Domestic violence can permeate the lives and compromise the
safety of employees with tragic, destructive and often fatal results.
Domestic violence occurs within a wide spectrum of relationships,
including married and formerly married couples, couples with children
in common, couples who live together or have lived together, gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender couples, and couples who are dating
or who have dated in the past. Domestic violence represents a pattern
of coercive tactics which can include physical, psychological, sexual,
economic and emotional abuse perpetrated by one person against another
in an intimate relationship or in the same household, with the goal
of establishing and maintaining power and control over the victim.
In addition to exacting a tremendous toll from the individuals it
directly affects, domestic violence often spills over into the workplace,
compromising the safety of both victims and co-workers and resulting
in lost productivity, increased health care costs, increased absenteeism,
and increased employee turnover. The Village will take appropriate
actions to promote safety in the workplace and respond effectively
to the needs of victims of domestic violence.
For purposes of this policy and pursuant to the Illinois Victims'
Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA) (820 ILCS 180/1 et seq.),
the following terms are defined as follows:
A person who perpetrates a pattern of coercive tactics, which
can include physical, psychological, sexual, economic, and emotional
abuse against an adult intimate partner, with the goal of establishing
and maintaining power and control over the victim.
Abuse by a family or household member, as defined by this
policy pursuant to Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act
of 1986 (750 ILCS 60/103). Domestic violence includes sexual assault
or stalking.
A person working for the Village for remuneration for services.
For employees with a family or household member who is a
victim of domestic or sexual violence, this means a spouse, parent,
son, daughter, other person related by blood or by present or prior
marriage, another person who shares a relationship through a son or
daughter, and persons jointly residing in the same household.
The biological parent of an employee or an individual who
stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a son
or daughter as defined herein.
A biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal
ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is under
18 years of age, or is 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care
because of a mental or physical disability.[1]
A.
Employee awareness. The Village shall take reasonable actions to
educate employees regarding the effects of domestic violence and methods
to report such violence to authorities. It is the policy of the Village
that information on domestic violence and available resources shall
be available to employees through the Village Board and by this written
policy, which shall be disseminated to employees.
B.
Nondiscriminatory policy. Nondiscriminatory and responsive personnel
policies for victimized employees of the Village shall ensure that
personnel policies and procedures do not discriminate against victims
of domestic violence and are responsive to the needs of victims of
domestic violence.
(1)
Illinois law prohibits employers from interfering with, restraining,
or denying the exercise of any right provided under VESSA. This law
requires employers, when given 48 hours' prior notification, to allow
time off for employed victims of domestic or sexual violence and employees
with a family or household member who is a victim of domestic or sexual
violence, to take unpaid leave to seek medical help, legal assistance,
counseling, safety planning, and other assistance without penalty
from the employer for the employee or the family or household member
who is a victim.
(2)
Illinois law prohibits employers from discriminating against any
employee who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence or any employee
who has a family or household member who is a victim of domestic or
sexual violence.
(3)
An employee who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence, or has
a family or household member who is a victim of domestic or sexual
violence and whose interests are not adverse to the employee as it
relates to domestic or sexual violence, may take unpaid leave from
work to address domestic or sexual violence by:
(a)
Seeking medical attention for, or recovering from, physical
or psychological injuries caused by domestic or sexual violence to
the victim;
(b)
Obtaining services from a victim services organization for the
victim;
(c)
Obtaining psychological or other counseling for the victim;
(d)
Participating in safety planning, temporarily or permanently
relocating, or taking other actions to increase the safety of the
victim;
(e)
Seeking legal assistance or remedies to ensure the health and
safety of the victim, including preparing for or participating in
any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or derived from
domestic or sexual violence.
(4)
The employee shall be entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of leave during any twelve-month period. This policy does not create a right for an employee to take an unpaid leave that exceeds the unpaid leave time allowed under, or is in addition to, the unpaid leave time permitted by the federal Family Medical Leave Act. Leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced work schedule. An employee may substitute accumulated paid leave for unpaid leave; however, the paid leave will count toward the number of workweeks used for purposes of this policy. The employee shall provide at least 48 hours' advance notice of the employee's intention to take leave, unless providing such notice is not practicable. No action will be taken against an employee for failing to provide 48 hours' advance notice if the employee provides certification that leave was used for the purposes outlined in Subsection B(2) of this section and can demonstrate that advance notice was not practicable.
