employers must provide victims of domestic or sexual assault with 20 days of unpaid leave every 12 months The leave must also be available to employees who are the children, parents, spouses or partners of victims of such abuse.

The NJ SAFE law is meant to allow the victims of domestic violence and sexual assault to obtain medical treatment as well as attend related court hearings and seek counseling.

With the passing of this legislation, New Jersey has joined 11 states that have some sort of employment law on the books to protect victims and witnesses of domestic violence.

Sen. Fred H. Madden, a sponsor of the New Jersey legislation, stated: “Providing victims and their families the time they need to put their lives back together is a matter of simple, common decency.”

As is the case with family and medical leaves, under this new leave law employers may not harass, discriminate or retaliate against workers who request SAFE leaves.

Employers will maintain the right to require workers to use their paid vacation time, personal hours or medical leave during their SAFE leave; employees may also elect to use any accrued paid time off during a SAFE leave.

This new law is a very important addition to the employment rights of New Jersey residents. Victims of domestic violence and sexual assault should be able to take the necessary steps to recover and keep themselves safe without worrying about their job security.

Source: PolitickerNJ, “Madden-Beach Legislation Creating ‘NJ Safe Act’ Signed Into Law,” Trish Graber, July 18, 2013