HR-417 Victims Economic Safety and Security Act Leave (VESSA)

Summary

To promote the University’s strong commitment to the prevention of domestic or sexual violence and protection of victims, the University is instituting this policy in accordance with the Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA), which will provide eligible employees with job-protected unpaid leave to address specified needs resulting from domestic or sexual violence.

This policy applies to all employees of the university, including part-time and full-time academic, administrative service and support, and student employees.

If any part of this policy does not reflect the Collected Rules and Regulations (CRR), the provisions of the CRR will govern.

HR Policy

Scope. This policy applies to all employees of the university, including part-time and full-time academic, administrative service and support, and student employees of the University. Leave under this policy shall not create a right for an eligible employee to take leave that exceeds the amount of leave time allowed under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). See Collected Rules and Regulations Section 340.010 and HR-407 for further information regarding FMLA leave.
Definitions
1. Abuse – As defined in Section 210.110, RSMo.
2. Certifying agent – An employee, agent, or volunteer of a victim services organization, an attorney, a member of the clergy, or a medical or other professional from whom the employee or the employee’s family or household member has sought assistance in addressing domestic violence or sexual violence and the effects of such violence.
3. Domestic violence – Abuse or stalking, as defined in Section 455.010, RSMo.
4. Eligible Employee – One who is employed by the university and is a victim of domestic or sexual violence, as defined in this policy.
5. Family or household member – This includes an employee’s spouse, parent, son, daughter, other person related by blood or by present or prior marriage, other person who shares a relationship through a son or daughter, and persons jointly residing in the same household as the employee.
6. Reasonable safety measure – 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 the employee’s family or household member shall be considered in determining whether the safety measure is reasonable.
7. Sexual violence – A sexual assault, as defined in Section 455.010, RSMo, and trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, as described in Section 566.209, RSMo.
8. Undue hardship – Significant difficulty or expense, when considered in light of the nature and cost of the reasonable safety accommodation.
9. Victim of domestic or sexual violence: An individual who has been subjected to domestic violence, sexual violence or abuse, as those terms are defined by this policy.
10. Victim services organization – A nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that provides assistance to victims of domestic violence or to advocates for such victims, including a rape crisis center, a child advocacy center, an organization carrying out a domestic violence program, an organization operating a shelter or providing counseling services, or a legal services organization or other organization providing assistance through the legal process.
11. Workweek – An individual employee’s standard workweek.
When unpaid leave is provided.
1. An employee who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence, or an employee whose family or household member is a victim of domestic or sexual violence and whose interests are not adverse to the employee as it relates to the domestic or sexual violence, may take unpaid leave from work for the following reasons:
  1. To seek medical attention for, or recover from, physical or psychological injuries caused by domestic or sexual violence to the employee or the employee’s family or household member;
  2. To obtain services from a victim services organization for the employee or the employee’s family or household member;
  3. To obtain psychological or other counseling for the employee or the employee’s family or household member;
  4. To participate in safety planning, temporary or permanent relocation, or to take other actions to increase the safety of the employee or the employee’s family or household member from future domestic or sexual violence or to ensure economic security; or
  5. To seek legal assistance or remedies to ensure the health and safety of the employee or the employee’s family or household member, including preparation for or participation in any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or derived from domestic or sexual violence.
2. An eligible employee shall be entitled to a total of up to two workweeks of VESSA leave during a twelve-month period. The twelve-month period is measured backward from the date the employee uses any VESSA leave, and the leave entitlement is equal to the balance of the two workweeks which has not been used during the immediately preceding 12 months. If applicable, VESSA leave will run concurrently with FMLA leave and other qualifying university leaves (e.g., caregiver leave).
3. Leave under this policy may be taken intermittently or on a reduced work schedule.
4. An employee shall provide the university with at least forty-eight hours’ advance notice of the employee’s intention to take leave under this policy, unless providing such notice is not practicable. In the case of an unscheduled absence, the university will not take action against the employee so long as the employee, upon request of the university and within a reasonable period after the absence, provides certification as defined in subsection (IV) of this policy.