(5)
During a leave taken pursuant to this policy, the Village shall maintain
coverage under its group health plan for the duration of such leave
at the level and under the conditions coverage would have been provided
if the employee had continued in employment for the duration of such
leave. If the employee fails to return from leave, however, the Village
may recover any premium costs it paid for such coverage if the reason
for the employee not returning is other than the continuation, recurrence,
or onset of domestic or sexual violence or circumstances beyond the
control of the employee. Neither seniority nor leave benefits will
accrue to the employee during unpaid leave.
(6)
The Village, upon request, will assist the employee in determining
the best use of his/her attendance and leave benefits when an employee
needs to be absent as a result of being a victim of domestic violence.
If an employee requests time off to care for and/or assist a family
or household member who has been a victim of domestic violence, the
employee's supervisor or the Village Board (or its designee) will
evaluate the employee's request for leave for eligibility under existing
law and collective bargaining agreements applicable to the employee
and the attendance rules.
(7)
The Village requires certification from an employee for leave under this policy. The employee shall certify that the leave is for one of the purposes enumerated in Subsection B of this section. Certification shall be provided to the employer within a time period set by the employer.
(8)
The Village understands that victims of domestic violence may lack
the required documentation or have difficulty obtaining the required
certification to justify absences without compromising their safety.
Therefore, the Mayor or his designee shall consult with the employee
to identify what documentation she/he might have, or be able to obtain,
that will not compromise his/her safety-related needs and will satisfactorily
meet the documentation requirements of the employer.
(9)
All information provided to the employer pursuant to notification
and certification requirements of this policy, and the purposes for
which leave may be requested pursuant to this policy, shall be retained
in strictest confidence by the employer, except to the extent that
disclosure is requested or consented to in writing by the employee,
or otherwise required by applicable federal or state law. Reported
information shall be kept private to the greatest extent possible
by federal law, state law, and Village policy; however, information
may have to be disclosed pursuant to a subpoena, Illinois Supreme
Court Rules, a court of law, or where otherwise required by law. Where
medical information is received by the Village from an employee who
is the victim of domestic violence, such medical information shall
be kept confidential.
(10)
Employees who are victims of domestic violence and who are legally
separated from a covered spouse or civil-union partner shall be allowed
to make reasonable changes in benefits at any time during the calendar
year, provided the change is requested within 30 days of the separation
and is in accordance with the Village policies, rules, and regulations.
(11)
The Village will not make inquiries about a job applicant's
current or past domestic violence victimization, and employment decisions
will not be based on any assumptions about or knowledge of such exposure.
C.
Accountability for employees who are abusers.
(1)
The Village will hold employees, individuals who volunteer services
to the Village without remuneration (hereafter "volunteers"), and
individuals who contract with the Village or work for contractors
of the Village (hereafter "contractors") accountable for engaging
in the following behavior:
(a)
Using Village resources to commit an act of domestic violence;
(b)
Committing an act of domestic violence from or at the workplace
or from any other location while on official Village business; or
(c)
Using their job-related authority and/or Village resources in
order to negatively affect victims and/or assist perpetrators in locating
a victim and/or in perpetrating an act of domestic violence.
(2)
Any physical assault or threat made by an employee, volunteer, or
contractor, while on Village premises, during working hours, while
representing the Village, or at a Village-sponsored event, is a serious
violation of this policy. This policy applies not only to acts against
employees, but to acts against all other persons. Those found to have
violated this policy will be subject to corrective or disciplinary
action, up to and including discharge.
(a)
In cases in which the Village has found that an employee, volunteer,
or contractor has threatened, harassed, or abused an intimate partner
at the workplace using Village resources such as work time, workplace
telephones, facsimile machines, mail, e-mail or other means, said
employee shall be subject to corrective or disciplinary action.
(b)
In cases in which the Village has verification that an employee,
volunteer, or contractor is responsible for a domestic-violence-related
offense, or is the subject of any order of protection, including temporary,
final or out-of-state order, as a result of domestic violence, and
said employee, volunteer or contractor has job functions that include
the authority to take actions that directly impact victims of domestic
violence and/or actions that may protect abusers from appropriate
consequences for their behavior, the Mayor shall determine if corrective
action is warranted.
(c)
In cases in which any employee, volunteer, or contractor intentionally
uses his/her job-related authority and/or intentionally uses Village
resources in order to negatively impact a victim of domestic violence,
assist an abuser in locating a victim, assist an abuser in perpetrating
acts of domestic violence, or protect an abuser from appropriate consequences
for his/her behavior, said individual may be subject to corrective
or disciplinary action.
