Pittsburgh mayor Bill Peduto signed an executive order directing the city’s Department of Human Resources and Civil Service to develop a policy to provide non-union employees “paid safe leave” to ensure domestic violence victims can get paid time off to obtain Protection from Abuse orders, receive medical care, appear in court, or seek counseling to address intimate partner violence or domestic abuse.
From the Pittsburgh Citypaper:
According to the [National Partnership for Women and Families], people who experience domestic abuse typically forfeit 7.2 days of work due to intimate-partner violence. Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and other Pittsburgh officials want to provide help for these victims in the form of financial relief for the days that they miss from work.
Attorneys with the Women’s Law Project’s Western Pennsylvania office are working with the Mayor’s office, the city’s Gender Equity Commission, and other local groups such as Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, Standing Firm, and the FISA Foundation, to develop the policy, which will be introduced within 90 days.
“The Women’s Law Project hears on almost a daily basis from women who are struggling with insecurity to get money and to keep a job that keeps them stable,” WLP Senior Staff Attorney Susan J. Frietsche told the Pittsburgh Citypaper. “For those experiencing domestic violence, job security is absolutely imperative.”
According to WESA-FM, the measure will directly affect about 1,500 non-unionized city employees. Learn more about paid safe leave policies here.
Eight states and Washington, D.C. have already implemented similar policies. Stay tuned for updates.
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