5. Eligible employees may elect to use available paid leave, where otherwise permitted by University policy, concurrently with VESSA leave. Eligible employees will not be required to substitute paid leave for VESSA leave.
Certification requirements
1. The university may request the employee to provide certification that the employee or the employee’s family or household member is a victim of domestic or sexual violence and that the leave is for one of the purposes enumerated in subsection (III)(A) of this policy. The employee shall provide such certification to the university within a reasonable period after it is requested.
2. An employee may satisfy the certification requirement by providing to the university a sworn statement of the employee and one of the following: (1) documentation from a certifying agent; (2) a police or court record; or (3) other corroborating evidence.
3. Any expenses associated with obtaining the certification shall be the responsibility of the employee.
Evaluation Process
1. Requests for leave pursuant to this policy will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. A request for leave may be denied if it does not meet the requirements stated in this policy. If a leave request is denied, the employee who requested leave will be notified in writing and the employee’s absence(s) may instead be processed under other applicable leave policies.
2. An employee who is determined to have misrepresented facts in order to be granted leave pursuant to this policy may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination in accordance with applicable University policy.
Confidentiality requirements
1. All information provided to the university by the employee, including that the employee has requested or obtained leave pursuant to this policy, shall be retained in the strictest confidence by the university, 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, or University policy (including mandated reporting provisions in CRRs 600.010 and 600.020).
2. All information and records received in accordance with this policy shall be kept separate from employee personnel files.
Reasonable Safety Measures
1. The university shall provide to an eligible employee reasonable safety measures in a timely manner to accommodate the known limitations resulting from circumstances relating to being a victim of domestic or sexual violence. Exigent circumstances or danger facing the employee or the employee’s family or household member shall be considered in determining whether the safety measure requested is reasonable.
2. Eligible employees may request reasonable safety measures from their Title IX Coordinator. Upon request by the Title IX Coordinator, an eligible employee requesting a reasonable safety measure(s) shall provide a written statement signed by the employee or an individual acting on the employee’s behalf, certifying that the reasonable safety measure(s) requested is for the purpose authorized under this policy.
3. If the measure(s) requested would impose an undue hardship on university operations, the university shall not be obligated to provide the measure(s) to the requesting employee.
During Leave
1. During any period that an eligible employee takes leave under this policy, the university shall maintain coverage for the employee and any family or household member under any 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 continuously for the duration of such leave.
2. The university may recover from the employee the premium that the university paid for maintaining coverage for the employee and the employee’s family or household member under such group health plan during any period of leave under this section if the employee fails to return from leave after the period of leave to which the employee is entitled has expired for a reason other than the continuation, recurrence, or onset of domestic or sexual violence that entitled the employee to leave under this policy, or other circumstances beyond the control of the employee.
3. The university may require the employee who is unable to return to work because of continued, recurring, or the onset of domestic or sexual violence that entitled the employee to VESSA leave, or because of circumstances beyond the employee’s control, to provide, within a reasonable period after making the claim, certification to the university that the employee is unable to return to work because of that reason by providing the employer with:
  1. A sworn statement of the employee;
  2. Documentation from a certifying agent;
  3. A policy or court record; or
  4. Other corroborating evidence.
4. The university may require an employee on leave to report periodically on the status and intention of the employee to return to work.
5. The taking of leave under this policy shall not result in the loss of any employment benefit accrued prior to the date on which the leave commenced.
6. The employee is not entitled to accrue any seniority or employment benefits during any period of leave or any right, benefit or position of employment other than any right, benefit, or position to which the employee would have been entitled had the employee not taken the leave.
Return to Work
1. An eligible employee who takes leave under this policy shall be entitled, on return from such leave, to be restored by the university to the position of employment held by the employee when the leave commenced or an equivalent position with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.

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