AMY PAULIN IN THE NEWS
Monday, July 27, 2009
More Protections Afforded to Victims of Domestic Abuse
Legislative Gazette
By JAIME FULLER Legislative Gazette Staff Writer Mon, Jul 27, 2009
Legislation that protects domestic violence victims from workplace discrimination was signed into law July 7 by Gov. David A. Paterson.
The legislation (S.958-b/A.755-a) was sponsored by Sen. Craig M. Johnson, D-Port Washington, and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale. The final bill passed in the Assembly on April 27 and in the Senate on May 6.
The measure amends the state’s Human Rights Law, preventing employers from penalizing victims of domestic violence and stalking by terminating their employment or refusing to hire them. Before the passage of this statewide legislation, similar protection was offered to residents of New York City and Westchester County.
The justification for the legislation lays out reasons why this law will help victims of domestic violence.
“Victims of domestic violence who do leave their abusive relationship are often put in the position of needing time away from work in order to consult with attorneys, counselors, childcare providers, etc., in an effort to gain a life of their own,” according to the justification. “Often a victim of domestic violence is embarrassed or fears losing her job and, therefore, is reluctant to inform her employer of the circumstances of her life. It is not unusual for a victim of domestic violence to be terminated from her job or demoted because she needs time off or flexible hours as a protective measure.”
A report released by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York in June cites U.S. General Accounting Office statistics that show between 35 and 56 percent of employed battered women surveyed were harassed at work by their abusive partners, and between one-fourth and one-half of domestic violence victims reported losing a job as a result of their victimization.
The report also includes data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the costs placed on employers by victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence costs employers between $5.8 billion and $13 billion annually, and, according to the report, 8 million days of paid work are lost every year by victims of domestic violence — the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs.
Johnson, who is the first Democrat to represent the 7th Senate District on Long Island in a century, was happy the legislation passed this year, the first time he introduced the legislation, according to spokesman Rich Azzopardi.
“This is an incredibly important issue,” said Azzopardi. “If you read the newspaper you’ll see cases like this every day. It’s our obligation as legislators to do what we can to help.”
Paulin has introduced this legislation in the Assembly for the past few years but said debates on semantics prevented its passage. The major problem, according to Paulin, is many Republican members of the Assembly had a problem with the inclusion of both married and unmarried persons in the definition of domestic violence victims. The more inclusive definition sought by Paulin and Johnson was finally agreed upon during this legislative session, although the debate delayed the passage of the legislation by several months.
“The legislation is very simple, but sometimes simple things take awhile to get agreement on,” said Paulin.
Paulin was named a “leader in the fight against domestic violence” by the New York State Coalition of Domestic Violence last year, and prior to her election to the Assembly was executive director of My Sisters’ Place, a nonprofit for victims of domestic violence based in Washington, D.C. She also helped found the Westchester Domestic Violence Council, located in her district.
“We really applaud [Johnson and Paulin’s] support of this legislation … and we are pleased to see that it could pass this year,” said Sandra Park, incoming chair of the Domestic Violence Committee at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
Park said the legislation passed was a good first step, but recommended that future legislation should include a “reasonable accommodation” provision, as outlined in Gov. David A. Paterson’s original program bill.
The “reasonable accommodation” provision would ensure employers provide concessions for employees who have been subject to domestic violence, such as allowing these employees days off or changing their phone number if their assaulter is stalking them. A good model, according to Parks, is the New York City law addressing this issue.