All employers with 20 or more employees are required to follow state law regarding unpaid leave for victims of domestic or sexual violence, or their family members that are victims. Despite the mandate of law, you have a vested interest as an employer in making sure your employees are focused and safe. It’s normal for employees’ lives and experiences to affect their work experience. This is no different for victims of domestic and sexual violence. Missouri law recognized the importance of the need for victims to have time to seek relief from the courts or criminal justice system for the violence they have endured, to receive counseling and other victim advocacy services, or to relocate for the safety for themselves and their children. Taking time off without risk of losing their job is critical as is their need for job security.   

As an employer, Missouri’s Victim Economic Safety and Security Act, commonly referred to as VESSA, is one way you can support an employee that comes to you for help. An employee making a disclosure of violence in their personal life can be very difficult and reflects a great deal of trust in you as a manager. You have an opportunity to provide essential support during a challenging time. 

If you are an employer with 20 or more employees, you are required to comply with VESSA. VESSA allows employees to receive up to two weeks of unpaid time off to seek medical attention, recover from an injury, obtain victim services, obtain counseling, participate in safety planning, seek legal assistance, or participate in legal proceedings. This act helps ensure survivors can access unpaid leave, receive job protections, request safety accommodations, and receive confidentiality of information provided about disclosures of abuse if they are experiencing domestic or sexual violence, or if they have family members who are experiencing domestic or sexual violence.  

 

Employer requirements:   

Employers with 20 or more employees must provide access to unpaid VESSA leave.   

• Employers with 20 to 49 employees must provide one work week of unpaid leave per 12-month period.   

• Employers with 50 or more employees must provide two work weeks of unpaid leave per 12-month period.   

The amount of time the employee is allowed to use should be equal to their standard work week. For example, employees who work 20 hours in a standard work week may take 40 total hours of unpaid leave within a 12-month period, if you employ more than 50 employees, or 20 hours of unpaid leave within a 12-month period, if you employ 20-49 employees.   

As an employer, you may ask that leave requests are made at least 48 hours in advance. You could also request that the employee provide certification that the leave is necessary, though the law doesn’t require an employer to ask for certification. If your organization chooses to require documentation, it is recommended to have a policy describing the requirements and process in place. Information submitted through this process must, under this law, be protected and held confidential. This documentation, in addition to a sworn statement by the employee, can be from an employee of a victim service agency, an attorney, a law enforcement officer, a clergy member, or a health care provider. Certifiable documentation may also include court records or police reports.   

When the employee returns from leave, they must be placed in the same or equivalent employment position and shall not lose accrued benefits. As an employer, you are required to maintain health coverage for the employee while on leave; you may recover the premium from the employee if the employee does not return to work.   

Employees are allowed to request “reasonable safety accommodations” from their employers. Under VESSA, employers shall make reasonable safety accommodations in a timely manner, unless you can demonstrate that doing so creates undue hardship. The statute defines “reasonable safety accommodations” as “an adjustment to a job structure, workplace facility, or work requirement, including a transfer, reassignment, modified schedule, leave, a changed telephone number or seating assignment, installation of a lock, implementation of a safety procedure, or assistance in documenting domestic violence that occurs at the workplace or in work-related settings, in response to actual or threatened domestic violence. Any exigent circumstances or danger facing the employee or [their] family or household member shall be considered in determining whether the accommodation is reasonable.”   

Employers are required to post a notice summarizing the Missouri law providing unpaid leave from work for victims. A free copy of the poster that meets legal requirements can be found on the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations “Mandatory Posters” webpage.   

 

The workplace power and control wheel is a tool you can use to identify incidents of harassment or discrimination.

You may be able to access additional protections under Missouri law through the Crime Victim’s Bill of Rights, 595.209 RSMo. The statute includes 18 separate rights afforded to victims of certain crimes, including domestic violence.   

Subsection 14 of this statute states, “An employer may not discharge or discipline any witness, victim or member of a victim’s immediate family for honoring a subpoena to testify in a criminal proceeding, attending a criminal proceeding, or for participating in the preparation of a criminal proceeding, or require any witness, victim, or member of a victim’s immediate family to use vacation time, personal time, or sick leave for honoring a subpoena to testify in a criminal proceeding, attending a criminal proceeding, or participating in the preparation of a criminal proceeding.  A public school district, public school, or charter school shall not discipline a child for failure to comply with the district’s or school’s attendance policy, and the parent or legal guardian shall not be deemed to be in violation of the provisions of section 167.061, and the district or school shall not otherwise discipline a child, based on such child’s honoring a subpoena to testify in a criminal proceeding, attending a criminal proceeding, or for participating in the preparation of a criminal proceeding;”    

  

Missourians who have become victims of certain crimes are afforded certain rights under the Missouri Crime Victim’s Bill of Rights, including the right to:   

1. Be present at all criminal justice proceedings at which the defendant has such a right  
2. Information about the crime   
3. Be informed, in a timely manner, of the filing of charges, preliminary hearing dates, trial dates, continuances, and the final disposition of the case 
4. Be heard and informed about bail hearings, guilty pleas, hearings, sentencing, or probation revocation hearings  
5. Informed by local law enforcement ages about the escape, release, or death of the accused, as well as information about victim compensation and assistance  
6. Reasonable protection from the defendant or anyone acting on behalf of the defendant   
7. To be informed about the status of a case if a charge decision has not yet been made  
8. Restitution  
9. Apply for and receive any witness fees to which they are entitled to  
10. Receive property provided to a prosecuting attorney or law enforcement agency for evidence, given that the property is no longer needed for evidentiary reasons or is contraband, upon the request of the victim  
11. To not be discharged or disciplined for honoring a subpoena to testify or attend a criminal proceeding  
12. Be provided with creditor intercession services by the prosecuting attorney  
13. Speedy disposition of their cases and speedy appellate reviews of their cases  
14. A secure waiting area during court proceedings  
15. Receive a photograph of the defendant prior to their release from incarceration.   

Review the full statute to learn more about the protections available for cases involving a defendant who is a minor.   

  

There may be additional protections available to you that are not based on your status as a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault. To learn more about additional protections, visit the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR).