
One of my fellow bloggers, Jackie, asked a really interesting question. If she’s wondering about this then probably a lot of others are too. Jackie asked me “Should an employee tell her employer if she’s filed an order of protection why or why not?”
First there a lot of why’s and only one why not that I can think of (or that falls under my philosophy of employer thinking) but I’ll get to that later.
Jackie’s question refers to the victim as a she. Most of us would tend to that. We do have male victims though. Domestic violence statistics show (and there’s always under reporting on both sides of the equation) that males are victims in about 25% of all DV cases, making women the victim the other 75 percent of the time.
To get to answering Jackie’s question, I start with the company policy. I’m adamant that employers have language in their domestic violence policy that when an employee files an order of protection (OOP) or injunction against harassment (IAH)1 that the employer is named as a protected entity the offender cannot access. This helps keep the premises and the others in the organization protected. The policy should also require that if the company is named, that the employee has an obligation to inform management, Human Resources and security; or whoever the appropriate party is in the organization. With my clients we look at the appropriate channels they have in place and who’s received the appropriate training on Domestic violence in the workplace. Additional steps typically accompany this notification, namely a photo of the offender, description, vehicle description, and any other information that would help give advance warning if the offender showed up on or near the premises.
Employers have an obligation to protect their employees and to maintain an environment that is safe, healthy and free from known hazards. If they don’t know about something such as an OOP, they’ll have a really hard time doing anything about it. If channels aren’t in place we make it happen, if all levels of the organization aren’t trained on domestic violence and their roles, responsibilities and the effects of domestic violence, we make that happen too. That’s where the domestic violence training and coaching comes in.
What employer wouldn’t want to do everything they can to mitigate potentially dangerous situations and protect all of their employees? Let alone the thousands – and up to multi-millions of dollars that have been awarded to other plaintiffs and their families when the employer failed to take all possible steps?
That brings me to the second part of Jackie’s question. “Why not tell the employer if there’s been an order or protection?”
Well the employee wouldn’t want to if they work for the type of company that I referred to in my December 22nd “Kiss of Death” blog. The kind of company that would fire an employee that came forward with a personal problem and (gasp!) reached out to the employer for help. Or the type of company, like the one I once worked for, that had a human resource manager, in a sister division, that was so out of touch with reality that she screamed at a woman who needed her help and re-victimized her after the employee declined a job transfer.
But there aren’t any employers like that…are there?
1In the state of Arizona the difference is based on the relationship between the parties:
*An Order of Protection is used for a “family” relationship between you and the Defendant. This can include one of the following: 1) married now or in the past, 2) live together now or lived together in the past, 3) parent of a child in common, 4) one of you is pregnant by the other, 5) you are related by blood or court order as your parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother, or sister, 6) you are related by marriage as your parent-in-law, grandparent-in-law, stepchild, step-grandchild, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepparent or step-grandparent, 7) person who resides or who has resided in the same household with a child. The child must be related by blood to a former spouse of the defendant or to a person who resides or who has resided in the same household as the defendant. Also, you must state how an act of domestic violence was threatened or committed against you within the last year. The relationship between the victim and the defendant is currently or was previously a romantic or sexual relationship.
**Injunction Against Harassment is used when the Defendant has committed a series of acts (more than one) of harassment against you in the last year. For an Injunction Against Harassment, there is no relationship requirement between you (the plaintiff) and the abusive party (the defendant). If you and the defendant do not meet any of the above relationships required for an Order of Protection, then you will need to apply for an Injunction Against Harassment.
My fellow “blogathoners”:
Jackie Dishner
BIKE WITH JACKIE
http://bikewithjackie.blogspot.com
Susan Ratliff, Exhibit Expert
Bling My Booth
http://www.blingmybooth.com
Stephanie Angelo
Human Resource Essential Blog
http://hressential.com/wordpress/
Greg Peterson
Down On The Urban Farm
http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/TheUrbanFarm/
Bonnie Mattick
YourBusinessDetective
http://www.YourBusinessDetective.com
Andrea Beaulieu
True Potential
http://www.TruePotentialBlog.com
Conspiracy of Love
http://www.ConspiracyOfLove.net
Beth Terry
Cactus Wrangler
http://www.CactusWrangler.com
Debra Exner
Collaboration Pays Off
http://collaborationpaysoff.wordpress.com
Deborah M Dubree
I’ll have a new name this week
http://www.deborahdubree.com/blog
Eileen Proctor
The Top Dog’s Blog
http://thetopdogsblog.blogspot.com/
Suzanne Holman
Boomer Health…Wealth…Family…Adventure
http://www.suzanneholman.com/blog
Dr. Eileen R. Borris
Finding Forgiveness
http://findingforgiveness.blogspot.com
Mimi Meredith
Bloomin’ Blog
http://blog.thegoodnessgrows.com